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2015 RCWMS Essay Contest Winners

February 27, 2015 by Jeanette Stokes Leave a Comment

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 RCWMS Essay Contest, “Embodying Faith.” First place goes to Rebecca Lanning of Durham, NC, for her essay, “How to Pet a Porcupine.” Second place goes to Sarah Woodford of New Haven, CT, and third place goes to Lauren Kilbourn of Chapel Hill, NC. An honorable mention goes to Lucille Gaither of Cheverly, MD. Click here to subscribe to our print newsletter, South of the Garden, and read the winning essay in our March issue.

Many thanks to this year’s judges: Marcy Litle, Jocelyn Streid, and Rebecca Welper. The judges report that they were touched by the thoughtful honesty and inspired by the great variety of this year’s submissions. Here is a behind-the-scenes-look from one of the judges, who reflected on what it was like to be on this side of the submissions process.

I thought it would be pretty easy to sit down, read through the submitted essays, and come up with my favorites to compare with the other judges. But as I read through each essay, I was struck by the beauty of the lives being shared with me. It felt like each essay was a gift from these women’s souls, with all the prickly parts, the aches, the longings, and sweetness. I started to wonder what it meant to pick winning essays. It felt like I was being asked to assign more worth not only to the pieces themselves, but to the lives and women behind the words. That didn’t feel right.

I realized this perspective came in part from having been hurt in the past when putting forth my own work. But while reading the essays submitted to the RCWMS contest, I was filled with gratitude to be let in on a small slice of these lives. I felt inspired reading each essay, no matter which ones we ultimately deemed most fitting for this year’s theme. As I found myself hoping that each one of these women would keep writing and sharing their important truths, I was reminded that we never know how we will touch others, but when we share authentically, we do. Thank you to everyone who submitted an essay for this reminder. I’m hoping you and many others keep sharing.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Essay Contest, Writing

About Jeanette Stokes

The day Jeanette graduated from Duke Divinity School in 1977, she turned to some friends and said, “They’ll be sorry.” With only had an inkling of what she would do next, she felt sure it would have something to do with women, faith, and social justice. A few months later, she and friends founded the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South, where she serves as the Executive Director. Not sure whether anyone was ever sorry they granted Jeanette and M.Div., she is sure that the last four decades of trying to change the landscape of religion in American has had at least some marginal effect. Mostly her work has offered solace and support to others on the journey. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma and a graduate of Smith College, Jeanette is the author of three collections of essays, 25 Years in the Garden, 35 Years on the Path, and Just Keep Going, and three memoirs, Hurricane Season: Living Through a Broken Heart, Flying Over Home, and Following a Female Line. She is happier if she spends some time each week walking, writing, painting, and messing around in the garden.

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