Members attending the 22nd Annual Conference of the International Association of Adventist Women were warmly welcomed to the Andrews University campus at the opening session, Thursday evening, October 14, by University President Niels-Erik Andreasen. The conference programming explored the theme, “The Woman Next to Me: Different Paths, Common Journey” in the plenary sessions and workshops, all of which were held in the newly renovated Seminary Chapel and new classrooms.

Plenary Sessions
Thursday Evening, Oct. 14. In her opening address, “The Woman Next to Me Laid the Foundation,” Dr. Meredith Jones Gray (professor of English, AU) focused on several pioneering Adventist women whose crucial roles in establishing and staffing Emmanuel Missionary College (precursor to Andrews University), as well as serving in other Adventist institutions of higher education and in missions, set a high standard of professionalism and service to the church. Among these women was Sallie Brailliar Sutherland, a graduate of Battle Creek College, who, along with her husband Edward, helped start Walla Walla College; then returned to serve at Battle Creek College. Bessie DeGraw, a colleague of the Sutherlands and a member of the three person administration team (along with Edward Sutherland and Percy Magan) of Battle Creek College was involved in moving the school to Berrien Springs and changing the name to Emmanuel Missionary College. She taught, served as registrar, and wrote extensively for a paper, The Advocate of Christian Education, which she, Sutherland and Magan had launched. Dr. Maria Loughborough Edwards, one of the first Adventist women to do post-graduate work in science, taught biology. Nellie Rankin Druillard, known affectionately as “Mother D,” came to EMC to serve as its chief financial officer, after a long career which included being superintendent of schools in Boulder, Colorado, tract society secretary of the Nebraska Conference, bookkeeper in Cape Town, South Africa, and helping to found Solusi Mission. These and other women developed their talents to serve the church and the world at large with a passion which they passed on to their students and is still evident among church women today. They laid a foundation of leadership and service.

Friday Morning, Oct. 15. “The Woman Next to Me Is a Muslim.” Sometimes the woman next to us is following a path not well known to us. Friday morning’s speaker, Karen Danielson is such a woman. She is the vice-chair of the Public Education and Outreach Department of the Muslim American Society in Chicago. Besides presenting the five pillars of Islam: 1) the Shahadah (“There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His Prophet”), 2) Pray five times a day, 3) Charity, 4) Observation of Ramadan, a month of fasting (coincidentally Oct 15 was the first day of Ramadan), and 5) Once in your life, make a pilgrimage to Mecca, Karen shared her journey into Islam. Born into a Catholic home, as a teenager Karen became a Baptist and later attended a Bible college. While there, she began reading the Koran and eventually converted to the religion. She, her Muslim husband and five children live in Chicago. Her presentation was followed by a lively question and answer period. The topics ranged from the treatment of women in Islam, the Muslim view of the devil, women’s dress requirements, God’s grace, to the possibility of democracy in Islamic countries. When the session was over, several AAW members continued to dialogue with her for an hour.

Friday Afternoon, Oct. 15. “The Woman Next to Me Is the Future of the Church.” Dr. Monique Pittman (Asst. Professor of English, AU), moderated a panel of engaging undergraduate and graduate women students: Vanessa Corredera, Kimberly Hucks, Carin Reinsch, and Claudette Prieto, who discussed the ways the church has nurtured them, how they serve the church and how the church can empower its young women. Among the ways the church has nurtured: by providing a sense of community, a cultural sense of belonging; fostering ideas, fellowship and leadership; church women and college teachers providing mentoring; and, unlike her home country, her American church community encouraged one panel member to fulfill her dream of studying for ministry. Areas where we could improve the church: adults can give opportunities to more young people, even the timid ones, to get up front in a variety of roles; don’t limit women to only certain roles in the church; don’t have a double standard on sexuality, hold both genders accountable; and the leadership in the church needs to reflect its constituency, it needs to be diverse including in gender. When asked, What are the greatest challenges for the church in the next 20 years? One answer was how to maintain our identity while still being accepting of others and not being overly judgmental. Another challenge is what to do about young people leaving the church. The group gave several suggestions: give young people a voice, representation in leadership; help them get involved, building connections; don’t think of young people as the church of tomorrow, but as the church of today! Sometimes our church is too cognitive, empower young people to act, to experience Christ, not shove religion down their throats. Help them to be resilient under scrutiny: it’s OK to disagree, we don’t always have to see eye to eye on every issue, but let’s continue the dialogue. When asked how they see themselves as fitting into the church in the future, the answers included, “In whatever ministry God calls me to.” “I want to be a college professor, to interact with intellectuals who are still spiritual.” “Be to others what some have been to me, I want to mentor someone,” and, finally, “I don’t know what I’m going to be, but whatever I choose I intend to integrate my faith into my profession.”

Friday Evening, Oct. 15. The Agape Supper was a feast of international food, music, and spiritual journeys. Arlyn Kim Drew, MD, MDiv and mother of six young children, spoke on “Redeemed, Reclaimed and Respected: The Spiritual Journey of the Woman Next to Me.” In her homily, Arlyn spoke movingly about the very different spiritual journeys of Ruth, Esther and Miriam, as well as her own. Taking us through the details of each journey, she challenged and expanded our view of God and His work of salvation. Following the homily, two other speakers recounted their spiritual journeys. Demetra Andreasen’s journey was both physical and spiritual - Greece as a Greek Orthodox to Newbold College and Adventism, and finally to the United States and marriage to a young Danish seminary student and a life of service to the church and community - a journey filled with God’s leading and caring people. Marilyn Youngblood, presently a Seminary student, focused her testimony on the last few years, on how God led her to ministry. The prompting of God came while she was working in France for a UN agency and continued during her vacation trip home to the US one year. As Marilyn recounted each step of her journey, God’s guidance was evident and inspiring. The planners of the supper had supplied a feast of stories, but there was one more to share. The attendees were asked to pair up with someone at their table and take turns sharing some aspect of their spiritual journeys with one another: a dessert to the feast!

SABBATH & SATURDAY EVENING. Sabbath was a day of rest and/or activity; a day of choices.

One option was the trip to Battle Creek and the Adventist Heritage Village. Hosts Drs. Herald and Donna Habenicht met a full minibus of eager travelers at 8:15 Sabbath morning for a full day of fellowship and exploration of denominational roots.

Among the many SS options, Margaret Turner, chaplain, led an AAW discussion group in Chan Shun Hall.

Of the many worship options available, most members went to All Nations Church to hear Pastor Leslie Bumgardner.

Woman of the Year Awards Banquet. Early on Sabbath evening, women and men gathered at candle lit tables in Chan Shun lobby to eat, to socialize, and, most importantly, to celebrate the lives and work of seven diverse and very special women - Georgia Carter, Dr. Jasmine Jacob, Dr. Lynette Carrington Cox, Dr. Patricia Foster, Dr. Andrea Luxton, Dr. Marilyn Savedra, and Rhonda Whitney. The program was coordinated by Melody Bennett-Gayle. It was inspiring not only to view the CD interview of each honoree, but also to see them receive a personal tribute and award in real time and talk with them afterwards.

Sunday Morning. Oct. 17. In the final plenary session, “The Woman Next to Me Is a Missionary,” Ann Cooper Hamel & Ruth DePaiva shared their inspiring separate and interwoven stories of the joy and pain that being a missionary bring. Though they did not meet one another until much later, the similarities of their early adult lives is striking. Both began mission service shortly after their marriages at the age of 21: Ruth and Itamar DePaiva in the Amazon; Ann and Adrian Cooper in Burundi and then to Rwanda. In the summer of 1990, Ann and Adrian along with their three sons took a vacation to Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River. On the way back, as they went around a mountain curve, their car was hit head on by a truck. Four days later, Ann regained consciousness in a Belgium hospital, her husband dead and buried in Africa with their two older sons as the only family members at his funeral, and her youngest son in critical care 4 floors below her in the hospital. In the same year, Ruth and Itamar received a call to Liberia, Africa. Ruth began coming to Andrews in the summers and finished her PhD in Religious Education (Family Emphasis) eight years later. After finding herself a widow, Ann realized that Africa didn’t need a widow with 3 boys; she had lost her home, her role as wife, her way of life. She and her sons came to Berrien Springs, seeking community; they found God’s love breaking through their overwhelming grief, and began to rebuild their lives. In 1994, Ann completed an MA in Counseling Psychology. She began dating Dr. Loren Hamel, and they were married in 1995, blending seven children into one family. She continued her studies and received a PhD in Counseling Psychology and practices in Berrien Springs. On Dec. 23, 2003, Ann received a call from the GC, asking her to leave for Palau immediately to minister to the surviving daughter of a missionary family which had been murdered. The family was the family of Ruth’s son Ruimar. Ann flew out on Christmas day and met Ruth, Itamar and Melissa. The funeral was a national funeral - many officials in Palau are Adventists, including the queen - in a large stadium packed with government officials, church members, even the mother of the murderer. When Ruth heard that she asked the mother to come up to the platform; she hugged her saying, “We are two mothers grieving for lost sons.” And then Ruth asked the audience not to hold the sin of the son against the mother. Ann Hamel testified that she had never felt the power of the Holy Spirit so strongly as that day; “the power of forgiveness was palpable.” And now Ruth and Itamar are performing an important mission, that of raising their granddaughter in Berrien Springs, a place she wants to be, with the people that mean the most to her.

Conference Workshops
Friday Workshops. Long considered one of the highlights of the annual AAW Conference, the workshops and seminars allow for a diversity of talents and needs to be fulfilled. This year’s conference was no different. Following is a brief sketch of each one presented.

Morning Sessions:

The Woman Next to Me is My Pastor. Presenter: Leslie Bumgardner, Associate Pastor, Walla Walla College Church. Leslie discussed her dissertation research on 11 SDA women pastors with significant length of service with a focus on the reasons they remain in pastoral ministry. Among her preliminary findings are: God provides them with church members who reinforce their ministry; they have a strong identity as pastors (“I have no choice, if I left ministry I would be disobeying God); and their families are supportive.

The Woman Next to Me Is a Care-giver and Care-needer. Presenters: Karen Alford (recently bereaved care-giver), Linda Fearnow (Community Information Manager, Area Agency on Aging), and Jan Wrenn (social work professor, AU) talked about the basics and practice of care giving, including the needs of the care-giver.

The Woman Next to Me: Feeding the Inner Self. Presenters: Delcy Kuhlman (adjunct faculty–SDA Seminary) and Iris Landa (Director of Academic Advising & Orientation, LSU). Delcy focused on spiritual retreats in her presentation, “God’s Call to Time with Him.” Iris presented “Journey of Joy: Creating a Sacred Space and a Happy Room.”

Afternoon Sessions:

The Woman Next to Me Is an Artist. Coordinators: Linda Mack (Music Librarian, AU), Rhonda Root (Assoc. Prof. of Architecture, AU) & Beverly Stout (Media Relations, AU) introduced us to musicians--Blythe Owen, Carla Trynchuk, Julia Linsay; writers-- Kyla Marden-Steinkraus, Meredith Jones Gray, Terri Fivash; visual artists– Valerie Boger, Karen Hopkins, and Madeline Johnston. Their personal artistic journeys were illuminated by discussion of the creative process and personal fulfillment, as well as performances, reading, and viewing of their artistic creation.

The Woman Next to Me Deserves to be Honored. Presenters: Kit Watts (Director of Communication, SE Cal Conference) & Stella Greig (Chair, Dept. of English, AU) engaged the audience in discussing the “Why?” and “How to” of planning public events to honor women.

The Woman Next to Me: Take Control of Your Financial Life. Presenter: Ann Gibson (Dean of The School of Business, AU) discussed practical issues regarding personal finance that every woman needs to know.

Music at the Conference
With the exception of the concurrent workshops, every program was enhanced by music. Linda Mack, AU music librarian, coordinated a rich variety of music and performers.

The Gane family - Seminary professors, Roy Gane (pianist) and Constance Gane (violinist), and their eighth grade daughter, Sarah (violinist and pianist) - played separately and together. The youngest musician to play was violinist Isobel Ong (6th grader) whose stirring solo of “The Holy City” was accompanied by her sister, Wen-Ting Ong. on the piano. Pianist Ellen Hwangbo played “Be Still My Soul.”

Two rather unusual solo instruments were included in program. Camisha Ruffins played Barat’s “Introduction and Dance” on the tuba Friday morning, and Takako Matychuk played the koto (a traditional Japanese instrument) during the Agape Supper prelude as well as special music, “Glory of God of the Spring.”

Julia Lindsay, soprano and Director of Vocal Studies at AU, sang “Eternal Life” during the opening program, Thursday evening. Soprano Marguerite Brennen, senior BMus in Music Education, appropriately preceded the spiritual journey stories at the Agape Supper with, “It Takes Everything to Serve the Lord.” And finally, Canto Dulcis - vocalists Julia Lindsay, Asta Sakala LaBianca, and Linda Mack - sang during the WOYA Banquet: ‘There is no Rose,” and “King Jesus Hath a Garden.”

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