So what?

Your churchwide board did an exercise at a recent meeting, and it was a revelation. It was also hilariously funny – you might try it sometime.

The group paired off. In each pair, one woman was to tell the other one sentence about Women of the ELCA, and the other was to ask, “So what?” The first woman would answer, and the other would ask again, “So what?” And this was to go on for two minutes, with the asker limited to those two words. Then they’d trade places.

It sounds simple, but the point (besides a lot of laughter) was clear. All of us can use this exercise to uncover why our community of women is important to us, and to help us find words to tell another person about it. When we tell others why something’s important to us, they generally want to come and see for themselves.

If someone asked you “So what?” what would you say? How about if the question was “So what are you going to about it?”

Today we remember Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino (d. round 540). This message is adapted from a monthly online stewardship devotion by Audrey Novak Riley.