Celebrating Bold Women’s Day

by Women of the ELCA

Women of the ELCA’s annual Bold Women’s Day is Sunday, February 23, 2014. When it comes to celebrating Bold Women’s Day, let your imagination and creativity take the lead. Involve the women of your congregational unit or invite all the women of your congregation to participate. You can expand your celebrations to include women of other congregations or throughout your community. We’ve collected up some ideas as a starting point. See where your bold thinking takes you in celebrating Bold Women’s Day 2014.

• Make friendship bracelets (often made with floss — do a Google search for directions), with several generations involved. Bless the bracelets before you start trading or giving away the bracelets as a sign of friendship.
• Gather at table for brunch, lunch, tea or dinner, including a remembrance of bold women. This could be in a home, at church or in a restaurant. It could be a potluck. Alternately, you could prepare a meal for a women’s shelter, providing the women with much needed items (feminine hygiene products, for instance).
• Another crafty idea: have a card-making party … then send out the cards to bold women to honor them, letting them know you’ve prayed for them.
• Sponsor a Mom’s Day Off for women in your community, especially single moms), offering childcare for two or three hours.
• Engage in a study of a bold woman, living or dead, ordinary or extraordinary, local or far away.
• Bring a bold woman friend along to any event that’s planned.
• Hold a prayer vigil; pray for girls and women in different stages of their lives at different hours.
• Raise, study and act upon one of the following issues: gender-based violence, education, pay equity, self-esteem, homelessness, rape culture, trafficking.
• Read and study the Global Gender Gap Report 2013.
• Host a retreat (on one of the issues above or using one or more Women of the ELCA resources).
• Hold an event or activity that is especially designed for one of these combos: mother/daughter, grandmother/granddaughter, aunt/niece.
• Host a listening event for the Justice & Women: One in Christ social statement process