MOSAIC Presentation For Church Women United Salt Lake Metro
Christian & Multi-Faith Women Panel USA Ecumencial Christian Women's Organization, 1941-
Dr. Leslie Whited’s Devotion - Sharing at the Table See Also: ChurchWomen.org
In the early Christian Church, sharing at the table meant taking extra bread, wine and food after worship to those most in need. Early carved frescoes show deacons, women and men, sharing from the altar to those most in need. There was a continuous flow from remember God to remembering where God chose to be – being present to, hanging out with, and really serving in transformative ways: prisoners, tax collectors, prostitutes, the poor, the widows… Continuous flow, re-membering from the table into the world.
Perhaps today, we need to be reminded that the radical act of re-membering God is about remembering the whole world. As Euro American believers in a Triune God, we remember God as Creator, God as Redeemer, God as Sustainer, and we move into the world to serve. Part of sharing from the table in this radical appreciation for all of God’s Creation may mean:
Learning from and with women from all ethnicities and backgrounds;
Stepping back and supporting women’s dreams – the women whose cultures, languages, and races
are different from those of European origin;
Living a diversity-based life so that understanding and appreciation emanates from us even as we risk
making mistakes.
Radically appreciating and enjoying all of who a person is: enjoying God’s radical variety of faiths,
perspectives, ways of moving in the world.
In the words of Maya Angelou, on what it means to be Christian, “believe and live out that each of us comes from the Creator, trailing wisps of glory!”
It is my great pleasure to celebrate and introduce women who serve at MOSAIC Inter-Faith Ministries. Their very presence is a gift. Their service and care for all people an inspiration. Their faithfulness and collective ways a moving a tender remembrance.
Introduce each woman from MOSAIC Inter-Faith Ministries, who then speaks from her own voice, sharing from the table:
Cecelia Fraites Virgin Islands Applies for USA Citizenship Next Year, Christian
Joohwa Park Korea Pastor’s Wife, Korean Methodist Church, MOSAIC Trustee, Christian
Fatmata Conte Sierra Leone, USA Citizen, Christian
Dorothy Lonnecker LMT at MOSAIC’s Green Water’s Health Center, Euro-Indigenous Religion
Pastor Chuck Hines Women’s Prison, St. Francis Church of Christ, MOSAIC Out-Reach
Ending Devotion:
As you enter this beloved world, remembering who and whose you are, a meditation from Mama Maya Angelou:
When I Say, “I Am A Christian”
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not shouting, “I’ve been saved,”
I’m shouting, “I am lost and that’s
why I chose this way”
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t speak with human pride
I’m confessing that I stumble--
Needing God to be my Guide
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not saying that I’m strong
I’m professing that I’m weak
and pray for strength to carry on
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not bragging of success
I’m admitting that I’ve failed
and cannot ever repay the debt
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I don’t think I know it all
I submit to my confusion
Asking humbly to be taught
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I’m not claiming to be perfect
My flaws are all to visible
Yet, God thinks that I’m worth it
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I still feel the sting of shame
I have my share of heartache
which is why I seek God’s name
When I say, “I am a Christian”
I do not wish to judge
I have no authority--
I only know I’m loved.
10% of Maya Angelou’s collection of works used solely for educational purpose.