Racial Ethnic Women and PW
Bringing Wholeness to the Table
by Catrelia Hunter
 In
1998, I became part of the Presbyterian Women/Racial Ethnic Dialogue,
a group that meets annually and includes representation from
National Asian Presbyterian Women, National Hispanic/Latin Presbyterian
Women, National Black Presbyterian Women, National Korean Presbyterian
Women, Native American Presbyterian Women, Middle Eastern American
Presbyterian Women and the Churchwide Coordinating Team of Presbyterian
Women. Together, we come to the table to work for justice and
peace as we build an inclusive, caring community of Presbyterian
women.
Members of the Racial Ethnic Group:
JoAnn Poncho, Alberta Williams, Monica Lin, Nancy Darter, RE
Dialogue Facilitator, Amy Sweet, Catrelia Hunter, Salam Lebbos,
Lucy Beblawi, Sallie Cuaresma, Yunk Suk Park, Ann McFarlane,
Margaret Kang, Edith Ichiuji, Janet Ying, Hearan Yang, Yolanda
Hernandez, Amal Marks, Ann Ferguson, Evelyn Bonner, (Faculty
of Mary Holmes College), Esther F. S. Carvalhaes, Norma White,
Madelaine Terry, Mary Elva Smith, Unzu Lee, Helen Locklear, Rosy
Aja, Carmen Rosario-Reyes, Nina Khouri, and Alicia Wilson
Officially organized in May 1998, the dialogue grew out of discussions
during the 1994--97 trienniem of Presbyterian Women in response
to concerns raised by National Asian Presbyterian Women and National
Black Presbyterian Women. Originally, the group addressed issues
related to inclusion of racial ethnic women in all facets of
the work of PW. Today, we seek to
· Intentionally find ways for women to share
together and dialogue as partners in ministry
· Honor the gifts, perspectives and heritage of
all God's people
· Speak truth to power as we explore ways to form
the "inclusive, caring community of women" spoken of
in the PW Purpose
· Find new paradigms for working together as members
of Presbyterian Women
· Celebrate our oneness in the living Christ
With seven racial ethnic groups, including European American,
gathered around the table, we share each other's struggles, joys
and concerns as we express our vision for the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) and for Presbyterian Women. We are partners in ministry,
working together to address some of the issues that we face as
racial ethnic women and as Presbyterian women. Our differences
in cultural backgrounds, languages, family customs and origin
of birth of our ancestors do not divide us as much as they add
to the richness of our relationships. These are the treasures
on which our wholeness is being built. We are united in Christ
and have found many ways to live out our witness as we work together
on issues of common interest and responsibility.
Taking part in the Racial Ethnic Dialogue reminds me of the important
role of the Committee of Women of Color (CWC) in early 1990s.
The CWC was the successor organization to the Committee on Racial
Ethnic Women (CREW), part of the former Presbyterian Church in
the United States in 1981 and the Third World's Women's Coordinating
Committee (TWWCC), of the former United Presbyterian Church in
1972. The CWC worked to empower women of color and enable their
full and equal participation in the church and in society. Many
of the publications from the former CWC continue to be excellent
resources. Although the national CWC no longer exists, some synods
and presbyteries have active Committees of Women of Color.
A Need for the Dialogue
The questions arise, "Why is there a need for this dialogue
and for the racial ethnic women's organizations? Isn't this divisive?
Aren't we all one?" The answers are no and yes, respectively.
We need the dialogue because the larger body of PW and women
of various racial ethnic groups have hopes and dreams that have
not been realized.
While we are concerned about the status of women in the whole
church, our initial focus has been on the opportunities for leadership
in Presbyterian Women. We envision an organization that is truly
representative of its community of faith, where all persons of
color are visible, heard and active witnesses in every program/activity.
We see a Churchwide Coordinating Team (CCT) that "walks
the walk" as well as "talks the talk" as it models
inclusivity at all levels of PW. We challenge the CCT to intentionally
share power and model ways of sharing that power in everything
it does.
To accomplish our vision, we support and encourage the churchwide
search committee's effort to present a racially balanced slate
of nominees to the 2003 business meeting of Presbyterian Women.
We challenge the CCT and our PW sisters throughout the country
to make the triennial business meeting more representative of
the racial ethnicity that exists within our organization and
to ensure that racial ethnic members-at-large are included in
all aspects of the life and work of the CCT.
What Do Racial Ethnic Women Bring to
PW?
One of the challenges for many racial ethnic women is the same
faced by women everywhere-we are genuinely interested in PW but
have limits on our time because of professional responsibilities.
Racial ethnic participants in PW bring a sincere love for the
organization and its purpose, in addition to potential for empowerment
of women throughout the world. We bring a concern for the struggles
of our people through knowledge of the oppressive cultural systems
that our ancestors withstood. We have feelings of being caught
between two cultures-our own and that of the larger American
society that is more accepting today of our diversity, yet not
totally accepting. We bring skills and abilities that have been
tested and proved at the local, presbytery and synod levels of
our denomination. We are professionals with skills and abilities
suited to management, organization, teaching, business and finance-skills
that can be transferred and used in the work of PW. But most
of all, we bring a strong faith in God and in a world that is
diverse in all of its facets. We believe in each other and in
the God that will bring us all into true communion with one another
that we might live out the purpose of Presbyterian Women as we
work faithfully together.
What Can We Do to Improve Relationships?
Intentional involvement will go a long way toward improving
relationships, within PW and beyond. The natural tendency is
to be with people like ourselves. When we work with women from
other racial ethnic groups we not only get to know them but we
learn to appreciate them and the gifts that they bring to our
common community of faith.
To help coordinating teams, governing bodies and other ecumenical
groups and entities work successfully with women of color by
honoring their gifts and perspectives, the Committee of Women
of Color of the Synod of Mid-Atlantic prepared the brochure "Expanding
the Sacred Table." Here are some of the principles included
in this brochure:
1. We recognize each woman as the face of God, knowing that
she has particular gifts and we encourage each women to use her
gifts fully.
2. We recognize each other as leaders in some area-family, church,
profession, committee, circle, etc.
3. We seek to involve each other in all kinds of concerns, including
racial ethnic concerns. We realize that racial ethnic women are
skilled in mission as well as issue-related areas and can fill
a multiplicity of roles.
4. We make every effort to build relations with women of diverse
backgrounds, by deliberately sitting next to each other and making
pleasant conversation with each other.
5. We try to discover each other's skills and abilities.
· We treat each other with respect and humility, recognizing
that all persons have gifts to share and that we can always learn
from each other.
The dialogue reflects these principles of behavior as the
participants relate to each other, providing a variety of opportunities
for growth, exchange and development. At the January 2002 meeting
of our group at Mary Holmes College in West Point, Mississippi,
the group established a team leadership concept that will rotate
among the members to ensure that all participants have the opportunity
to facilitate at some time during their three-year term. The
group has initiated and will provide leadership in planning a
national Women of Color Consultation to be held in 2004. In addition,
dialogue participants have sent a request to the PW Churchwide
Coordinating Team to develop a model for establishing a racial
ethnic dialogue group in each of the synods.
We are working toward a time when the position "racial ethnic
member-at-large" is no longer needed to ensure a diverse
leadership team. We have reached new levels of understanding
and commitment to each other, wrestling with the tough issues,
such as racial ethnic women being excluded from or overlooked
for the leadership in PW at the congregation, presbytery, synod
and churchwide levels. In struggling together to address shared
concerns, the participants have found that love, faith and hope
transcend all else. When we work and pray together we can accomplish
many tasks that some might have thought to be impossible.
We have work ahead of us before our vision becomes reality, so
the Racial Ethnic Dialogue will continue
· to provide a forum to communicate the concerns of
racial ethnic women
· to identify talent for leadership in PW
· to make recommendations that further the peace and unity
of PW and our denomination
· to support and empower each other as we work with PW
sisters throughout the country
Catrelia Hunter is vice president for advancement, Livingstone
College, Salisbury, North Carolina, and a member of the PW Racial
Ethnic Dialogue.
Racial Ethnic Presbyterian
Women
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Asian Presbyterian
Women
Organized in 1973
Moderator:
Susan Wang,
Houston, Texas
Current CCT member-at-large:
Janet Ying,
Selma, California |
National
Korean Presbyterian Women
Organized in 1983
Moderator:
Dr. Shin Ok Chang,
Forest Hill, New York
Current CCT member-at-large: Margaret Kang,
Shoreline, Washington |
National
Black
Presbyterian Women
Organized in 1992
Moderator:
Amy Sweet,
Claremont, California
Current CCT member-at-large: Alberta Williams,
Compton, California |
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Hispanic/Latin
Presbyterian Women
Organized in 1995
Moderator:
Carmen Rosario-Reyes,
Bradley Beach, New Jersey
Current CCT member-at-large: [vacant]
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Middle Eastern American Presbyterian
Women
Organized in 1999
Coordinator:
Salam Lebbos,
Arlington, Massachusetts
Current CCT member-at-large:
Salam Lebbos
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Native
American Presbyterian Women
Organized in 2000
Comoderators:
Alicia Wilson,
Indiahoma, Oklahoma, and Elizabeth Haile,
South Hampton,
New York
Current CCT
member-at-large:
JoAnn Poncho,
Bishop, California |
Middle Eastern
American Presbyterian Women
The same year participants in Presbyterian Women traveled
to the Middle East for the 1999 Global Exchange, Middle Eastern
American Presbyterian Women (MEAPW) organized in the United States.
As one of the newest organizations for racial ethnic members
of Presbyterian Women, there is much to learn about MEAPW and
its members-knowledge that is best acquired through conversations
with our Middle Eastern American sisters. The coordinator for
MEAPW, Salam Lebbos, shared these insights in a recent interview.
How do Middle Eastern American Presbyterian
women worship and pray together?
For a long time, Middle Eastern American Presbyterian Women
(MEAPW) were not able to pray together alone-the pastor had to
be present-and this is still happening in some of our fellowships
and churches. In the last few years, things have changed and
we have a few free-standing women's groups in our churches. Part
of this is because these women provide a plan for their husbands
that coincides with their meeting time. They can be quite creative,
inventing things to keep the men busy with constructive things
while the women meet together alone, allowing them to pray their
own way.
As to how they pray, most Middle Eastern American Presbyterian
women follow the traditions of their countries of origin. They
sing their own hymns in their own tunes and their Bible study
involves the Old Testament most of the time. These women have
a very deep and profound faith, and their commitment to the teachings
of the Bible is applied in daily life.
How do participants in MEAPW contribute to the life of their
circle or congregation?
Except for the decisions made by the church sessions (which
are all-male, except for a few congregations), women run most
Middle Eastern American Presbyterian congregations. Pastors rely
on them and accept the contributions of women, as long as the
women do not hold offices.
As for women's groups or circles, they offer one another support,
sisterhood and caring. If one of them is in need of something
they all help. They are especially helpful toward new immigrants
and feel responsible for their well-being. In most middle eastern
countries, Christians are in the minority and are persecuted,
which makes our women stick to each other for protection and
solidarity.
What are some of the joys and challenges experienced by
Middle Eastern American Presbyterian women when relating to other
racial ethnic women?
Many women are open-minded and fun to work with. I have learned
a lot from them; things that made my life easier as an immigrant.
I have made friends who went beyond my color and my accent and
appreciated who I am. I also appreciate the fact that the CCT
is trying to understand racial ethnic women. It also breaks the
isolation that we feel.
At the same time, some of our racial ethnic sisters still resent
us and we feel it no matter how much they try to hide it. It
takes a few generations of learning tolerance to get over this,
but I am sure they love us as much as we love them.
Get Involved
Make plans now to take part in the 2002 Racial Ethnic Convocation,
July 25--28, in Los Angeles, California. 
This year's theme is "A New Attitude for Discipleship
and Ministry" based on Ephesians 4:17--24, with plans to
· reaffirm and celebrate God's gift of unity and diversity
· provide opportunities to deepen our spiritual awareness
and commitment
· learn how to revitalize, redevelop and create new racial
ethnic/immigrant ministries
· learn about deeper opportunities for discipleship and
witness in Christ's name
· connect generations, cultures, communities and church
structures
Events will include worship, Bible study, activities for youth
and young adults, cultural celebrations and workshops. The registration
fee is $190 and includes three meals and workshops. For more
information contact the Racial Ethnic Ministries Program Area,
National Ministries Division, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
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