Her Green Room Luncheon at General Council 2017

Around 750 women gathered in the California Ballroom of Hilton Anaheim on Tuesday, August 8, during General Council 2017, to be encouraged and strengthened by spending time with each other during the Her Green Room event.

Carol Cymbala, author and director of award-winning The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, and her daughter, Chrissy Toledo, lead pastor with husband Al of Chicago Tabernacle, and author of The Girl in The Song, were special guests.

Kay Burnett, National Women’s Ministries director, emceed the event, which had been planned by a lead team of ministry wives including Mary Beth Bradshaw, Peninsular Florida; Kerry Clarensau, North Texas; Debbie Cole, Northwest; Tiffany Cooper, Oklahoma; Jodi Detrick, Northwest; Johanna Garrison, executive leader; Laurel Harvey, Rural Compassion; Nonda Houston, Southern California-Nevada; Lori Jacobs, Iowa; Debbie Lindell, Southern Missouri; Sandie Mundis, executive leader; and Denise Ryan, Northern California-Nevada.

To start the event, Kay introduced Kerry Clarensau, North Texas Women’s Ministries Director, who drew attention to the gift bag each ministry wife received, which included the book Fully His. Clarensau said, ““We were created to know God, and receive His gifts, and reflect His character. That’s why I wrote this devotional.”

As the women finished lunch, Burnett introduced Amy Turnage, director of Operations for the Assemblies of God Center for Holy Lands Studies, who announced the Women’s Faith Journey Israel Tour, coming March 9-19, 2018. Turnage explained that this trip would be for women only, and co-hosted by Turnage, Burnett, Clarensau, and Coleen Schaberg, Wyoming Women’s Ministries district director. Turnage also announced that at the end of the luncheon, she would be giving away one free trip to Israel.

Nonda Houston presented an update from the 2015 Woman of Honor, Maggie Dunn, who reported by way of video. Dunn’s ministry to foster care children, House of Providence, Oxford, Michigan, has recently received a donation allowing them to purchase 117 acres to expand their ministry to reach not only girls in foster care, ages 8-18, but young men of the same ages, as well as launching a new program for disabled foster care youth. “The state is coming to us, asking us to expand our program, and the Lord is helping us do that!,” Dunn exclaimed.

Jodi Detrick presented June Groom as the 2017 Woman of Honor. Groom is director of Forever Families, a ministry to families of inmates, located in Kaufman, Texas.

June was presented an honorarium from the Her Green Room lead team, plus proceeds from an offering taken during the event.

After the Woman of Honor presentation, Laurel Harvey led the ministry wives in lighthearted table discussion.

Kay Burnett invited Carol Cymbala and Chrissy Toledo to the platform for an interview-style presentation. Kay first asked for women in the room who were attending with a mother or daughter, or mother-in-law or daughter-in-law to stand, to which a sizeable number of attendees responded. She then asked the guests to share what the two of them have in common.

Carol responded, “We have a lot in common. We are both ministry wives and music directors in our churches. We are both mothers: I have two girls and a boy; she has two girls and a boy. We are both grandmothers, and have grandchildren the same age!”

Chrissy added, “I really can’t believe how much we have in common. We talk at least once a day, or more, about our churches, our families.“

Burnett asked Carol and Chrissy to outline their testimony as it appears in Chrissy’s book, Girl in the Song, as also shared in this PE News article, “Prayer and the Prodigal.” [https://penews.org/news/prayer-and-the-prodigal] In essence, when Chrissy walked away from her faith and family, after a long struggle and concerted prayer from The Brooklyn Tabernacle congregation, God intervened and brought Chrissy home. The daughter she had during that time is now 28 years old. “I want to brag on Jesus,” Chrissy said, “He gave my daughter a daddy [in Chrissy’s husband Al Toledo] and they have a beautiful relationship.”

Carol shared about writing the song, “He is Faithful,” during the time her daughter was away, and Carol was struggling with uterine cancer. She led in a powerful time of prayer for women in the room who need miracles.

At the conclusion of the event, attendees received several giveaways, including Robyn Wilkerson’s book Shattering the Stained Glass Ceiling, and Debbie Lindell’s book She Believes. The Israel trip was awarded to a pastor’s wife who sobbed and chuckled at the same time: “I was praying it would be me!”

Chrissy concluded, “Jesus wants to do exceedingly, abundantly above what we ask or think.”