Racial Equity & Women's Intercultural Ministries eNewsletter

Director's Message: This is a very remarkable and busy time of the year. We are leaving Black History Month and the Chinese New Year and walking excitedly into Women’s History Month and the holy season of Lent. This is a season of contemplation, remembrance, and prayerful consideration of forward direction.

As we settle into this period, my prayer for you is that you bear in mind those who have sacrificed so that we all may live a better existence. In Black History month, we honor the determined resilience of such notable figures as Audre Lorde, Harriet Tubman, James Cone, and Katherine Johnson. They all availed their lives’ work to helping others open their eyes to a better place of freedom and advancement in some way. In Women’s History Month, we honor brave change-makers such as Katie Cannon, Frida Kahlo, Claudette Colvin, and Malala Yousafzai who defied the odds to make a difference in our world. All of these heroes, both past and present, endured adversity to combat the tyranny of patriarchy, sexism, homophobia, classism, and a myriad of other social ills. They all have travailed so that each of us may one day truly live a life of more abundance...

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Gratitude from Katie Cannon Scholarship Recipients

The Katie Cannon Scholarship is named in honor of theologian and ethicist, Rev. Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon (1950-2018), who was the first African American woman ordained in the United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The scholarship is funded by the Women's Ministry Fund and offers recipients up to $3,000 to apply toward expenses for a leadership development opportunity in the United States.

The deadline to apply for the scholarship is June 1 and awards are announced and dispersed by July 31.   Four recent award recipients—Rev. Maretta Arnold-Frankline, Cedar Dang, Natarsha Sanders, and April J. Pilgrim—have written letters of gratitude for the scholarships they received. Natarsha Sanders writes, "When I found out that I was a recipient of the Katie Cannon Scholarship, I was so grateful. I cried. I was in real financial need and I am not sure how I would have continued pursuing my D.Ed.Min. degree had I not received this scholarship. As a demonstration of gratitude, I intentionally sought out opportunities to lead within the community in which I live." Read these letters of gratitude and learn more about how to apply for the Katie Cannon scholarship at the link below.

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With Creation: A Native and Indigenous Lention Devotional

Unbound has published a new Lenten devotional series called With Creation, featuring Native and Indigenous writers. The series includes an introduction, reflections for Ash Wednesday, each Sunday in Lent, and each day of Holy Week. Both the introduction and the Easter reflection are contributed by RE&WIM's own Irv Porter, who serves as Associate for Native American Intercultural Congregational Support.

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Celebrating the Gifts of Women

The Celebrating the Gifts of Women worship service took place on March 1st, 2023 online and was live-streamed to the PC(USA) Facebook, where it can still be viewed. This year's preacher was Rev. Dr. Marcia Mount Shoop who reflected on Luke 1:45-56 with a sermon called "Scattering, Shattering, & Mattering." The 2023 Celebrating the Gifts of Women worship resource also featured a reflection by Vilmarie Cintrón-Olivieri called "Favoriceda" along with liturgy for a complete worship resource. Though Celebrating the Gifts of Women Sunday took place on March 5, 2023, this resource is available at the link below and can be used for free at any time.

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The Dangerous Impact of Cash Bail on Black Women and Femmes

While most of the narrative around mass incarceration centers Black men and boys, women and femmes often face the brunt of the cash bail system.

Women are both the fastest growing prison population and are the mothers, daughters and/or partners left to care for their communities and find bail for their loved ones who have been detained.   Black women are imprisoned at twice the rate of white women; Black girls are incarcerated three times as much as white girls. Of the nearly 110,000 women in local jails, about 60 percent are awaiting trial and haven’t been convicted. About 80 percent are parents. Approximately 86 percent of women imprisoned have experienced sexual violence in their lifetimes. The tragic story of Sandra Bland shows that cash bail can be fatal. After a “routine” traffic stop led to her arrest, but she didn’t have the $500 for bail, Sandra was jailed. She was found dead in her cell three days later. The PC(USA), through its work with the BAIL Project, calls for an end to the cash bail system. That call is echoed in the Disparities experienced by Black Women and Girls Taskforce report approved by the 224th General Assembly which centers the ways Black women and femmes are uniquely impacted by this system. We are not alone. Black-led collectives like the National Bail Out are organizing to end systems of pre trail detention and ultimately mass incarceration. Since 2017,  their campaign Black Mama’s Bail Out are taking on the charge to bail out Black mamas and caregivers from jails and migrant detention centers every year before mother’s day. We encourage you to stay informed and get involved.

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Spreading the Vision of Matthew 25 across the Church

Accept the invitation to be a church of action, where God’s love, justice and mercy are contagious and at the center of everything we do.

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Presbyterian Mission Agency, 100 Witherspoon Street, Lousiville, KY