| Women learn to find grace in unexpected places BY CHRISTINE KUMARUMCONNECTION STAFF 
More than 40 women from throughout the Baltimore Washington Conference found Grace in Unexpected Places, when they attended the annual spring event of the Commission on the Status and Role of Women March 27 at the conference center. In the Baltimore-Washington Conference, women make up two-thirds of the members of local churches, according to figures supplied by COSROW. The theme of the day was appropriate, especially since the Rev. Ruth Ann Ward, keynote speaker, was ill and could not attend. Linda Worthington, chairwoman of COSROW for the past eight years, stated that plan Z had to be put into service at the last minute. Worship leader, the Rev. Frances Stewart, pastor of the Damascus Friendship Charge, led the plenary in place of Ward. She shared the story from the Gospel of Luke about the sinful woman who washed Jesus feet. Stewart emphasized how the womans life had meaning and purpose after meeting Jesus. The Rev. Sheila McCurdy, pastor of Mt. Olive UMC in Randallstown, closed the event by speaking of her struggle to fight for the rights of blacks and women in the church, especially through the civil rights movement in the 1960s and 70s. Women need to be leaders and tell their stories, she said, so that future generations can be empowered. McCurdy also spoke about raising her children in a bi-racial world that is working to accept and understand diversity. The Feminine Mystique, led by sisters Jane Barss and Lou Witherite, and Paulette Jones, one of three workshops offered, focused on the stigma associated with being a church lady. Do church women wear hats? Are they old? Do they seem judgmental? And are they always in the church kitchen cooking and baking? were some of the questions asked in the workshop. Ideas and suggestions were made on how to break out of the mold. The second workshop, Sisters: A Bible Study for Women, led by the Rev. Patricia Sebring, pastor of Otterbein UMC in Hagerstown, saw participants refer to the Bible for moral courage and strength and how to identify and receive sanctifying grace. The third workshop, Im so mad I could was taught by Sumayya Coleman, legislative advocate for the conference, who gave insights and statistics on domestic violence and how the local church can create safe spaces for women. Coleman said that women can be helped and not everyone in the church needs to know about it. She suggested that pastors should talk about healthy family life from the pulpit and raise the issue in prayer. We can take what we heard to our local churches, said Carolyn Berner, president of United Methodist Women at Trinity UMC in the Annapolis District. At the annual conference session in May, COSROW will present its findings from a clergy survey taken last year. The survey, Worthington said, focused on retention, remuneration and mobility of clergywomen. | 
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