Minda's Message

Welcome back

to the

Friday Follow-Up!

The fact that you are receiving this newsletter AND that it has been given a substantial “reboot” is all thanks to our new office assistant, Jennifer Muster. Jennifer is providing exceptional part-time support until we get fully staffed. Please welcome her, send feedback on the new format, and let her know if you have news to include in upcoming newsletters, you can email her at: jennifer@fridayfellowship.org

---

North Carolina has certainly had its plate full with challenges this year. Most recently, the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew has provided yet another opportunity for courageous, collaborative, and compassionate leadership. As we all know, the eastern part of our state has been facing significant economic hardships for many years and access to healthcare and services are already limited. Matthew hit this area hard and the costs, both tangible and intangible, are heartbreaking and will be felt for years. What was already a difficult road is now made even more difficult. Because we don’t have as many Fellows living in concentrated areas in the east, they have expressed feeling isolated and disconnected from the Fellowship. I checked in with a few of them and would like to share their responses with you.

Denise Giles, ’99, lives in Fayetteville and is the ED of Cumberland Interfaith Hospitality Network which partners with churches to provide homeless families with more than “shelter.” She said that while they suffered property damage, they had no loss of life and wrote, “I was touched deeply by the courage of the people whom my agency serves - on Sunday they pulled all the food out of their freezers began grilling - the kids played together - and I was able to bring drinks and snacks - had a wonderful afternoon in spite of damages and challenges....keep our community in prayer as there is a lot of work to do.”

Kayron Maynor, ’95, lives in Robeson County and works with the public school system as a school social worker. She shared, “We were flooded and the psychological aftermath with no flood insurance is very hard. However, I have a grateful heart that no lives were lost that I knew, and I am praying for those families who did lose family and all earthly possessions. Please pray for spiritual and economic healing.”

And Mary Holmes, ’97, with the Cumberland Community Foundation has created the Giving Together Hurricane Matthew Relief Fund to raise support for the recovery efforts.

After the downed trees are cleared and the flooded areas dry out, the more complicated and challenging leadership work will begin. What can Fellows do to support our fellow Fellows in the east in their leadership? How can we strengthen our connections from the mountains through the Piedmont and into the east? What might be possible if Fellows used their voices to inform and increase understanding amongst our network, offered their talents, expertise, and contacts to those outside their immediate circle, and collaborated across differences on shared goals that would improve the lives of ALL North Carolinians?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts below and to working together to strengthen the Friday Fellowship network so that we can meet these and future challenges with intention, integrity, and inclusion.