Ministry of Black Women’s Self Care, August 2025 – with Kim Gaubault (via Zoom)
2025-08-20 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
Kim Gaubault recognizes that self-care is often the component that remains a form of intervention (after the break or the medical emergency) rather than a preventative measure. When we allow our bodies, minds and/or spirits to break down in the course of doing this work, we are not only putting ourselves at risk but we are putting at risk the integrity of the work for which we are laboring. This work is a work of self-love, communal love, Womanist Ethicism, it is multi-generational, multicultural and is not finite, but is instead as infinite as the beauty in the divinity that is Blackness. Come and share in this life’s work! This program is specifically designed to offer practical tools for everyday self-care to Black women-identified individuals doing all forms of ministry, in church and community.
August: Am I My Sister’s Keeper: Unraveling the Thread
September: Black Don’t Crack, but What Had Happened Was…
Register: August HERE. September HERE.
Leader: Kimberly Gaubault (McCrae) is an intentional lover of humanity and actively lives the self-care life about which she teaches and advocates. Her personal philosophy of interpersonal interaction is, “If I’ve not positively influenced someone everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve not walked in my purpose.”
Cost: $10, $25, or $40 per session. Choose the price that fits your budget.

Three Quilters: A Panel Discussion
2025-08-21 19:00 - 21:30
We’re excited to offer a special panel discussion featuring Sauda Zahra, Jereann King Johnson, and Kimberley Pierce Cartwright. This conversation is part of the programming for our Stitching Our Stories quilt exhibition, and will be moderated by our very own Chloé Griffin Wright. Join us as we discover how these artists transform their personal stories, hardships, and imaginations into powerful works of art. Read more about our artists: Kimberley Pierce Cartwright, Jereann King Johnson, and Sauda Zahra. More about the exhibition: Visit the Cassilhaus website.
Cost: FREE, registration is required.
All transport to Cassilhaus will be by shuttle bus from a location TBA. Details will be in your RSVP confirmation. Visitors with physical challenges can request on-site parking in their RSVP:
Register to attend in-person by emailing RCWMS@cassilhaus.com
Register to attend virtually (Zoom) by emailing VIRTUALRCWMS@cassilhaus.com
Cost: FREE, registration is required.
*Please note the virtual presentation will begin promptly at 7:30 PM. A Zoom link will be shared once registration is complete. This is a live cats venue.

CANCELED: Healing Through Art with Krystle Marriott (via Zoom)
2025-08-29 18:30 - 20:00 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
Join RCWMS and artist Krystle Marriott for a workshop that combines meditation, reflection, group discussion, and, of course, art. In this workshop, Krystle will lead participants through a meditative, creative workshop in which they are invited to rediscover the wonder of seeing through a child’s eyes in artistic expression. By following Krystle’s guided workshop, participants will be able to connect with others as well as reconnect with their childhood wonder. Please plan to attend this virtual workshop with your own paint supplies ready.
Leader: Krystle Marriott is a local, Hamilton-based artist who has been developing works on the theme of childlike faith for several years. She aims to produce work that will remind the viewer of the importance of cultivating a childlike posture. Krystle captures the magnificent joy of the hearts of children in her work and depicts them in images of humility, happiness, acceptance, boldness, and love. These are the attributes that inform the attitude of childlike faith.
Cost:$38. Scholarships available. For more information, please contact info@rcwms.org.
Register below. Registrants will receive a Zoom link in the automated ticket confirmation.
*Community members who would like to donate scholarships may do so at rcwms.org/donate.

Becoming Trustworthy White Allies-Melanie Morrison's Book Launch (Sponsored by RCWMS)
2025-09-11 19:00 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
RCWMS is honored to invite you to a reading with Melanie Morrison from her new book, Becoming Trustworthy White Allies. The reading is sponsored by RCWMS and the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture at Duke University’s Rubenstein Library.
In this collection of essays, lectures, and real-life stories, antiracism facilitator Melanie S. Morrison outlines the actions white people must undertake to become trustworthy partners in the work of racial justice.
Melanie is an author, speaker, and racial justice educator with thirty years of experience designing and facilitating transformational group processes. She is the author of five books, including Murder on Shades Mountain: The Legal Lynching of Willie Peterson and the Struggle for Justice in Jim Crow Birmingham. Author’s website: melaniemorrison.net.
Pre-order the book: HERE.
Please REGISTER for the reading by selecting a free ticket below. Registrants will receive both a receipt and a separate email with a Zoom link in the automated ticket confirmation. Please check your spam and/or promotions folder if you don’t receive one or both of these emails. We will also be sending Zoom link reminders just before the event.

Ministry of Black Women’s Self Care, September 2025 – with Kim Gaubault (via Zoom)
2025-09-17 19:00 - 20:30
Kim Gaubault recognizes that self-care is often the component that remains a form of intervention (after the break or the medical emergency) rather than a preventative measure. When we allow our bodies, minds and/or spirits to break down in the course of doing this work, we are not only putting ourselves at risk but we are putting at risk the integrity of the work for which we are laboring. This work is a work of self-love, communal love, Womanist Ethicism, it is multi-generational, multicultural and is not finite, but is instead as infinite as the beauty in the divinity that is Blackness. Come and share in this life’s work! This program is specifically designed to offer practical tools for everyday self-care to Black women-identified individuals doing all forms of ministry, in church and community.
September: Black Don’t Crack, but What Had Happened Was…
Register here: September HERE.
Past sessions: July HERE. August HERE.
Leader: Kimberly Gaubault (McCrae) is an intentional lover of humanity and actively lives the self-care life about which she teaches and advocates. Her personal philosophy of interpersonal interaction is, “If I’ve not positively influenced someone everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve not walked in my purpose.”
Cost: $10, $25, or $40 per session. Choose the price that fits your budget.

CANCELED: Becoming the Second Person with Shawna Ayoub
2025-09-21 14:00 - 16:00 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
Do you have a painful and true story you find yourself reliving each time you try to tell it? What about a story that’s stuck inside you because it feels too raw to be writeable, too vulnerable to be readable? Is being able to tell that story without suffering the key to releasing yourself from the trauma of the narrative?
What if you found out there is a way to create safe distance while still telling that hard story? To minimize trauma and (re)gain control of your narrative by no longer being your story’s first person?
What if you could be your story’s second person?
Writers will practice using narrative distance as a tool to explore their stories in new ways. Writers will also take home a packet of writing examples as well as prompts, and can contact Shawna for written feedback within two weeks of this workshop.
Leader: Shawna Ayoub is a brown, queer, Durham-based writer and instructor whose work prioritizes the engagement of difficult topics. After recognizing the personal benefits of writing for release and recovery, she has made her practice public for the last 15 years, offering courses independently as well as through the Center for Creative Writing. Her work has appeared in Verywell Mind, Survivor Lit, Exit 7, [wherever], The Archipelago, and The Manifest-Station.
Cost: $75, $100. Scholarships available. OR 5 workshops for $325, or 3 workshops of their choice for $200. Please contact info@rcwms.org.
Register below. Registrants will receive a Zoom link in the automated ticket confirmation.
*Community members who would like to donate scholarships may do so at rcwms.org/donate.

HOMEGROWN: NC Women's Preaching Festival 2025
2025-10-02 14:30 - 2025-10-03 15:00 | Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church, 927 W Trinity Ave, Durham, NC, West Trinity Avenue, Durham, North Carolina, 27701, United States
Join us for this year’s NC Women’s Preaching Festival, where our theme, “Digging Deep and Rising Up,” reflects on the wisdom of Esther (Esther 4:14-16) and the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:39).
We believe hundreds of Christian clergywomen in North Carolina are faithfully and creatively engaging in ministries where they proclaim the Word of God, week after week. In an ecumenical spirit of love and collegiality, we will lift up the voices of local clergywomen (trans/cis) to encourage and inspire; share and learn; and hone our craft. Together, we will hear wonderful preaching from conference attendees and have time for group conversations on the art of proclamation in all its forms. We will pray, worship, and celebrate together.
Location: Trinity Ave. Presbyterian Church, Durham, NC
Cost: $25-$125 (Price doesn’t include lodging)
Lodging: Recommended Hotels in the area include: 21c Museum Hotel Durham, Aloft Durham Downtown, SpringHill Suites by Marriott – Durham City View, Residence Inn by Marriott – Durham McPherson/Duke Medical, and The King’s Daughters Inn. (Airbnb suggestion: 807 West Trinity Ave. Pearl Mill Flats)
For full details about the festival, please visit ncwomenpreaching.com. Contact us directly at info@rcwms.org with any questions.

Cancer Writing Circle
2025-10-06 16:00 - 17:30 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
Join a weekly gathering of fellow travelers undergoing treatment for cancer to write to prompts provided for timed intervals. No writing experience is necessary. This series is designed to provide a supportive environment to develop a creative practice of reflective writing. While we will talk about the writing and our experience of writing, this is not a writing class or a cancer support group. That said, participants are likely to gain greater clarity regarding their life experiences and our writing is likely to improve with practice.
The structure and format of the series is informed by James Pennebaker’s Write to Heal and Suleika Jaouad’s bestselling book, The Book of Alchemy, both of which affirm the power of writing to heal. There is no requirement to purchase these books to participate. However, reading these authors will provide you with a deeper context for the prompts and may inspire you to dig deeper.
This circle is inspired by Brenda Ulyend’s book, If You Want to Write, which posits everyone is a writer. No one will be required to read or share their work. Volunteers will be invited to share excerpts of their writing every session.
Six Mondays in a row beginning on October 6, 2025.
Facilitators: Chris McLeod is a writer living with metastatic breast cancer who is eager to create a community of cancer patients interested in developing a writing practice. RCWMS trustee Liddy Grantland is a writer, published author, and a social work student living with metastatic breast cancer.

Cancer Writing Circle- Week 2
2025-10-13 16:00 - 17:30 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States

Ministry of Black Women’s Self Care, with Kim Gaubault - October 2025
2025-10-15 19:00 - 20:30
Kim Gaubault recognizes that self-care is often the component that remains a form of intervention (after the break or the medical emergency) rather than a preventative measure. When we allow our bodies, minds and/or spirits to break down in the course of doing this work, we are not only putting ourselves at risk but we are putting at risk the integrity of the work for which we are laboring. This work is a work of self-love, communal love, Womanist Ethicism, it is multi-generational, multicultural and is not finite, but is instead as infinite as the beauty in the divinity that is Blackness. Come and share in this life’s work! This program is specifically designed to offer practical tools for everyday self-care to Black women-identified individuals doing all forms of ministry, in church and community.
October: What Brings Me Joy/ What Brings Me Comfort
November: Giving Thanks: The Grace for Failing Forward
December: Laying Aside Every Weight: The Art of Shedding
Register for October below.
Leader: Kimberly Gaubault (McCrae) is an intentional lover of humanity and actively lives the self-care life about which she teaches and advocates. Her personal philosophy of interpersonal interaction is, “If I’ve not positively influenced someone everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve not walked in my purpose.”
Cost: $10, $25, or $40 per session. Choose the price that fits your budget.

BOOK LAUNCH: SOUTHERN METHODIST WOMEN AND SOCIAL JUSTICE with Janet Allured
2025-10-16 19:00 - 20:30 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
Join us as we celebrate more than a century of Methodist women who have spoken up, stepped out, and stood firm in their faith to bring about change. Their stories remind us that the work of justice is not reserved for a few but is carried forward by many voices, each adding courage and conviction to the movement for a better world.
The biographies in this book highlight the contributions of Methodist women—some lay and some clergy—in advocating for progressive reform from 1900 to the present.

Editor: Janet Allured is a retired Professor of History and of Women’s Studies at McNeese State University and is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Arkansas. She has numerous peer-reviewed publications on southern women, including Louisiana Women: Their Lives and Times (2009), and Remapping Second-Wave Feminism: The Long Women’s Rights Movement in Louisiana, 1950-1997 (2016). The subject of her talk today, a collection of biographies entitled Southern Methodist Women and Social Justice: Interracial Activism in the Long Twentieth Century (2025), is co-edited by M. Kathryn Armistead.
Please REGISTER for the reading by selecting a free ticket below. A Zoom link will be provided in the confirmation email.

Cancer Writing Circle- Week 3
2025-10-20 16:00 - 17:30 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States

Sustaining Our Behavior Changes: A Plan and Strategies for Support with Solita Denard (via Zoom)
2025-10-29 18:30 - 20:00 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
What do you need to take the next step to improve your personal health? Join us for an integrated approach to wellness! This 4-part series is designed for individuals ready to learn in a supportive community and commit to moving toward their personal vision of health and wellbeing. Guided by Solita Denard, participants will develop a personalized wellness plan through curated group discussions.
If you desire to make a positive change in one or more areas of personal health in 2025, this series is for you. The program includes four group sessions and up to four private, one-on-one coaching sessions tailored to each participant.
January 29: This Time Next Year: Vision, Values and Goals.
What do we want? Why do we want it?
April 29: Making Progress: Challenges, Insights and New Habits.
Reflecting on the important information being offered by our specific practices toward
better health. What are we learning?
July 29: What Needs Attention Now? The Integrated Approach to Health.
Checking in with ourselves and the importance of leverage.
October 29: Sustaining Our Behavior Changes: A Plan and Strategies for Support.
Standing on our strengths for forward movement.
Leader: Solita Denard, Health Integration 629, LLC partners with clients as they create a vision and then take action to improve personal health through the Behavior Change process. Integrative Health Coaching supports clients in assessing 9 different areas of Health and Wellbeing. Solita will assist participants in creating a personal plan toward positive health changes with increased self-awareness. Each day Solita is reminded that supporting clients in the process of Behavior Change is sacred work.

For additional information, please contact info@rcwms.org.
Registration is now closed.

Exhibition as Textbook: A History of Photography with Dr. Elizabeth Howie and MJ Sharp (via Zoom)
2025-10-30 18:30 - 20:30
Join us this fall, starting on October 30th! Art Historian Dr. Elizabeth Howie, and RCWMS Artist in Residence, Photographer MJ Sharp, will lead a four-part seminar inspired by the work on view at Duke’s Nasher Museum, Coming into Focus: A Snapshot of Photography at the Nasher:
October 30, 2025
November 6, 2025
November 13, 2025
November 20, 2025
Leaders: MJ Sharp is a photographic artist and educator based in North Carolina and is the RCWMS Artist in Residence for 2025. Dr. Elizabeth Howie is a Professor of Art History at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina.
Photo credit: Clockwise from top left: Bird Cage, Reed Thomas 1979 | Untitled from Kitchen Table Series, Carrie Mae Weems 1990|| Landscape (trees in snow), Tino Carretto 1960 | Girl with Haircurlers & Mother, Miami Tropic , Mary Ellen Mark, 1986

Writing with Research with Kristen Neuschel & Ann Marie Rasmussen (Sponsored by RCWMS)
2025-10-30 19:00 - 20:30 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
Writing with Research is built around a simple insight: if you feel strongly that you’ve got something to say or know there’s a problem you feel compelled to investigate, then you are ready to start writing. Our unique contribution is to insist that writing and research proceed together, whatever the nature of the evidence or the scope of the project. We offer encouragement and practical advice for writing with a research agenda of any kind, including memoir and historical fiction. We aim at writers seeking wider audiences, students, and writers across academic and professional fields, including science. We guide writers in the steps necessary for responsible research in today’s digital environment and share tips for meeting the challenges of sustaining writing as a satisfying practice.
Authors: Kristen Neuschel is Professor of History Emerita and former Director of the Thompson Writing Program at Duke University. Ann Marie Rasmussen (Professor Emerita, German, Duke University) writes and teaches about the literature and culture of medieval Europe in German-speaking lands and Scandinavia.
Please REGISTER for the reading by selecting a free ticket below. Registrants will receive both a receipt and a separate email with a Zoom link in the automated ticket confirmation. Please check your spam and/or promotions folder if you don’t receive one or both of these emails. We will also be sending Zoom link reminders just before the event.

Cancer Writing Circle- Week 5
2025-11-03 16:00 - 17:30 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States

Hope is a Verb: Spiritual Grounding for Changemakers (POSTPONED)
2025-11-14 16:00 - 2025-11-16 12:00 | Rockin’ Horse Farm, 705 Glosson Rd, Siler City, NC, 27344, United States
Join us at Rockin’ Horse Farm in Siler City, NC for Hope is a Verb: Spiritual Grounding for Changemakers: A Weekend Women’s Retreat to Feed your Soul.
When the Work Feels Heavy, Hope Becomes Essential
Are you a changemaker feeling overwhelmed by today’s challenges? When progress is blocked and the forces of harm seem stronger than ever, it’s natural to struggle with frustration and even burn-out. But what if hope isn’t something that happens to us—but something we actively practice?
Rediscover Your Spiritual Foundation
This weekend retreat offers changemakers a chance to reconnect with the deeper sources of resilience available to us all. Join us to explore how spiritual practices can help us stay grounded and embody hope in a world that sometimes feels hopeless.
Who Should Attend
This retreat welcomes all changemakers:
~ Mission-driven professionals and nonprofit leaders
~ Activists and organizers
~ Artists using creativity for social change
~ Community volunteers
~Engaged citizens
If you would find meaning in strengthening your resilience in these uncertain times, this retreat is designed for you.
What You’ll Experience and Share
~ Connection to nature and other changemakers on a beautiful 90-acre farm
~ Practical tools for cultivating hope as a daily practice
~ Spiritual practices for staying grounded to maintain your energy and commitment to your important work
Transform Your Relationship with Hope
Leave this weekend with renewed energy, deeper spiritual grounding, and practical tools for embodying hope—not despite the challenges, but because of your unwavering commitment to a just world.

Location: Rockin’ Horse Farm, Siler City, NC
Cost: $400, includes retreat programming, lodging, and meals
Retreat Leaders:
Maria Kingery has been leading retreats for impact-driven entrepreneurs for more than a decade. Through 360Impact, she helps changemakers build the resilience needed to create lasting impact in an uncertain world using her “Lead with Love” framework. In 2001, she co-founded one of the Southeast’s first clean energy companies, scaling it to a thriving B Corp before selling the company to seven long-time team members in a values-driven succession that centered their shared mission over maximum profit.
Bonny Moellenbrock, a certified spiritual director, helps clients integrate their deepest values into their lives, initiatives, and business strategies, supporting the shift toward a life-affirming, regenerative economy. Bonny spent over two decades directing capital toward social and environmental impact through her work with nonprofits, social enterprises, and impact investors. She led Investors Circle for seven years, guiding a network that has channeled over $275 million into more than 350 enterprises creating positive change.

Remembering Those We Miss with Shawna Ayoub
2025-11-16 14:00 - 16:00 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
Writing letters can be a heartfelt way to express our love and celebrate the relationships we’ve shared. Letters can help us preserve important memories and stories, confront unfinished business, and expose ourselves to things we may be avoiding. This is especially true when we are writing to those who are gone from our lives, whether they have passed on or passed on us.
In this workshop, we will come together to examine our grief through the epistolary form. In a safe and supportive space, we will write letters to those we have lost as an act of self-care.
Writers will take home a packet of writing examples as well as prompts, and can contact Shawna for written feedback within two weeks of this workshop.
Leader: Shawna Ayoub is a brown, queer, Durham-based writer and instructor whose work prioritizes the engagement of difficult topics. After recognizing the personal benefits of writing for release and recovery, she has made her practice public for the last 15 years, offering courses independently as well as through the Center for Creative Writing. Her work has appeared in Verywell Mind, Survivor Lit, Exit 7, [wherever], The Archipelago, and The Manifest-Station.
Cost: $35 or $50. Scholarships available. (Contact info@rcwms.org.)
Register below. Registrants will receive a Zoom link in the automated ticket confirmation.
*Community members who would like to donate scholarships may do so at rcwms.org/donate.

House Concert with Courtney Ariel Bowden
2025-11-16 16:00 - 17:30 | A private home in Durham, NC
Come enjoy acoustic music and storytelling from singer-songwriter Courtney Ariel as we gather together and raise funds for her upcoming album, which is inspired by (among other things) loving and being loved by Black women. The show will take place at a private home in Durham, NC. The exact address will be provided after registration.
Courtney Ariel Bowden is a songwriter and writer who thinks about the impact of Black women’s friendship-making and relational healing. Having grown up in Southern California, she graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English Literature and from Vanderbilt Divinity School with an MDiv and concentrations in Religion, Art & Contemporary Culture and Religion, Gender & Sexuality. An artist-scholar, Courtney Ariel currently pursues work at the intersections of artmaking, accompaniment, and research, as a doctoral candidate.
Her public-facing advocacy writing has been featured by Sojourners (Sojo.net), CNN, The Tennessean, and Harper’s Bazaar. Her original music can be found on streaming platforms, including songs she has co-written (Alex Blue’s “May It Change You,” 2024), and that she has written (Alex G’s “I Won’t,” 2020). A novice but enthusiastic watcher of birds and trees in the Southeastern region of the U.S., Courtney Ariel still holds the swaying palms of Southern California, the lull and roar of the pacific ocean, at the core of her being, always.
In lieu of charging admission, you are invited to donate to the crowdfunding campaign for Courtney Ariel’s upcoming album. Join us for an unforgettable evening of music, community, and togetherness.
Light refreshments will be provided. For questions about the house concert or accessibility, please contact info@rcwms.org.
NOTE: If the event is SOLD OUT, email info@rcwms.com and ask to be added to a waiting list. If a spot opens up, we’ll be in touch with you.

Ministry of Black Women’s Self Care, with Kim Gaubault - November 2025
2025-11-19 19:00 - 20:30
Kim Gaubault recognizes that self-care is often the component that remains a form of intervention (after the break or the medical emergency) rather than a preventative measure. When we allow our bodies, minds and/or spirits to break down in the course of doing this work, we are not only putting ourselves at risk but we are putting at risk the integrity of the work for which we are laboring. This work is a work of self-love, communal love, Womanist Ethicism, it is multi-generational, multicultural and is not finite, but is instead as infinite as the beauty in the divinity that is Blackness. Come and share in this life’s work! This program is specifically designed to offer practical tools for everyday self-care to Black women-identified individuals doing all forms of ministry, in church and community.
November: Giving Thanks: The Grace for Failing Forward
December: Laying Aside Every Weight: The Art of Shedding
Register for November below.
Leader: Kimberly Gaubault (McCrae) is an intentional lover of humanity and actively lives the self-care life about which she teaches and advocates. Her personal philosophy of interpersonal interaction is, “If I’ve not positively influenced someone everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve not walked in my purpose.”
Cost: $10, $25, or $40 per session. Choose the price that fits your budget.

Loving My Enemies & Other Outlandish Pursuits: Angie Wright's Book Launch
2025-12-11 19:00 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
RCWMS is pleased to announce the publication of Angie Wright’s new book, Loving My Enemies & Other Outlandish Pursuits. We warmly invite you to join us for the launch!
This memoir of faith, family, and power follows Rev. Angie Wright’s commitment as an activist and pastor to stand against hate without indulging the temptation of hating the haters. In her story, spirituality meets social justice and betrayal pushes against the ethic of forgiveness. Rev. Wright probes questions most of us have to face at times in our lives: How do we reconsider our relationship with people we’ve been taught to hate and fear? And when others wreak harm on us or our communities, can we respond in ways that summon their humanity while protecting our own?

Angie Wright has always liked starting trouble—good trouble, as John Lewis called it. She was the founding pastor of Beloved Community United Church of Christ in downtown Birmingham, Alabama, where she served for sixteen years. She was a founder of Alabama Arise and a leader in the statewide effort to overturn Alabama’s anti-immigrant law. She served on the staff and boards of numerous local, regional, and national justice organizations. Angie takes immeasurable joy in her splendid sons: Luke, a musician in Hillsborough, NC, and Frank, who raises cows and lives in Costa Rica with his eight-year-old son, Kai. Now retired, Angie lives in Hillsborough and spends her time gardening, hanging out with family, and doing her part to stop the downfall of democracy.

Pre-order the book: HERE.

Please REGISTER for the reading by selecting a free ticket below. Registrants will receive both a receipt and a separate email with a Zoom link in the automated ticket confirmation. Please check your spam and/or promotions folder if you don’t receive one or both of these emails. We will also be sending Zoom link reminders just before the event.

Holiday Sale December 14, 2025!
2025-12-14 13:00 - 17:00 | 1202 Watts Street, Durham, NC, Watts Street 1202, Durham, North Carolina, 27701, United States
Handmade cards, books, jewelry, animals, paintings, etc. by:
Kimberley Pierce Cartwright, Galia Goodman, Bryant Holsenbeck, Jereann King Johnson, Jeanette Stokes, Mary Rocap, & The TravelPenguin

Come by to visit, experience local artwork, and purchase great gifts. RCWMS books will be on deep discount. They make great holiday gifts! Bring your neighbors, friends, and families. A portion of the proceeds will benefit RCWMS. Masks are requested.
For more information, please email Jeanette Stokes at jeanette@rcwms.org.

Location: 1202 Watts Street, Durham, NC (Corner of Watts Street and Demerius Street)

Ministry of Black Women’s Self Care, with Kim Gaubault - December 2025
2025-12-17 19:00 - 20:30
Kim Gaubault recognizes that self-care is often the component that remains a form of intervention (after the break or the medical emergency) rather than a preventative measure. When we allow our bodies, minds and/or spirits to break down in the course of doing this work, we are not only putting ourselves at risk but we are putting at risk the integrity of the work for which we are laboring. This work is a work of self-love, communal love, Womanist Ethicism, it is multi-generational, multicultural and is not finite, but is instead as infinite as the beauty in the divinity that is Blackness. Come and share in this life’s work! This program is specifically designed to offer practical tools for everyday self-care to Black women-identified individuals doing all forms of ministry, in church and community.
December: Laying Aside Every Weight: The Art of Shedding
Register for December below.
Leader: Kimberly Gaubault (McCrae) is an intentional lover of humanity and actively lives the self-care life about which she teaches and advocates. Her personal philosophy of interpersonal interaction is, “If I’ve not positively influenced someone everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve not walked in my purpose.”
Cost: $10, $25, or $40 per session. Choose the price that fits your budget.

Loving My Enemies & Other Outlandish Pursuits: Angie Wright’s Book Party! (In-Person)
2026-01-11 17:00 - 19:00 | Night School Bar, 719 N Mangum St, Durham, NC, 27701, United States
Celebrate the release of Angie Wright’s powerful new memoir, Loving My Enemies & Other Outlandish Pursuits, with RCWMS!
Join us for an unforgettable evening at Night School Bar, where Rev. Angie will share insights on faith, family, power, and the ways they shape our world.
This memoir follows Rev. Angie Wright’s commitment as an activist and pastor to stand against hate without indulging the temptation of hating the haters. In her story, spirituality meets social justice, and betrayal pushes against the ethic of forgiveness. Rev. Wright probes questions most of us have to face at times in our lives: How do we reconsider our relationship with people we’ve been taught to hate and fear? And when others wreak harm on us or our communities, can we respond in ways that summon their humanity while protecting our own?
Purchase the book: HERE.

Ministry of Black Women’s Self Care, with Kim Gaubault - January 2026
2026-01-21 19:00 - 20:30
Kim Gaubault recognizes that self-care is often the component that remains a form of intervention (after the break or the medical emergency) rather than a preventative measure. When we allow our bodies, minds and/or spirits to break down in the course of doing this work, we are not only putting ourselves at risk but we are putting at risk the integrity of the work for which we are laboring. This work is a work of self-love, communal love, Womanist Ethicism, it is multi-generational, multicultural and is not finite, but is instead as infinite as the beauty in the divinity that is Blackness. Come and share in this life’s work! This program is specifically designed to offer practical tools for everyday self-care to Black women-identified individuals doing all forms of ministry, in church and community.
January: This Time, I’m Centering Me
February: Making History: Financial Literacy and Other Forms of Liberation
March: Women’s History Month: Black Girl Magic Now, Then, Forever
Register for JANUARY below.
Leader: Kimberly Gaubault (McCrae) is an intentional lover of humanity and actively lives the self-care life about which she teaches and advocates. Her personal philosophy of interpersonal interaction is, “If I’ve not positively influenced someone everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve not walked in my purpose.”
Cost: $10, $25, or $40 per session. Choose the price that fits your budget.

READING: Proclamation Beyond the Pulpit by Chelsea Yarborough
2026-01-22 19:00 - 20:30 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
RCWMS is pleased to invite you to join us for a reading by Chelsea Yarborough from her new book, Proclamation Beyond the Pulpit: The Expansive Homiletical Practice of Black Women (Baylor, 2025).
Preaching is typically considered to be a practice confined to ministry within the institutional church. Studies of preaching are often filtered through the lens of the pulpit, with Black women rarely featured as central figures. Proclamation Beyond the Pulpit lifts up Sojourner Truth, Nannie Helen Burroughs, and Fannie Lou Hamer as crucial sources for homiletic theory. Chelsea Yarborough introduces a methodology for preaching that arises from the witness and practices of these three Black women non-pulpit preachers, expanding our understanding of proclamation beyond traditional notions of its nature and purpose.
This shift away from the limitations of the pulpit into the public sphere and beyond has deep roots in the preaching legacy of Black women. Often denied places of authority in the church, Black women have carved out spheres for their proclamation, teaching us that the essence and purpose of preaching is less about place and more about impact and practice. By centering the lives and ministries of three historical Black women preachers who preached beyond the pulpit, Yarborough highlights a lineage of expansive homiletical possibilities and offers valuable insights for preachers across diverse platforms.

Rev. Dr. Chelsea Brooke Yarborough, PhD, is the Associate Director of Leadership Programming at the Association of Theological Schools. She is a preacher, an ordained minister in the Baptist tradition, a poet, leadership coach and an enneagram teacher. She serves as a trustee for RCWMS.

Pre-order the book: HERE.

Please REGISTER for the reading by selecting a free ticket below. Registrants will receive both a receipt and a separate email with a Zoom link in the automated ticket confirmation. Please check your spam and/or promotions folder if you don’t receive one or both of these emails. We will also be sending Zoom link reminders just before the event.

2026 Health & Wellness Series: Reclaiming the Heart & the Womb with Health Integration 629, LLC (via Zoom)
2026-02-05 18:30 - 20:00 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
Women of Color will gather this year to explore how being connected to our hearts and our wombs (both literal and figurative) supports goals for wellness. Discussions will include information regarding the distinction between sex, sexuality, and sensuality, and how a deeper knowledge of self can support your personal health plan. Registrants will receive up to 3 individual health coaching sessions to support their goals.
The initial idea for this series was offered by a 2025 Health Series participant and has been designed for individuals who will benefit from learning in a community. Participants will commit to their practice by using the information from each session to set goals and take action toward their personal vision for improved health and well-being.
The following resources are included in the price of the 2026 series: Health Inventory Assessment, Personal Maintenance Plan, and up to 3 one-on-one coaching sessions during the series in addition to the 9 group sessions above (limited to 3 private sessions total, per participant, between February 2026 and May 2026).
Join us for this 9-session series (space will be limited):
February 5th, 2026- Session Title: What Are You Creating This Year? (Vision)
Short Description: What have we been told? What do we know?

February 19th, 2026- Session Title: Sacred Intimacy and Sensuality (Connection & Reciprocity)
Short Description: Improving Health & Wellbeing through the 8 senses and becoming aware of the divine exchange between our inner and outer worlds.

March 5th, 2026- Session Title: Woman: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
Short Description: Honoring our seasons with awareness.

March 19th, 2026- Session Title: Your Wisdom
Short Description: Winter

April 2nd, 2026- Session Title: Your Beauty
Short Description: Spring

April 16th, 2026- Session Title: Your Power
Short Description: Summer

April 30th, 2026- Session Title: Your Art
Short Description: Fall

May 14th, 2026- Session Title: Meeting this Moment: Healthy, Strong, Balanced & Nourished
Short Description: Receiving and Releasing

May 28th, 2026- Session Title: Our Medicine, Our Recipe
Short Description: Eating, bathing, cooking, movement, listening, observing, art, etc.

Cost: $90
Space is limited (6-13 participants). All participants must complete a Group/Individual Coaching Agreement outlining the parameters of the series.

One-time registration is required. Please email info@rcwms.org if you have any questions or concerns.
Register below. Registrants will receive a Zoom link in the automated ticket confirmation.

Ministry of Black Women’s Self Care, with Kim Gaubault - February 2026
2026-02-18 19:00 - 20:30
Kim Gaubault recognizes that self-care is often the component that remains a form of intervention (after the break or the medical emergency) rather than a preventative measure. When we allow our bodies, minds and/or spirits to break down in the course of doing this work, we are not only putting ourselves at risk but we are putting at risk the integrity of the work for which we are laboring. This work is a work of self-love, communal love, Womanist Ethicism, it is multi-generational, multicultural and is not finite, but is instead as infinite as the beauty in the divinity that is Blackness. Come and share in this life’s work! This program is specifically designed to offer practical tools for everyday self-care to Black women-identified individuals doing all forms of ministry, in church and community.
January: This Time, I’m Centering Me
February: Making History: Financial Literacy and Other Forms of Liberation
March: Women’s History Month: Black Girl Magic Now, Then, Forever
Register for FEBRUARY below.
Leader: Kimberly Gaubault (McCrae) is an intentional lover of humanity and actively lives the self-care life about which she teaches and advocates. Her personal philosophy of interpersonal interaction is, “If I’ve not positively influenced someone everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve not walked in my purpose.”
Cost: $10, $25, or $40 per session. Choose the price that fits your budget.

2026 Health & Wellness Series: Reclaiming the Heart & the Womb with Health Integration 629, LLC (via Zoom)
2026-02-19 18:30 - 20:00 | via Zoom, Durham, NC, United States
Women of Color will gather this year to explore how being connected to our hearts and our wombs supports goals for wellness. Discussions will include information regarding the distinction between sex, sexuality, and sensuality, and how a deeper knowledge of self can support your personal health plan. Registrants will receive up to 3 individual health coaching sessions to support their goals.
The initial idea for this series was offered by a 2025 Health Series participant and has been designed for individuals who will benefit from learning in a community. Participants will commit to their practice by using the information from each session to set goals and take action toward their personal vision for improved health and well-being.
The following resources are included in the price of the 2026 series: Health Inventory Assessment, Personal Maintenance Plan, and up to 3 one-on-one coaching sessions during the series in addition to the 9 group sessions above (limited to 3 private sessions total, per participant, between February 2026 and May 2026).
Join us for this 9-session series (space will be limited):

February 19th, 2026- Session Title: Sacred Intimacy and Sensuality (Connection & Reciprocity)
Short Description: Improving Health & Wellbeing through the 8 senses and becoming aware of the divine exchange between our inner and outer worlds.

March 5th, 2026- Session Title: Woman: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
Short Description: Honoring our seasons with awareness.

March 19th, 2026- Session Title: Your Wisdom
Short Description: Winter

April 2nd, 2026- Session Title: Your Beauty
Short Description: Spring

April 16th, 2026- Session Title: Your Power
Short Description: Summer

April 30th, 2026- Session Title: Your Art
Short Description: Fall

May 14th, 2026- Session Title: Meeting this Moment: Healthy, Strong, Balanced & Nourished
Short Description: Receiving and Releasing

May 28th, 2026- Session Title: Our Medicine, Our Recipe
Short Description: Eating, bathing, cooking, movement, listening, observing, art, etc.

Cost: $90
Space is limited (6-13 participants). All participants must complete a Group/Individual Coaching Agreement outlining the parameters of the series.

One-time registration is required. Please email info@rcwms.org for additional information today!

What's Love Got To Do With It? (Sponsored by: Peace Hill at Avila and RCWMS)
2026-03-12 09:30 - 14:30
This retreat will invite participants into one of the most challenging and transformative teachings shared across many spiritual traditions: the call to love one’s enemies while also learning to love oneself with honesty, dignity, and care. Rather than treating these practices as opposite, we will explore how they are deeply connected and mutually empowering. What does love look like? What does love require of us? How can we embody love in the midst of discord and division? Rev. Angie Wright and Rev. Dr. Cathy S. Gilliard will guide participants as we explore personal challenges, unhealed wounds, and hopes for moving forward with greater intention and grace.
Leaders: Rev. Angie Wright is the author of Loving My Enemies & Other Outlandish Pursuits, a memoir of family, faith and power. Angie is a retired UCC pastor devoted to the pursuits of justice and mercy. She has two splendid sons and one precocious 8-year-old grandson. Rev. Dr. Cathy S. Gilliard is a retired United Methodist Church pastor, having most recently served as senior minister at Park Avenue United Methodist Church, New York, NY. She is the proud mother of two wonderful sons and six amazing grandchildren.
Photo by Angie Wright.
