As individuals and through o ur congregational groups, Presbyterials, and Synodicals, the WMS offers leadership to The Presbyterian Church in Canada. The WMS Annual Council meeting, with the theme "Women: Beloved of God," encouraged all of us to recognize the leadership roles taht women have played, and continue to play, within the church and beyond. As we considered women who have led, we were spurred to recognize that we also lead. Through worship, study, discussion, and financial support, the WMS helps to lead our church, particularly with respects to understanding mission and doing justice in God's world. May these reports and stories from Council further encourage all of us to lead and to serve.

Look In, Shout Out
The Council meeting provided a venue for the official launch of Look In, Shout Out, the National Presbyterian Women's Gathering, to be held May 20 to 23, 2011. There is a great deal of excitement about this event. Members of the planning team made a thorough presentation of the wide range of opportunities for fellowship, study, recreation, and relaxation that will be available to the participants at this event. A few of the questions that arose related to the decision to hold the event at The Sheraton Parkway North Convention Centre, rather than at a retreat centre or the campus of a university or college. The planners pointed out that the housing costs for the event are, in fact, less expensive than any other kind of facility. The room rate for conference attendees starts at $99 per night, which covers up to four people. Even with room taxes included, participants could be paying less than $100 for their accomodation for the whole long weekend! There is also great benefit to this facility in that all of aspects of the gathering can be held in one, fully accessible building. There is no walking from residences to buildings with meeting rooms, and then to separate dining halls that has been the experience of commissioners to General Assemblies. By the end of the session, it seemed that all questions were answered and delegates came away from that session with a better understanding of the rationale for the various decisions that were made. There were many conversations about the event, with excitement growing over the worksohps, speakers, and entertainment possibilities. There are resources available to assist people with the costs of the event, includnig a significant discount offered for registrations received before November 15, 2010. The registration booklet, which has beens ent to every WMS group, and to the Clerks of Session in all congregations, has suggestions and contact information for some sources or subsidies. The registration booklet can also be accessed through the WMS website.

Decisions
Plans for the Women's Gathering affected some of the other decisions made by this Council. Instead of the usual three-day residential meeting in May, the next WMS Council Meeting will be a business meeting held on May 19, 2011, the day before the Women's Gathering. The Bible study and mission presentations that are such an integral part of Council meetings will be provided through the Women's Gathering. It was also decided that since WMS staff will be very involved in planning the Women's Gathering, and in order to make travel subsidy monies available to participants in the Gathering, the WMS will not organize any Mission Awareness/Exposure Tours in 2011.

In other WMS business, the current 'Together We Can' projects will be closed off. These projects have been highly successful, with Sunday Schools and congregations joining in the effort -another example of the WMS showing leadership in the church. Proposals for new projects were considered, and direction was given for the development of two new projects which will be launched in the Fall of this year.

Bible Study
An important part of the Council meeting was the opportunity delegates had to deepen their awareness and knowledge of the church by listening to a wide range of presentations.

Rev. Dorcas Gordon led participants through two Bible study sessions, which gave most participants a whole new appreciation of perspective. She began her presentation by displaying an illustration shown here. There are actually two pictures here: one, a young woman wearing a hat with a feather, the other an old woman, with a prominent nose and chin. Both images are in this picture -it depends on the perspective of the person viewing the image. Scholars have pointed out that scripture is the same: interpretation of the text is dependent on perspective. Section 5.4 of Living Faith, our Church's statement of faith, articulates this truth.

Offering a wide range of examples from many different situations, Dr. Gordon shared sotires of how different perspectives have influenced interpretations within our own denomination, and other cultures.

In the first session, delegates were challenged to reconsider the Proverbs 31 description of a good wife in light of our own journeys of faith. The text was originally written by teachers whose task was to teach young men how to mature into responsible adult men who would maintain the status quo. If our goal -as Christians and women -is transformation of the world, then perhaps our question is: "A good WMS member, who can find?" What are the characteristics of a faithful member of our organization, which is dedicated to Jesus' mission in the world? The answer may not hav ebeen found at the Council meeting, but the question can still be a guide for all of us.

In the second session, the focus was on Mark 3:35. Background information about Roman societal structures showed delegates just how revolutionary Jesus was in his time. In stating that "whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother," Jesus was promoting a whole new system of authority. In the rigidly hierarchical world of Rome, brothers and sisters related to one another as equals. The early Christians were counter-cultural. They tried to live in a different way. There is evidence that shows how these efforts were worn down over time. In the books of the New Testament that have been dated after the Gospels and the earliest Epistles, the radical equality of the earliest community is no longer clear.

With Jesus and the first disciples as our model, the WMS continues to encourage the church to live differently. In our time, there is a trend toward more 'personalized' faith -more emphasis on 'me and Jesus'. The WMS, with our focus on reaching out to bring justice and dignity to all people, stands against that trend. We are committed to deepening our faith as individuals through study and worship, bu the goal of our deepened faith is not focussed on ourselves, but on better equipping ourselves and our communities to 'go out into the world'.

The worship services that opened and closed the business each day considerent different women of the bible.