Celebrating Shine Women

by Linda Beher

Shine Women: Kim Hallowell, Casimira Rodríguez and Christy Tate Smith. Credit:  Mike DuBose/UMNS and Paul Jeffrey/Response.

Carpe diem - seize the day - might be the motto of any one of the three Shine Women who spoke at Assembly.

"A Shine Woman pays close attention to the challenges and opportunities that arise where she lives and seizes moments to be a concrete witness to God's love and grace in her time and place," said Jan Love, chief executive of the Women's Division.          

The three - Kim Hallowell, a college student working to eliminate child labor; Casimira Rodríguez, activist and Bolivian minister of justice; and Christy Tate Smith, disaster response expert - have taken ordinary actions in extraordinary circumstances.
Plan to share their witness at home as inspiration to others. Locate their stories in the Assembly program book, page 42. Feature a quote from each:

• Kim Hallowell: "United Methodist Women, through its Reading Program, opened my eyes to the suffering that some of my younger global sisters and brothers endure."
• Casimira Rodríguez: "From the church, I have learned to not be a coward and to continue going forward with the Lord's support."
• Christy Tate Smith: "God wants all survivors of a disaster to walk away whole. If you see me shining, it's because of them."

Create a meditation on what makes ordinary women in your unit shine with extraordinary grace.  Take time to celebrate them.