LWML Resources - Magazine

Summer 2013
My Hidden Self

From the Editor ...

During a recent night flight, clouds parted in time for me to see an "old friend." Looking north as the plane passed over Des Moines, I tapped hubby Richard's shoulder and declared, "There's Ames!"

Ames, Iowa. The site of the first LWML Convention I attended, back in 1985.

There were lots of firsts on that trip for that barely 30-year-old. Not only was it my first solo plane ride, leaving behind my husband and then-5-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, but it was also the first time I had journeyed west of Buffalo, New York. Another first: being surrounded by thousands of Lutheran women and experiencing "LWML culture."

I slipped into the rapidly filling arena for Thursday night's Opening Worship Service, climbing up a few levels onto the risers. What a vista! I had never seen 10,000 Lutherans assembled in one place, let alone worshiping together!

After the service, women fell into each other's arems, hugging tightly, while others ran to greet long-lost sisters in Christ. I wove my way through the crowd and headed directly outside, heeding the announcement to enjoy coffee on the plaza.

As I stepped out into the starlit night, I realized that I was the first guest to arrive. My eyes spotted the tables appointed with inviting cups of hot coffee (coffee always tastes so good outdoors, doesn't it?), but first there was a reception line of women in pastel gowns — the LWML Presidents! I recognized each of those faces from reading the Quarterly; one President, however, stood out to me: dressed in exotic, ethnic attire and wearing one-of-a-kind jewelry was Helen Gienapp.

Read the rest of the story!

Nancy Graf Peters
Editor-in-Chief
editor@lwml.org

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