Womaen’s Caucus interviewed candidates for the 2020 deferred and 2021 ballots which will be voted on by Annual Conference delegates in July. We asked the same questions for each position, plus one unique question based on something we read in the candidate’s profile. See all the candidates we interviewed here.
mission & ministry board
Barbara datÉ
You are a candidate for membership in a critical leadership group within the Church of the Brethren. What do you believe are the most significant leadership needs within the denomination over the next five years?
coming soon!
You can also learn more about Barbara through a podcast interview and check out the college newspaper she cofounded (scroll to the bottom)
mission & ministry board
lee-lani wright
You are a candidate for membership in a critical leadership group within the Church of the Brethren. What do you believe are the most significant leadership needs within the denomination over the next five years?
To continue to remind people that we have inherited a spiritual legacy that intentionally side-steps, with God’s help, being caught up in the net of whatever fear the current culture and political context immerses itself in. Reminding each other to be on constant look-out for how we might join God’s activity, already in action, rather than coerce the direction of that activity.
How do the statements and actions of MMB respond to these needs?
I need to learn more about this.
What resources do you bring to this work?
A significant resource for me, not to be overlooked by work experience, is a serene home site by a small river, where I often regain balance and perspective. I also have years of experience on the multi-denominational Hymnal Project, continuing collaborative work with multi-faith entities on various Bible study curricula, service on Standing committee with people from all over the denomination, with the Board of the Pacific Northwest District, and years of working in spiritual care and psychology with people with severe and persistent trauma and mental health challenges at Oregon State Hospital.
What additional resources/support are needed for you and/or MMB to serve the denomination in fulfilling its mission?
Colleagues who are also willing to support each other in stepping outside fears of conflict and dissolution, and who are on a collective search for joining the stream of God’s activity.
Tell us about a context in which you are/were a minority (longer than a weeklong workcamp).
This question likely is about being an ethnic minority, yet as a person now living on the west coast, I feel like a minority for the past 20 years in my own chosen denomination. Since I am a woman working mostly with men who find themselves at some of the lowest points in their lives, I am a minority in my daily employment. Having grown up (and continuing) in a family of multi-racial adoptees, I experience vicariously the stressors of racism my family members meet on a daily basis.
What gives you energy/purpose to be part of the Church of the Brethren?
The rituals of commitment and service, the genius of historic threads honoring individual conscience checked and moderated by community wisdom.