Today, many of us around the world are marking International Women's Day and I'm having lunch with a new friend. Her name is Rev. Sarah Moore-Nokes and she is the General Presbyter for the Winnebago Presbytery which is just north of ours. Our lunch was planned a month ago and it's coincidental we're meeting today, but I'm going to take advantage of it. I'm going to enjoy the company of another woman who is in a position of leadership with duties and responsibilities that are similar to mine. Someone with whom I can share my experiences, my strengths and shortcomings, my questions and my continuing interest in what it means to be a woman in leadership in the PCUSA.

Presbyterian Outlook posted a story on FaceBook this morning from an article that features Presbyterians and highlights female leadership. Women, they say, who are cracking the stained glass ceiling. You can find it here: http://www.mainlinetoday.com/Main-Line-Today/February-2017/Local-Women-Find-Places-for-L eadership-in-Religion/#.WLh_StIV1co.facebook

I'd also like to call attention to an article on the PCUSA website which was written last fall. At that time, our denomination celebrated the 60th anniversary of Rev. Margaret Towner's ordination. Margaret was the first woman ordained as a minister and one of the congregations she later served was in the Milwaukee area. Rev. Deborah Block, a pastor at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, recently visited Margaret at her home in Sarasota, Florida. I know this because Deborah stopped by the presbytery office to borrow equipment that would allow her to record some of Margaret's stories in her own words and in her own voice. Thank you Margaret and Deborah! https://www.pcusa.org/news/2016/5/24/pcusa-celebrates-60-years-womens-ordination/ https://pres-outlook.org/2006/02/women-ministers-1955-1966-and-margaret-towner/ . ..( READ MORE ). Mary is available here: [email protected].