International women blogs - for daily bread and greater campaigning solidarity

So here this is another post to encourage people to read and leave comments on other blogs.
Today three more blogs - this time with an international flavour.
This week the WCC is holding its UN advocacy week in New York alot of my colleagues from Geneva will be there. However to get a fuller picture of some of the international work involving campaigning by NGOs and others at the UN I've been reading the Ecumenical Women at the United Nations blog for quite a while. There are some fascinating posts there - you can find posts from Cambodia, Kenya and Middle East among other places: comparing the role of women disciples of Jesus and female followers of Martin Luther King; about female condoms, child brides, shopping and fashion justice, the rich poor divide and much more besides. A few months ago the blog adverstised for new writers and as a result posting is much more regular and more diverse than in the past. It's a useful window onto international campaigns but with personal insights from the authors.
One of the new writers there is Paola Salwan, Programme Assistant for Africa, the Middle East and Europe at the World YWCA and co-founder of the blog Café Thawra, The blog is in French and English and offers insights into Middle East issues - a special dossier on the Lebanese communist party, where the left is in Middle East politics, as well as promotion of social entrepreneurship.
The Women's desk at the Lutheran World Federation is preparing for next year's LWF assembly with a blog on Give us Today our Daily Bread. As the women in ministries network prepares to meet on the theme of food for the soul perhaps someone would like to write something for their blog. As the issue of food security moves up the world agenda how do women, who grow, harvest and prepare much of the food eaten in the world, think about food justice and spirituality. I'll admit that as a woman who has spent most of her life eating far too much the "stuffed and starved" agenda is one I find particularly challenging. What does the promise of the heavenly banquet mean to those of us who live in permanent food plenty? Lots of issues around food will develop on the blog as preparations for the assembly in July next year advance, so why not drop by from time to time and join the discussions?

And finally here's a challenge (is there anybody reading these posts?) try to use the comments section here to link to a favourite website, blog or book.
Written by Jane

Blogs about life and ministry, about studies and vocations

After a rather long silence here I thought it might be good to highlight other blogs that might be of interest to women in ministries. This is also a way of encouraging you to try and get a bit more involved in the blog - what are the blogs and sites you enjoy, do you have a book you've recently read? Then why not tell others about it using this blog.
I realise that not everyone is an internet and communications addict like me but it's important to try and use this space a bit more - especially in the run up to the meeting in Windermere in January.
Anyway here's an intro to a couple of blogs I enjoy - this blog has a permanent link to all of them.

Sunday's Coming is a blog where Ruth Whitehead "thinks about preaching". She posts most of her sermons and when she has time she also shows her workings and reflections as she works towards Sunday each week. I've just been reading through her struggle with coughs and colds, multiple carol services, funerals and all the rest through Advent last year. What I like about this blog is that it's not flashy or gimmicky - very pared down and Reformed in many ways - here's a woman simply getting on with ministry in an ecumenical setting. It really allows for insights into the weekly struggle with the biblical text and the church context. It's down to earth, the sermons are good and it's a great example of using the blog to add a bit of extra value and after-life to the work of writing sermons many of us are involved in. Also if you are having a bit of a sermon crisis Ruth often posts her sermons early so you can go there for late Saturday night inspiration too!

Rachel Marszalek blogs at Re vis.e Re form. Rachel is training for the Anglican ministry at St John's in Nottingham. Since starting her training she blogs nearly daily about the lectures and courses she attends and her own thoughts, prayer life and spirituality. Before that she wrote about her vocation and work with children and young people as a volunteer in her local parish - amongst many other things. She writes a great deal about the Bible which has got her into the top 50 biblioblogs. I blog quite regularly but Rachel really blogs an enormous amount - even with essay crises and all the rest, it's very impressive. I like reading Rachel because the way she speaks about her faith, her experience of God are so very different from mine. She is a charismatic but not a conservative evangelical. She's also committed to the role of women in the Anglican church and follows the synod discussions about women bishops with refreshing thoughtfulness and commitment. Reading her I am often reminded about how intent the Church of England is to try to hold the diversity of the church together and how hard it is for people within it to sometimes find the way to their convictions as a result. Rachel's blog is a useful reality check for me, showing me how much the churches have changed in the 20 years since I left the UK. I love her fresh approach and enthusiasm - a great antidote to my cynicism. Hope you will also enjoy reading it.

And finally for now a plug for Kate Grey's Breadbreaker blog which I imagine will be a bit quiet now that she is on maternity leave. The blog mainly highlights a few of the events and some of the work in St Mark's Wythenshawe. I particularly enjoy the photos and the links to the messy church events. Lots of great ideas so why not visit and and perhaps get inspired to start your own blog - even if you only post once a month it can be a great resource for community and church work.
posted by Jane.

Beginning to blog with the United Reformed Church's women in ministry group

This is a blog where people attending the women in ministry session at the United Reformed Church's Windermere Centre can introduce themselves and try out blogging. Please bear in mind that they have me, Jane Stranz as their teacher and I am hardly a techie, so we'll see how we get on!
The rest of you are more than welcome to leave us ideas and links in the comments section. We'd really like to hear from other women bloggers involved in Christian ministry.
Anyway this is just an introductory post to set something up for us before we all arrive in sunny-snowy Windermere tomorrow.