International Association of Women Ministers
Office of the President
150 Andrus Drive
Freedom, PA 15042 USA
December 2022
Dear sisters in ministry,
“A voice cries out:
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.”
— Isaiah 40:3
God called John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus. As part of the preparation, God declared that every valley would be lifted up and every mountain and hill be made low. What mountains and valleys are you wrestling with in your life at this time? We long for these situations to become more manageable. As a world we face many barriers to peace and harmony. In our personal lives we regularly face any number of challenges from health struggles, interpersonal conflicts and difficulties in our places of ministry. We long for God to smooth the way, for us and for all..
During this season of Advent, we are invited to wait and prepare. We prepare our hearts and minds for Jesus’ birth when we pray, read scripture, worship, sit in silence to listen to God, serve in love, work towards justice and peace, and when we are in fellowship with siblings in Christ. May the Holy Spirit prepare our hearts and minds to receive Jesus’ presence in our lives anew this Christmas.
God also calls us to prepare the way for Jesus. Let us prepare the way for Jesus in our own hearts and in the world around us. How can you share God’s hope with someone this month? Where can you smooth out the way for someone else?
As sisters of IAWM we can pray for one another and our ministries. Our prayer calendar invites us into praying for one another and to let our sisters know with a little email note that we are doing so. What a wonderful way to uplift and encourage one another!
At our assembly in Karlsruhe this summer we have begun to dream some new dreams to prepare the way of the Lord among us. We are envisioning IAWM to become more diverse in our leadership to fully represent many places in our world. Our new IAWM board includes members from Barbados, Canada, India, Kenya, Korea, Puerto Rico, Switzerland and the United States, and I am so grateful for our sisters who have agreed to serve. We also dreamed the dream to connect digitally in between our in- person assemblies – so please keep your eyes and ears open to see what may evolve in 2023. Our next assembly will be held in 2024. Please look for more information in our next newsletter.
In the wilderness of our world and our lives the way of the Lord is being prepared. Thanks be to God!
May you have a blessed Advent and Christmas season,
Margarethe Galbraith-Cordes
IAWM President
pastor.galbraithcordes@gmail.com