August 24, 2023

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Have you spotted it yet? The first few changing leaves are sporadically interrupting the mass of verdant summer splendor. Do their bright colors feel different in a good way? The big yellow buses are back in the traffic mix. Are their little passengers ready for the next grade? The pumpkin spice memes are popping up in social media circulation. Did you remember to savor the fresh corn and watermelon?  

Fall is coming in the Northern Hemisphere, and it is a classic seasonal transition. Do you welcome change or worry about it?   

Change hits differently depending on your own season of life, but it is the one thing they say is constant. As followers of Jesus, we know about consistency. We live in a way that trusts in, holds hope for, and reveals what is possible if we all rely on the enduring love of God. 

Like a leaf of a different color, we may feel a little out of place in our mass culture of image-conscious consumerism and competition, but as Paul wrote in (The Message translation of) Philippians 4:4, we “celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel  in [God]! Make it as clear as [we] can to all [we] meet that [we’re] on their side, working with them and not against them.”  

Everything could fall apart—every single leaf could fall from the tree—and followers of Jesus will come together to tend the roots, because we know about new life. It is not that we know exactly what results in growing from the changes and challenges. We simply choose love by doing our best and taking time for rest, by generously offering our particular gifts, and by trusting that we are enough just as God lovingly made us.  

Continuing in Philippians 4:6, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape [our] worries into prayers, letting God know [our] concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle [us] down.” 

So, as we exchange our lawn mowers for leaf blowers, pack lunch boxes, and pick from the pumpkin patches, let it remind us of the hope that change offers and the love that we believe never fails. We are as magnificent as the fall foliage, because we were made by the same loving and creative source who is with us on all the bus rides, in all the classrooms and at every grade. Let the seasons change, because we have nothing to fear, nothing to prove, and everything to relish. 

Written by Suzanne Ayer Lay

MW USA Administrative Assistant + Graphic Designer

The conversations were so open and truthful, and there were lots of jokes! Sister Cyneatha recently gathered her local sisterhood at the Elkhart Hotel for a Menopause Mayday Celebration.

Peri-menopausal women were asked to wear pink, menopausal women wore red and post-menopausal women dressed in purple. Each one shared their experience with menopause, and they talked about struggles with periods and fibroids. 

Smiling here are Lois, Joanna, Chrystal, Brenda, and Tonda peeking in the back, taking a quick picture break from dancing and playing Pictionary. It was fun to be together! 

How are you honoring the stages of life and relying on your sisters through the transitions? Send us a note and/or pictures about your sisterhood celebrations so we can all join in supporting you!

Mennonite Women USA created the International Women’s Fund (IWF) over 20 years ago to financially support women around the globe in church leadership training. We have awarded scholarships to over 170 women from 35 countries. Each year we distribute a total of approximately $10,000. We are so proud of this work and are committed to continuing it!

Be a part of this important work. Support emerging women church leaders and the communities they serve with your prayers and donations.

This week, pray for MW USA as we distribute applications through our educational partners. Pray too for your sisters studying for pastoral calls, Sunday school teaching, peace education, and more who will apply for this scholarship. May we be connected—our support for developing their gifts—to continue the work of Jesus.

If you feel called to be a part of the donor circle generously giving to IWF, please donate here. Last year we were able to fund every single applicant because so many followed through with giving. May we continue to show up for women preparing to lead the church!

MW USA's 2023-2024 Bible Study Guide is now available for purchase on the webstore! This year we teamed up with Samantha E. Lioi for the start of a new trilogy over the next three years.

Samantha is a spiritual director, retreat leader, and writer living on the ancestral lands of the Haudenosaunee and Wenrohronan peoples in Buffalo, NY. She is ordained in Mennonite Church USA and has served as a pastor and conference peace and justice minister.

Samantha's Bible Study Guide explores a theology of Divine abundance and liberation. Included are full Scripture citations to The Inclusive Bible: The First Egalitarian Translation, and each closing prayer is written powerfully in poetry.

Circle up with your sisters around our latest women-authored Bible Study Guide. May it teach us to see the persistence of life and beauty. May it encourage us to relearn and restore mutual regard, reciprocity, and wholeness.

MWUSA donors enable women to come together in hope, healing and solidarity. We circle around the Bible guided by women-authored Study Guides. We are part of an international gathering of women who reflect on self care and each other care through Sister Care. Pooling our support for IWF Scholarships makes new spiritual leadership possible every semester. God moves in our Conversations and Moves Us to places of growth. Every time we come together in person and online we make ever more links so our gifts and networks can bind the world in God's love.

We make a difference so our sisters can make a difference. Donating makes a difference.