Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz is MC USA’s denominational minister for Peace and Justice. For more than 25 years, she served as the coordinator of Mennonite Central Committee’s Restorative Justice program. She also co-authored “The Little Book of Restorative Discipline for Schools” and “What Will Happen to Me?” Lorraine graduated from Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia, with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work, and earned a master’s in Social Work from Marywood University, Scranton, Pennsylvania. She and her husband attend Blossom Hill Mennonite Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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When women of faith gather, something holy happens. At this year’s MC USA Women’s Summit in Greensboro, North Carolina, July 8, we came together around the theme, “Beholding it Together,” with conversations focusing on rest as resistance. The phrase itself is both simple and radical: in a world that demands constant productivity, striving and self-sacrifice, choosing to slow down, to be together and to trust in God’s sustaining presence becomes a form of holy defiance.
I asked a few participants of the Women’s Summit to reflect on the Summit and some of the things they took away from the day.
Beth Boehr, Bluffton, Ohio, wrote “When I think about ‘rest,’ I am reminded how intertwined rest and trust are. And how trust is intertwined with faith … In those moments of trust, I know I am exactly where I’m meant to be … But when I look around at the steadfast spirit of the women gathered — arms linked, voices raised — I find hope.”
Maati Yvonne, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said, “the thoughts that have stayed with me have been the spirit and language of rest … the scent of lavender and chamomile herbal spray mist I created when I returned home.” She appreciated the joy of the table chatter, the deepening of familiar bonds and the circle gathering time, as others have also expressed.
Louise Matthews, Bluffton, shared a reflection with her church following the Summit, including ways we reminded each other of God’s delight in us:
- You are truly a sight to behold.
- You are a beloved child of God.
- God knit you together in the womb.
- Each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made.
- We are holding space in solidarity and vulnerability with all women.
- I’m as strong as the woman next to me.
- Silence can be detrimental.
She added, “Through scripture, song and testimony, we created a sacred space to rest, reclaim and resist. We held silence for the voices that have been ignored. We lifted pleas for elder women to show up and offer wisdom. We named the truth: there is not one right way to be you — or me. And we gave one another permission to slow down, rest and heal.”
For many, some of most moving moments came through music. Mindy Nolt shared an original song with this as the chorus:
I will hold you up / and when I can’t, will you hold me?
There is love in our hearts and fire in our bellies /
We will hold one another through this time.
This collective “holding” became the heartbeat of our time together.
Linda Gehman Peachey, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said, “I really resonated with Shannon Dycus’ comments about how our culture emphasizes that we are only worth something when we are doing or producing. I certainly internalized this from my family and upbringing in a Swiss-German, Mennonite family. It was especially important to be helping others; one should certainly not be resting if other people (especially other women) are busy doing something.”
Jeanne Zimmerly Jantzi, Orville, Ohio, said that during one session, a new friend wrote her a “permission slip.” She has kept it tucked in her journal since the Summit and, each time she sees it, she feels cared for. She added, “It reminds me of when I lived far from my mother — how, when she visited, my body finally felt free to let go and be weak because I knew she would carry the load.”
Sue Park Hur, Pasadena, California, remembered the words of keynote speaker Shannon Dycus that “unless we pause and rest, we can’t sleep; and when we can’t sleep, we can’t dream.” Sue appreciated the significance of providing a seat to high school and college students at the church table. That was especially evident during the fishbowl circle time when we invited women from different decades of life to join the circle for conversation about stages of life and their experiences.
Amy Zimbelman, Colorado, echoed Dycus’ words about the importance of dreaming of a world as it was meant to be. “Without allowing ourselves to be vulnerable to deep rest, these dreams are not possible. Jesus’ ministry cast a vision — a dream — of what it would look like if Heaven crept into our world, even now. And the spiritual greats who have gone before us all seem to be dreamers,” Zimbelman said.
Jay Bergen, Philadelphia, said, “When I think about questions of rest in relation to leadership, I think about what work we are asking each other to do when we’re not resting. Much of what we have to do in community (church, organizing, otherwise) is necessary, whether it is joyful or simply unavoidable … but it is our job as leaders to try and discern what labor is truly necessary and beneficial in community, and what our people can let go of so that they can receive as well as give.”
For many of us, rest has long felt like a luxury we could not afford, but at the Summit, we reframed rest as a practice of necessity. Paula Stoltzfus, Harrisonburg, Virginia, noted that rest allows us to “reflect, recharge and rewind”. She added that sometimes this might look like pulling weeds, walking in silence or practicing centering prayer.
What was healing at the Summit was the reminder that being is just as holy as doing. Rest is not idleness—it is soul work.
The Summit challenged us to see rest as an act of resistance against unjust systems that grind people down. Just as contemplative practices undergird action, rest strengthens our capacity to keep resisting oppression, inequity and despair.
What does a rested, resilient community of women look like? Zimmerly Jantzi says one image came from her congregation: a Silent Book Club for women. This group gathers monthly in a basement, bringing their own books and hot drinks. After chatting together for half an hour, they sink into an hour of silence with only the sound of “breathing and pages turning in companionable silence.” In that simple act of resting together, resilience is born.
At the Summit, we envisioned other ways to embody rested resilience:
- Create circles of conversation to hear one another’s stories.
- Look for those not getting enough rest and offer care.
- Remind yourself: one day at a time, don’t go it alone.
- Believe: All flourishing is mutual. Their flourishing is my flourishing.
Ultimately, the deepest rest comes from God. As Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” In centering prayer, in psalms of comfort like Psalm 46 and Psalm 121, in the companionship of the Spirit, we are renewed.
The Summit closed with a blessing: Go with love in your hearts and fire in your bellies. Rest does not make us weak; it strengthens us for the work ahead. Together, as beloved children of God, we reclaim the truth: rest is resistance, rest is restoration, and rest is our right.
The MC USA Women’s Summit was organized by MC USA’s Women in Leadership, which works to dismantle patriarchal systems in MC USA by empowering women to live out the call of God on their lives, increase their capacities, and contribute their wisdom in congregations, area conferences, agencies and institutions. The Women in Leadership Steering Committee planning team is Abby Endashaw, Lynette McIntosh Madrigal, Daniela Lazaro-Manalo, Shannon Dycus, Katerina Gea, Sue Park-Hur.
For further engagement
“Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto” by Tricia Hersey (2022)
“Prayers for a Simpler Life” by Faith Sommers (Herald Press, 2017)
“The Spacious Path” by Tamara Hill Murphy and W. David O. Taylor (Herald Press, 2023)
Silent Book Club, a global community of readers, with nearly 2000 chapters in 60+ countries. Members gather in person and online to read together in quiet camaraderie.
The Nap Ministry, founded in 2016 by Tricia Hersey, the organization examines the liberating power of naps.