Since 2019, the Center for Leadership Excellence, in partnership with COSROW, has been lifting up the voices of lay and clergywomen in ministry through Encouragements—monthly emails designed to inspire, encourage, and offer practical ways for women in ministry to support one another. This month, we’re honored to share words from Asya Coles, Pastor of Outreach at University UMC in Chapel Hill.
Anyone can sign up to receive Encouragements—and the full archive of past emails is available for you to explore. Please share this link with lay and clergywomen in ministry who might be interested.
In the MIDST of it all—
“One cannot deny the humanity of another without diminishing one’s own.” – James Baldwin
There is something about the carefully placed human in women-identifying people that grants us the ability to nearly carry it all. And in the carrying capacity of a self-identified woman, we cannot forget our own human dignity, worthiness, and the reminders of value that we so naturally give to those we carry.
Ma, Mom, Mother, Grandma, Auntie, Partner, Wife, Guardian, Parent, Chef, Clean‑Up Lady, Pastor, Church-goer, Church member, Choir member, Teacher, Nurturer, Protestor… Receiver, Listener, Faithful
In the midst of it all goes you. In the midst of it all goes God—probably the most sustainable relationship you’ve ever had. It’s also likely one of the only relationships not shaped by how well you perform in the long list of roles you’ve taken on, or by how much you carry while walking in love with God.
Exodus 3:4 (CEB)
“When the Lord saw that he was coming to look, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ Moses said, ‘I’m here.’”
In the midst of it all, you are here—even when it doesn’t feel like you’re getting every single part of your role right. Even when you wrestle with self‑doubt—“Am I listening enough? Being faithful enough? Carrying enough?” Or in the chaos of mixed-up information and human dictators, “Am I protesting enough?”
Exodus 3:12 (CEB)
“God said, ‘I’ll be with you. And this will show you that I’m the one who sent you.’”
In the midst of it all goes God—
Alpha, Omega, Beginning, End, Mother, Parent, Guardian, Comforter, Justice-Seeker, Justice‑Provider, Healer, Teacher, Listener, Promise‑Keeper… Faithful
In the midst of it all.
Take Action:
- Pause and Acknowledge God’s Presence
Action: Build in a daily pause (even 2 minutes) to breathe, be still, and acknowledge God’s presence—not because everything is perfect, but because you’re in the midst of it. - Embrace Your Enough-ness
Action: Affirm yourself with a phrase like, “I am enough in the presence of the One who is always enough.” - Show Up Faithfully, Not Flawlessly
Action: Choose one small way to show up this week—in faith, in conversation, in protest, in nurture—trusting that God fills in the gaps.
In partnership,
Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women