{"id":11717,"date":"2025-10-15T15:28:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T19:28:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nccumc.org\/leadership\/?p=11717"},"modified":"2025-11-20T11:13:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T16:13:53","slug":"an-encouragement-for-october-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccumc.org\/leadership\/2025\/10\/an-encouragement-for-october-6\/","title":{"rendered":"An Encouragement for October"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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\u2014monthly emails designed to inspire, encourage, and offer practical ways for women in ministry to support one another. This month, we\u2019re honored to share words from<\/em><\/em><\/em> Casey Mursten, pastor of St Paul UMC and Duke\u2019s Chapel UMC in Durham.<\/em>

Anyone can sign up to receive Encouragements\u2014and the full archive of past emails is available for you to explore. Please\u00a0<\/em>share this link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0with lay and clergywomen in ministry who might be interested.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read: Isaiah 43:18-19
<\/strong>\u201cForget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it<\/em>? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine having to miss a week of school every month. Now imagine persevering and completing school even years after your peers because of these missed days. This is the story of many girls in Kenya because they don\u2019t have access to menstrual products. Every school in Kenya requires fees for tuition and uniforms. Beatrice Wangai began the program called \u201cGirls\u2019 Raising Hands\u201d so other girls didn\u2019t have the same barriers to school that she did. It\u2019s named Girls\u2019 Raising Hands because girls need to be present, seen, and participating fully in school. Women supporting each other is empowering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of August, I traveled to Embu, Kenya, and met alumni and current students in the program. The hope and joy are palpable. I am filled with gratitude to witness their work. Securing employment in Embu is a problem for many. The women are learning sewing and tailoring skills to find suitable jobs and business opportunities. They currently have five sewing machines that they share. Girls\u2019 Raising Hands is changing lives. God is doing a new thing in the life of these precious girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Image: Two young women sewing with one of the program\u2019s five sewing machines. Learn more about <\/em>Girls\u2019 Raising Hands<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Take Action:
<\/strong>Is there a \u201cperiod pantry\u201d in your community with free supplies? Find out how you can get involved. How can you mentor and empower girls in your community?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In partnership,
Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

magine having to miss a week of school every month. Now imagine persevering and completing school even years after your peers because of these missed days. This is the story of many girls in Kenya because they don\u2019t have access to menstrual products. Every school in Kenya requires fees for tuition and uniforms.\u00a0Beatrice Wangai began the program called \u201cGirls\u2019 Raising Hands\u201d so other girls didn\u2019t have the same barriers to school that she did. It\u2019s named Girls\u2019 Raising Hands because girls need to be present, seen and participating fully in school.\u00a0Women supporting each other is empowering.<\/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":[6,12,13,10,14],"class_list":["post-11717","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-resources","tag-women"],"yoast_head":"\nAn Encouragement for October | 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\/2025\/10\/an-encouragement-for-october-6\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Encouragement for October | Center for Leadership Excellence | North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"magine having to miss a week of school every month. 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