In a previous post, I mentioned that a girlfriend of mine got the inspiration to start a ‘sister circle’ in 2008. She’s named the group the ‘Elect Eleven’ – so called because there are eleven of us who will meet each month for eleven months to participate in a variety of activities from book discussions, to community service, to creating financial strategies and dream boards. The purpose of the group is to provide a safe, supportive environment for us all to share our successes, fears, dreams, frustrations, ideas and insights in a way that women – especially Black women – don’t usually do, unfortunate as that is.

This past Saturday was the inaugural meeting of the Elect Eleven, and I say without any hesitation that I feel abundantly blessed to have been invited to join such a dynamic group. Each of us is different – there are single women, married women, entrepreneurs, teachers, vegetarians, wine enthusiasts, shoe fetishists – we have our unique personality quirks and come from varied backgrounds, but we all share a common spiritual bond and a strong faith in God that is a more tangible link than any other could be.

We began the gathering by sharing a little bit about ourselves – hometown, occupation, interests, etc. – and spent the rest of the evening getting to know each other better over several glasses of wine, some very tasty dishes, and lots and lots of laughter. We ended the evening in prayer, each one of us taking turns to offer up our intentions for the group. Listening to these women pray was a profoundly powerful and emotional experience. As each woman spoke in her own prayer language, the rest of us added to her efforts with quiet ‘amen’s and ‘yes’es until the air in the room seem charged with such a spiritual intensity that I literally had goosebumps by the time we finished.

Many thanks to Cheryl and the other ‘Elect Eleven’ for a wonderful evening. I look forward to exploring the places we’ll go together.

cheers,
k

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