Since the most recent annual report was written for the 2021/2022 fiscal year, this report will briefly summarize the intervening years and offer a more in-depth description of Women’s Council activities and accomplishments during the 2024/25 fiscal year.
Our Recent History:
In the spring of 2023, the Women’s Council Executive Board decided by majority vote to dissolve the board and form a Transition Committee. Out of concern for an organization with both declining membership and leadership interest, the Executive Board prayerfully took this significant step to provide opportunities for revitalization through new, relevant ideas and initiatives. Brian Gardner, Vice President of Advancement at Gordon-Conwell, served as chair, and he invited the following women to join him on the committee: Margaret Doyle, Kathy Kishbaugh, Jennifer LaFountain, Lisa Steigerwalt, Nancy Sunquist and Brinn Weaver. During the 2023/2024 fiscal year, the Transition Committee worked to accomplish its three primary goals: (1) To continue the fellowship/worship opportunities and scholarship fundraising associated with the three campus gatherings of the membership; (2) To query the membership and invite ideas for revitalizing the organization; and (3) To form a new leadership team.
The Transition Committee was successful in accomplishing these goals. Three events were held, one each during the Fall, Advent and Spring seasons of the 2023/2024 academic year. The members had an opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas via a written survey in the fall and through brainstorming sessions held during the spring (an in-person Café) and the summer (online meetings). The Lord blessed these efforts, and at our October 2024 event, the membership elected eleven women to a new Leadership Team. The Team then voted in January 2025 to add Catherine Miller as Scholarship Committee chair. The twelve women who served in leadership during this past fiscal year were:
Joanna Bergeron – Member-at-large
Marcela Bernardeli – Communications Committee chair
Sharon Carlson – Church Ambassadors Program chair
Margaret Doyle – President
Katherine Horvath – Member-at-large
Penny Kulakowski – Secretary
Miranda Kwon – Vice President
Margaret Leslie – Treasurer
Catherine Miller – Scholarship Committee chair
Shelly Moran – Membership Committee chair
Lisa Steigerwalt – Member-at-large
Nancy Sunquist – Member-at-large and ex officio member
Our Events and New Initiatives in FY 2025:
We were blessed by the worship and fellowship at our three gatherings this year. In October 2024, Ms. Hannah Nation (M.A. in Church History, GCTS) spoke to us on the topic “Influence or Usefulness? What a Failed 19th Century American Missionary Wife Teaches Us about Using Our Voices in the Kingdom of God.” Hannah shared with us from the moving 1814 memoir of Mrs. Harriet Newell who “used the language of ‘usefulness’ as a powerful theological plot” in her writings. Ms. Nation currently serves as the Managing Director of the Center for House Church Theology and as the Content Director for China Partnership. Ms. Lisa Martin shared her testimony with us during the Scholarship Spotlight. In early December, Leadership Team members and scholarship recipients participated in our Advent Lessons and Carols service held jointly with the seminary community. In April 2025, Dr. Donna Petter (Professor of Old Testament and Director of the Hebrew Language Program at Gordon-Conwell) delivered a talk entitled “The Timeliness of a Testimony” in which she also encouraged us to use our voices as David did – to recognize our sin, to humbly share our testimonies with others, and to declare the goodness of God (Psalm 51). Our Scholarship Spotlight speaker was Ms. Astrid Rios.
In addition to planning and hosting our three events, the Leadership Team introduced several new initiatives this past year. The first was the formation of an Ambassadors Program by a committee comprised of Sharon Carlson (chair), Joanna Bergeron and Shelly Moran. The mission statement of the Ambassadors Program reads as follows:
The Women’s Council Church Ambassadors Program, through its team of volunteer ambassadors, will create intentional points of contact and facilitate prayer between Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and local churches for their mutual benefit. The Ambassadors program will support the mission of the Women’s Council to promote interest in the seminary through fellowship and worship events, by raising scholarship funds to support students, and by strengthening church/seminary relationships. Ambassadors will also raise awareness in their churches about the Women’s Council and promote membership in the organization.
Though still at a formative stage, the Ambassadors’ first meeting in April 2025 was an encouraging one that bodes well for future development.
Membership Chair Shelly Moran met several times with Dean of Students Jana Holiday to ascertain student needs and the ways in which Women’s Council members might serve the students and help to meet those needs. She developed a survey to invite members’ involvement on a Prayer Team, as ESL tutors (for family members of our international students) and through acts of hospitality (e.g., inviting students/families to share a meal at a member’s home). The survey was distributed at our April event and was sent to everyone on our mailing list in August. We look forward to the Lord’s blessing upon these opportunities to connect with students and their families.
Finally, the Women’s Council sponsored a twelve-week book group during the spring and summer in which a group of women discussed Sensible Shoes: A Story about the Spiritual Journey written by Sharon Garlough Brown. This was a rich experience for those involved and led to a follow-on group that is now reading the second book in the series.
Our Scholarship Recipients:
It is our joy to support Gordon-Conwell students through scholarship grants and to hear their testimonies at our events. We celebrate them and pray for the Lord’s continued blessing upon them:
2024/25 Recipients:
Rachel Lohia, Lisa Martin, Astrid Rios, Amanda Ward, Esther Xiang, and Jimin Yeo.
2023/24 Recipients:
Aseneth Castaneda, Beshoy Estafanous, Rachel Lohia, Lisa Martin, Larisa Pelger, and Amanda Ward.
2022/23 Recipients:
Aseneth Castaneda, Ashley de Souza, Beshoy Estafanous, Rachel Lohia, Larisa Pelger, and Anthony Rando.
Our Fiscal Picture:
Thank you very much to everyone who donated to the Women’s Council Scholarship Fund. During this past year, we offered $12,000 in scholarship grants – $2,000 to each of six recipients. Our ending balance in the Scholarship Fund (as of 6/30/2025) was $14,573 which exceeded our fundraising goal by more than $2,500! Note: In the upcoming year, we plan to give a total of $13,500 – $2250 to each of six recipients.
The balance in our Agency Fund for operational costs declined over the course of the year. The beginning balance of $2,292.48 (7/1/24) fell to an ending balance of 1,536.74 (6/30/25). Our treasurer Margaret Leslie guided the Leadership Team through an analysis of costs and a process for establishing a budget that accurately reflects our mission. The Leadership Team voted to adopt increases to our luncheon fee (from $15 to $20) and to our membership dues (again from $15 to $20). The luncheon fees are applied to those costs (catering, linens, waitstaff), while the dues cover other expenses such as printing, postage, and honoraria for speakers and musicians. Dues are not required for event attendance, however, and no one is turned away on account of reduced means.
We took the annual distribution from our Endowment Fund which resulted in a transfer of $5,300 into the Scholarship Fund. The market value for the Endowment Fund was $87,755.98 on 6/30/24 and ended at $89,337.30 on 6/30/25.
Looking Ahead:
Since the Leadership Team members were elected in the fall of 2024, they agreed to serve until our spring event in 2026, thus allowing for a reasonable term of service (eighteen months) and for a return to the election timeframe (spring) that is specified in our bylaws. Treasurer Margaret Leslie and Communications Committee chair Marcela Bernardeli needed to resign at the close of this fiscal year. We thank them very much for their service.
The Leadership Team is excited about new opportunities to serve both Gordon-Conwell students and the greater Body of Christ. While scholarship assistance remains a key focus of our mission, we are exploring additional ways that our Women’s Council community can minister to students and serve our local churches. We pray for the Lord’s continued blessing upon these efforts in the coming years, as we plan for and anticipate our one hundredth anniversary in 2028!
Respectfully submitted, Margaret W. Doyle (President, 2024-2025)