By Lynne Tallon and Jan Dorr

Our journey to the WELCA Triennial Gathering in Spokane started very early on a Wednesday morning. We were wide awake and eager to start our journey. The first leg of the trip was a flight to Las Vegas.  During our four-hour layover we noticed a group of seven ladies.  They looked like "Lutheran women," so the two of us (known for being shy) went over to them and found out they were from NE Ohio. Three generations of women celebrating their church and one other, all headed for Spokane.  Also while waiting in the Las Vegas airport we received a text saying the elections for officers was over and our very own Jenny Michaels from Pensacola was elected churchwide President of the Women of the ELCA. Way to go Florida–Bahamas Synod!

The next day in Spokane started strangely.  A truck nearly ran over us! Our bodies ached but our spirits were alive and well. We made a brisk walk to the convention center. By mistake, we went in via the receiving center (back scenes of the workings of the convention hall). Most people use the main entrance but not your Trinity gals.

When it was time for our city tour, our guide was an Episcopalian married to a Lutheran Pastor.  Each worships at his and her own church.  We thought this rather strange.  Her husband is Pastor of Salem Lutheran Church which was founded in 1888.  We toured a Japanese garden with beautiful flowers and a great Koi pond. We saw a sign for restrooms and found the labeling to be in Japanese with appropriate drawings for those who, like us, don’t read Japanese.

When we got back from the city tour and and returned to the convention center, we found a note on the bulletin board telling us to pick up our identification items.  We became women of distinction wearing our "hot pink" boas and our pink flamingo shaped eyeglasses.  We made quite an impression on the other ladies.  We were Lutheran trend setters!  It was all captured on film and shared on the big screen before the closing worship service.

Nora Gallagher, author, spoke of her experience of near blindness. She told us how she placed herself into "be in the now" as Jesus comes to us in the present.

The Rev. Megan Torgerson is a former Miss Minnesota and has written Crazy Talk and The Lutheran Handbook for Pastors. She preached the closing worship sermon, entitled "Enough." The message was clear: We don’t need to complain about what we don’t have.  We don’t need to continue to strive to fulfill our wants. By God’s grace we always have "Enough."  We wish we could have a copy of the full message to share and read again.

There is no way we can share all we learned and heard or explain the feeling of being there among 2,000 other women of faith.  Some things have to be experienced.

God be with you,

Jan Dorr and Lynne Tallon

P. S. Financial report: Thankoffering received $41,700 to be used for churchwide needs; Run, Rock, Roll received $18,515.50 to be used for health incentives.