Stella Webster, chair of the Native American Presbyterian Women's Gathering, shared a message of love during her welcoming comments. She spoke of love for family, love for God's creation and God's enduring love. Photo by Yvonne Hileman.
One Body, One Spirit, One Sisterhood
By Yvonne Hileman
Native American Presbyterian women “come from colorful and diverse backgrounds, from many Nations, to join in one sisterhood,” Stella Webster, Native American Presbyterian Women’s Gathering chair, said on Wednesday, June 17.
Approximately 30 Choctaw, Nez Perce, Navajo, Dakota and Cherokee women came from California, Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Minnesota and Arizona to attend the Native American Presbyterian Women’s (NAPW) Gathering in Minneapolis, June 17–18, 2015. The event, themed “One Body, One Spirit, One Sisterhood,” was held just prior to and just across the street from the 2015 Churchwide Gathering of Presbyterian Women, in hopes that as many Native American Presbyterian women as possible would be able to attend both.
In her opening remarks, Stella quoted a reflection by Sarah James from the book Every Day Is a Good Day: Reflections by Contemporary Indigenous Women (Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 2011). “‘The Creator put us where we are to take care of this part of the world. Nonindigenous people are newcomers to this part of the world, the Western Hemisphere. Some are invaders; some come in a respectful way. . . . I believe there are now more respectful nonindigenous people because they are learning about the Earth and what is happening to the Earth,’” Stella read.
“‘We must all work together in balance with each other. We must educate all people about respect for who we are and respect for our Earth. We must work hard to know our non-Native friends. It is so important to find the common ground of all people. Some people think this is so hard to do because we come from many diverse cultures. But we must only look down and see that we are standing on the same ground.’”
Stella talked about native people’s focus on kinship. She said her mother still called her “my baby,” when Stella was 74 and her mother was 94, and reminded her daughters “Be sure to stir the beans.” Stella’s mother always saw Stella and her sisters as her little girls. “It is important to nurture kinship, to belong to community. We are not only part of a family, we are part of a community; we’re in a battle and we need sisters who are spiritual warriors.” She quoted N. T. Wright who said (paraphrased), “It is love that believes the resurrection.” Stella said “In a nutshell, own the message of Easter, own that love. We must love ourselves as we love God’s creation. We are spiritual warriors telling God’s love story.”
Following Stella’s opener, Rhashell Hunter, Mary Cook Jorgenson and Susan Jackson-Dowd brought greetings from the PC(USA) and Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA).
Rhashell, director of Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries in the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA), said “It is wonderful to experience the love across tribes that I feel here.” Mary Cook Jorgenson, 2012–2015 PW Churchwide moderator, said she loved the theme of the Native women’s gathering, “One Body, One Spirit, One Sisterhood,” and said “I hope you will find that sense of sisterhood in the larger organization, as well. We welcome you. You enrich our organization.” She added, “Empowered by the Holy Spirit, there is nothing we cannot do.” Susan Jackson-Dowd, executive director of Presbyterian Women, also invoked the PW Purpose when she said, “Being forgiven and freed by God allows us to build community and sisterhood.”
The NAPW Gathering’s keynote speaker was Elona Street-Stewart, synod executive of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies. Read an article about Elona's keynote speech.
