Columbia-Willamette Women of Vision

November 2022

Holidays often include times of remembering. Because so many things about Thanksgiving are the same each year, my memories tend to blend together. It is a kaleidoscope of a familiar scene with variations. I remember my mother preparing the cranberry sauce, the sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes and basting the turkey. I remember helping to set the table with a linen tablecloth, the "good" plates and silverware. It was magical. Many of the traditions were ones I brought into our marriage and still enjoy.

I remember the small wax pilgrim man and woman candles that were part of the centerpiece. We never burned the candles—just had them as a reminder that early pilgrims gave thanks for simple and essential things like surviving the winter and a first harvest. They were also a reminder that members of my father’s family were among the earliest Quakers to arrive in Pennsylvania. 

In addition to remembering past holidays and enjoying the present one, Thanksgiving provides me a time to be thankful for how I have been blessed over the past year and that I have hope for the coming year. I don’t know what the next year will bring, but I know that God has invited me to walk with him into the future. No matter what happens, the promise of his presence and his purpose are sure. 

For many girls, women and families in the world, remembering past holidays may not elicit either positive memories or hope. The good news is that this month we have ways to share hope both locally and internationally. Locally, our Connections Team has introduced us to the organization Every Child Oregon and has invited chapter members to fill Launch Boxes. These boxes are filled with essential items that help youth to get established as they age out of foster care. Internationally, the funds our chapter provides help provide resources for World Vision projects in Central America, in Kenya and in places around the world facing natural and man-made emergencies. Those resources are bringing current assistance as well as opening doors for girls, women and families to believe in the possibility of a vision for the future.

This Thanksgiving, I hope you will enjoy memories of past Thanksgivings and will also have a new reason for thanksgiving, knowing that you are bringing hope for the future to some person you will never meet but whom God knows and loves. 

Wishing you Thanksgiving blessings,

Ruth Nottingham

Columbia-Willamette Co-Chair

Screen shots from worldvision.org

Pray with us

“Give thanks, with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One.

Give thanks because he’s given Jesus Christ, his son.”

So go the lyrics to a familiar praise song. It occasionally enters my head, especially at this time of the year. Thanksgiving is our annual celebration of gratitude. For many, there is just a general feeling of thankfulness, but for me, I want to direct my thanks to someone.

From the very first Thanksgiving in 1623, the governor of the early Massachusetts colony, William Bradford, called for this time of gathering to give thanks to God for his provision for them during those first difficult years. (Link here to read his proclamation.) I, too, want to thank God. I thank God for all the good in my life, but I am also learning to give thanks in the bumpy places, not for the circumstance itself, but for what God will do with it and how he will carry me through it. This is the kind of thanks offered by many of the people we help in our Women of Vision projects. Their lives are so often challenging in the extreme, but they also can see God at work and walking alongside them. God dearly loves the poor and wants us to love them, as well.

So as we celebrate our Thanksgivings in abundance and peace, may we also pray for:

• the young women helped by the Kenya Big Dream project
• the Central America Faith Project as it partners with faith leaders to equip children with the truth of the Gospel and protects families from violence and poverty
• our Global Emergency Response Fund to offer aid in times of disaster around the world

Thank you for joining me in praying for these precious ones. May you have a rich time and remember—there is someone for us to thank!

Giving thanks for all of you,

Jill Sherman

CWWOV Spiritual Life Chair

Calendar

Women of Vision in Action

December 15, 2022

CityTeam Portland

Click here to learn more and sign up

SAVE THE DATE!

A Journey to Hope:

"Travel" with us to communities in Kenya, Central America, and areas struck by disaster where we support World Vision programs.

March 11, 2023 (morning)

Columbia Presbyterian Church

More details coming soon!

Share the Light Gala 2023

April 16, 2023 (evening)

Multnomah Athletic Club

Watch for more details!

About Us

Women of Vision is a volunteer ministry of World Vision that cultivates dynamic partnerships resulting in significant investments of time, talent, and treasure in support of World Vision’s work, facilitating transformational impact in the lives of the poor and our supporters in the name of Christ. Please partner with us! Click here to learn what that means and update your commitment for this new year (or for the first time).

The Columbia-Willamette Chapter of Women of Vision supports World Vision's work in Kenya, Central America, and areas around the globe struck by disasters. We also volunteer at many local organizations to help the disadvantaged in our own community. Please read about this work on our website.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.