{"id":10331,"date":"2024-11-13T09:21:59","date_gmt":"2024-11-13T14:21:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nccumc.org\/leadership\/?p=10331"},"modified":"2024-11-13T09:22:26","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T14:22:26","slug":"an-ecouragement-for-november","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccumc.org\/leadership\/2024\/11\/an-ecouragement-for-november\/","title":{"rendered":"An Ecouragement for November"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Center for Leadership Excellence, in partnership with COSROW, is pleased to lift up the voices of women in ministry encouraging fellow women in ministry. Please enjoy this month\u2019s Encouragement from Kristen Hanna, the associate pastor at Christ UMC, Chapel Hill. Anyone can sign up to receive Encouragement emails here<\/a>.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStrength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.\u201d
\u2013 Proverbs 31:25, NRSVue<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I cannot say that I\u2019ve felt much like laughing as of late. Between feelings of general \u201cchurch weariness,\u201d election angst, charge conference season\u2026 it all feels a bit like living in a giant woodworking vise. The pressure keeps increasing, and with each twist of the handle, I wonder if this will be the one that ultimately breaks me. Maybe you can relate. I haven\u2019t run the numbers in any sort of clinical manner, but from casual conversation, most of my friends are feeling a bit squished at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wish I could offer a 3-step plan that would flip the valve. I wish I knew of a continuing education opportunity that would fix the systemic angst. I did, however, come across a short poem by poet Nicole Lyons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She will rise. With a spine of steel and a roar like thunder, she will rise.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It got me thinking. I wonder if this might be the actual Proverbs 31 woman, except instead of wearing strength, the strength is innately part of her, and instead of laughing at the time to come, maybe that laugh is a decisive roar. All she must do is rise to meet the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I think about the future with all its uncertainty, I wonder how we are rising to meet the day. I wonder if we remember that God has instilled in us spines of steel, deep, beautiful voices that proclaim truth and protect peace, and, I would add, soft hearts that break for our neighbors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How are you meeting the day today? What is pricking your soft heart? Where do you see glimmers of your incredible strength holding you up?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In partnership,
Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I cannot say that I\u2019ve felt much like laughing as of late. Between feelings of general \u201cchurch weariness,\u201d election angst, charge conference season\u2026 it all feels a bit like living in a giant woodworking vise. The pressure keeps increasing, and with each twist of the handle, I wonder if this will be the one that ultimately breaks me. Maybe you can relate. I haven\u2019t run the numbers in any sort of clinical manner, but from casual conversation, most of my friends are feeling a bit squished at the moment…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":7594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[6,12,13,194,14],"class_list":["post-10331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-center-for-leadership-excellence","tag-commission-on-the-status-and-role-of-women","tag-encouragements","tag-leadership","tag-women"],"yoast_head":"\nAn Ecouragement for November | Center for Leadership Excellence | North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nccumc.org\/leadership\/2024\/11\/an-ecouragement-for-november\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Ecouragement for November | Center for Leadership Excellence | North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I cannot say that I\u2019ve felt much like laughing as of late. 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