The day my life changed
(This logo is the creation for the Young Clergy Women International
found at https://youngclergywomen.org)
The Young Clergy Women Project (YCWP) is for women who are
ordained and under 40 years old – I fit the bill! So, I signed on, and began by joining the
Facebook group and the many subgroups under the YCWP umbrella.
The YCW, which is now called the Young Clergy Women
International (YCWI,) has helped me in practical matters as a minister, but it
has also changed who I am and how I react to those seeking support for ways I
didn’t even realize until lately.
The other day a colleague posted a question in the denominational
Facebook page asking about congregations who practice gratitude, without even
thinking twice, I wrote up how I’ve worked to encourage my congregation to
practice gratitude. This post had been up for an hour and I was the only one to
reply which seemed weird, and then I realized this was not a YCW group. You see
in YCW groups there is a culture of helping everyone out as much as you
can:
Prayers are being asked for?
Everyone who sees that post is praying for that person and 80% of the viewers
tell the poster so.
Looking for a unique children’s
time? Everyone who has an information on that topic posts a helpful sentence or
link.
Feeling alone or taken advantage of
in ministry? Almost immediately YCW from all over the world are posting that
you are doing great work and that while you may feel alone, you are not alone.
The YCWP has been a
place I could share my successes without feeling like I was bragging, it is a
place I can ask for input on a sermon illustration, in this group I can ask how
to deal with various ministry matters I encounter, and most importantly for me,
it is a place I can share some of my deepest fears about myself, God, and
ministry, and know that I am not being judged, but am always being held in love
and respect. I may feel alone in my feelings, but the open honest sharing in
this safe place reminds me that I am not the first person to be going through
something, and I will not be the last.
In the YCWI there is no competition to show how wonderful I
am, or how much I am succeeding, because it is a place that is only interested
in lifting one another up, of truly sharing all our gifts to support one
another and to support the church of Jesus Christ all around the world.
I am so thankful to have stumbled across this Facebook page
5 years ago for with one click on their page, my whole life has been changed
for the better! I am now in a better place because of the YCWI and in thanks to each of the women who make up this group and to God for pointing me toward them, our family has begun donating monthly to this group so that the life giving work can continue for all YCW who feel alone and overwhelmed by this odd and wondrous calling.
Thanks be to God for all YCW everywhere!
Amen.
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