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Women's Day
These are extraordinary times facing our community—times that demand vision, courage, and conviction. That’s why this is no day for the ordinary. This Women’s Day is a celebration unlike any other: an enriching Sunday for the heart, soul, and mind, where we honor the creative agency of Black women who choose to live faithfully over fear.
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This Is No Day for the Ordinary
Women’s Day at Sweet Magnolia is not about women temporarily stepping into roles traditionally held by men. We long ago discarded that narrow thinking. Women’s Day at Magnolia is a sacred interruption. A moment where we stop pretending and start telling the truth. The truth is this: women, especially Black women, are carrying this community, holding it together with faith, wisdom, and sacrifice. And still, too often, they are denied justice.
Our theme, She is Clothed with Strength and Dignity with Justice, is not soft language. It is a demand. Strength that refuses to break. Dignity that will not bow. Justice that will not wait. Proverbs 31 is not describing a quiet woman in the background. It is revealing a woman in motion, a woman with power, a woman whose life disrupts systems and builds something new.
So we gather not just to celebrate, but to confront. Not just to applaud, but to awaken. Not just to remember, but to rise.
We are honored to welcome Attorney Kimberly L. Copeland, a force in the courtroom and a fighter for justice in the real world. She has stood where decisions are made and outcomes are fought for. She knows what it means to press for justice when the odds are not in your favor. She will bring a word for this moment.
Come rooted. Come ready. Come expecting. Wear Rose with Gold and bring your full self. Because this is not a day for the ordinary. This is a day for truth. This is a day for power. This is a day for women to rise.
Special thanks to the Committee: LeAnne Robinson, Chair; Sylvia Tremble; Stacy Taylor; Abby Hill; Guin Lundy; Christina Howard; and First Lady Meca Williams-Johnson.
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Towards Justice — Even in Extraordinary Times Panel
We invite you to a powerful pre-service panel moderated by Attorney Que Campbell before worship begins. This is not just a conversation. It is a call to clarity. Rooted in this year’s theme, She is Clothed with Strength and Dignity with Justice, this panel pushes us beyond surface answers into the deeper work of what justice actually requires in our time.
We gather at a moment when Black women are not only holding families and communities together but also standing on the front lines of justice in law, social work, public service, and the courts. And still, too often, they experience less justice even as they fight to secure it for others. This conversation will name that tension and press toward truth.
So we ask:
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What does it mean to pursue justice when the systems we navigate were not built with us in mind?
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How do Black women lead with strength and dignity while carrying the weight of both service and struggle?
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And what does it look like for our community to not just celebrate women, but to stand with them in the ongoing work of justice?
Come ready to listen. Come ready to reflect. Come ready to rise.
This year marks the 34th anniversary of Delores Williams’s groundbreaking Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk. In honor of that legacy, we gather wisdom from women built in wilderness places who call us to walk by faith—even now—and who lead with power, love, and a sound mind.
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A Church That Lives Its Commitment
In addition to elevating the voices of women during this sacred season, our Church is taking bold, year-round action to ensure we embody what we believe:
1. Promoting Gender Equity in Leadership
As the first church in the area to ordain women as ministers and deacons, we continue to:
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Appoint women to non-traditional and visible leadership roles.
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Ensure women receive equal pay and equal opportunity.
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Actively resist all forms of gender-based discrimination.
2. Centering Black Women’s Experience in Preaching and Teaching
We confront sexism and misogyny with preaching and pedagogy that affirms Black women’s lived realities by:
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Regularly featuring Black women in the pulpit and classrooms.
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Using womanist theology and liberation sources in all applicable ministry areas.
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Educating our congregation about the work of womanist preachers, scholars, and leaders.
3. Celebrating and Supporting Women Locally and Globally
We commit to honoring the brilliant + beautiful + brave women who change the world by:
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Budgeting for ministries that prioritize women and children.
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Highlighting the impact of women throughout the church year.
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Supporting community and global initiatives that uplift women and families.
This Women’s Day, and every day, we declare: Black women are not just enduring—they are flourishing. And when Black women flourish, the whole community rises. Let’s follow their lead—and walk boldly in the power of faith.
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