My Dearly Beloved Sisters:

This is a much delayed follow-up to the WOW conference, last June in Chicago.....

There is so much I want/need to say in this BLOG. I decided that one of the first things I need to deal with are the writings by the Sisters at the WOWPC (World of Women Praying Conference in Chicago this past June, which was conceived of and organized by Reverend Dr.  Cecelia Williams-Bryant.)   It was, in a word, AWESOME! Reverend C asked me to be the Dean of the Beverly Thomas College of the Sacred Arts.  I agreed, but it was her vision and her force and prayers, with the blessings of God, that made it all come together. 

The Adversary was MAD---so all kinds of obstacles were thrown in the way.  How dare we attempt to bring together women from all over the world to PRAY, support and encourage one another, and DEMONSTRATE GOD’s GLORY?!!  First, we had to get there. For my part, I went to the airport in San Francisco on Wednesday morning.  I wanted to get there a day ahead so I could rest and prepare.  The airport was a madhouse, and after a day of frustrations and delays, I finally went back home.  The next day, the day the conference began, I tried again, arriving at the airport in the morning, my flight due in Chicago in the late afternoon. The flight eventually took off, but we ended up circling Chicago for almost an hour before landing in Milwaukee because the plane was running out of gas! We finally landed in Chicago at 8:00PM.  I didn’t get to the hotel till almost 9.  I was exhausted.  Additionally, Margaret Musgrove had called to say she couldn’t come because her best friends’ son had been badly injured in an accident. She asked me to fill in for her.  Luckily, Lucretia and Helen had conducted her first workshop on Thursday afternoon.  Lou had also been delayed out of Philly the day before because of bad weather.  She’d had to spend the night at an airport motel. It was crazy, but like I said, the Adversary was upset. All of these powerful women and prayer warriors were converging in one place and of one purpose.  There is wondrous working power!

I conducted Margaret’s workshop, “Inspirational Writing for Others.”   I decided to read from a journal I recently found, written in 1989 at a women’s literacy and writing conference, Reverend Cecelia had organized in Sierra Leone, W. Africa.  The group was called Women of Kente Cloth. Margaret had been there too and had conducted several of the writing workshops. There were school and church visits, lectures, sermons, writing sessions, crafts,  journaling and sacred dance workshops, we sang and worshipped and “wrote what the Spirit says.”  I shared one of my poems, entitled,”A Prayer Poem:

I asked GOD for Clarity,

to give me that clear vision;

that true sight that pierces

this material illusion, to Myself.

Then I sat impatiently

by the window,

Waiting.

Asked GOD for Clarity,

repeatedly

Thought I heard a soft reply,

somewhere in the back of my head:

“BE YE NOT ANXIOUS SPIRITS, 

BUT IN HUMBLE SUPPLICATION...”

Yet

Still I sat, anxiously

Waiting.

I

begged

GOD

To 

Give 

Me 

C

L

A

R

I

T

Y

*

Clean and pure like prisms or 

Raindrops as they cling to my eyelash

As pure as tears and clear.

God answered, again

Gave me

another POEM.

Nashormeh Lindo 

11 August 1989

Hotel Bintumani

Sierra Leone, 

West Africa

We talked about the kinds of things we write for others. One of the writng assignments we’d had in Sierra Leone was to write a letter to a woman back at home.  Everyone silently wrote to someone they loved. We decided to experiment, writing our impressions of our environment.  Then we worked on writing Haiku poetry. A Haiku is a Japanese form of writing poetry that has the beat/structure of 5/7/5.  In other words there are three lines and each line has a set number of syllables (beats) .  The first line has five beats, the second, seven and the third line has seven syllable or beats, hence 5/7/5.

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We had a great time reading and composing Haikus of our sensory observations and Prayer Haikus. At my request, some of the sisters sent me their writings for the Blog. So finally....  Here are samples of a wonderful exercise and discussion we had on “Inspirational Writing for Others,” written by sisters who participated in the workshop at the World of Women Prayer Convocation, in Chicago, June 2013.

(1)

1. The sky has white clouds

      They are turning grey before the rain

      Rain is now pouring down.

2. God help me please

     Prayers with ears to hear from you

     Listen to God and cheer.

3. Women of God Pray

      Tell him what is on your heart

      He will hear always

     Your love and your pain

     Know to god you have no shame

     God's love is the same.

by Gwendolyn (B.) Williams 

(2)

It makes me joyous,

Being here with sister friends,

Sharing loveliness!

Prayer poem~

Thanks Heavenly One!

You give us love, peace, and joy!

We all say amen!

Blessings to you,

From T. W. Bradford 

(3)

Everything is still.

The city has come to pause.

How I love the rain!

Prayer Haiku:

Heal us as you do.

And bless us as you see fit.

Keep us. Inshallah.

-Aisha’s Haiku

(4)

Her crowning glory,

and so glorious it is!

Each twist holds wisdom.

Come Lord Jesus Come

In all you splendor and might

Come make all things right

Blessings,

Lisa 

(5)

The crystal stair is real

They may wind and twist and turn

But God guides me up.

Oh God hear my prayer

It is being said in Thanks

Oh God hear my Prayer.

On the Crystal Stair,

-Alma C. Powell

Olivet A.M.E.

South Bend, IN

(6)

Haiku #1

The window is huge

bringing light into my world

so that I may shine!

Haiku #2

My GOD Almighty

from whom all my blessings flow,

I give thanks to you!

~ Lucretia Coleman

(7)

My name is Cora.

I live in Indiana.

I have enjoyed this.

A Prayer Poem

Prayer is powerful.

Thank you for prayer, Lord of All.

Help us stay in you.

~ by Cora

(8)

Pray for world peace now.

Pray for all of the children.

Thank God for all my blessings.

~Emma Breckenridge

   Elkhart, Indiana

(9)

Prayer is a rare jewel

That shimmers in the sunshine.

We glow when we pray.

(10)

I saw a rainbow

Showing bright in a sky cloud

It glowed God’s promise

Peace and Blessings

~Nashormeh Lindo

June, 2013