Women of the ELCA

Our mission is mobilizing women to act boldly on their faith in Jesus Christ.

As a community of women created in the image of God, called to discipleship in Jesus Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves to grow in faith, affirm our gifts, support one another in our callings, engage in ministry and action, and promote healing and wholeness in the church, the society, and the world.

Women of the ELCA Triennial

The Twelfth Triennial Convention and Gathering of the Women of the ELCA will be held in Phoenix Arizona from Sept. 19-21,2023. Representing SEPa WELCA are our elected voting members Pastor Gwen King, Joan Seader, Sue Swope and Joy Grace, and our President Linda Garcia. They will deal with the business of WELCA including electing officers to serve for the next three years. We are asked to bring In Kind gifts to share with four local service agencies in the Phoenix area; we are taking gift cards as these will be easiest to carry on a plane.

Following the convention is the Triennial Gathering which runs from the evening of Sept. 21 to the morning of Sept. 24. The theme for the Gathering is Just Love. Thursday evening’s session begins with worship and our first Plenary session. Friday and Saturday Morning Plenary sessions will feature Bible study, featured speakers, music and devotions. Friday and Saturday afternoons there will be opportunities to attend learning sessions, visit the exhibits. The convention closes Sunday Sept.24 with worship.

Women of the ELCA Day Retreat

Gather, Rest and Renew

We are sponsoring a spiritual retreat at the campus of the United Lutheran Seminary in Mount Airy on Saturday October 14 from 9:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Retreat, Gather, Rest and Renew, is open to all women over 15, not just members of WELCA. The aim is to give us the opportunity to become more aware of God’s presence in our lives and in our world.

The Reverend Leslie Richard will lead us in a time of sharing, prayer, discussion, and contemplative exercises. Rev. Rishard is a trained Spiritual Director with a Master of Arts in Holistic Spirituality.

For more information and registration forms: Women Retreat Invite and Registration.

SEPa Women of the ELCA 2023 Gathering

The theme of our 2023 Gathering was Celebrate. We celebrated the history of our Lutheran heritage and history. We met at Augustus Lutheran Church, the oldest actively used Lutheran Church building in America.

Linda Garcia opened our program by sharing some of the history of WELCA and what ministry we have done in the past and are doing today.

She mentioned the founding of the first Lutheran orphanage in the Delaware Valley. Elizabeth Schaeffer founded the Germantown Orphans’ Home in 1859. Our second speaker, Amanda Bryant, gave us history of how the orphanage became the Silver Springs Martin Luther School which is now part of Gemma services. The school serves students who need emotional support. Our in-kind offering, donated to Gemma services, was over 400 items of girls’ and boys’ socks and underwear.

Our third speaker, Jennifer Wentworth, shared the history of the original Augustus Lutheran Church (a.k.a. The Old Trappe Church – the oldest unaltered Lutheran Church in America) which was designed by Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. The church was constructed in 1743 and consecrated in 1745. It was designated as a national historic landmark in 1967. We got the opportunity to see the see the church and sit in the pews and try to imagine sitting there in the middle of winter with no heat.

For more information, The Voice, August 2023

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Resources

Contact Information:

Linda Garcia, President Email:

Joy Grace, Vice President Email:

Helen Dungan, Secretary Email:

Carolyn Edwards, Treasurer Email:

Dale O’Hara, Board Email:

Joan Seader, Board Email:

Sandra Zimmerman, Board mail:

MinistryLink