Our community initiative, called the HERstory Project, was launched in the fall of 2019. We created a safe place for local women to share their stories. The stories of their life journeys, experiences of loss, triumph, and strength, were all part of what we shared. After four phenomenal women from different ages, groups, and cultures shared their stories, we hosted a marketplace of activities, with vendors and massage therapy available to all. Women donated funds, wrote letters, and packed care bags for a local shelter that provides emergency housing and care for women and children.

Under the impact of COVID-19, that first public event in the town of Bowmanville turned out to be our only one. Notwithstanding, HERstory Project has continued on Instagram, and will be an annual initiative committed to serving women’s needs, and impact for good the lives of women in all regions of Ontario. It is our goal to have all women across each community make connections with new friends in the community, experience the wholeness of healthy self-care, and continue to share their own stories.

Elizabeth Pule is a pastor in the Ontario Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, and director of Ontario Conference family ministries, which includes men’s, women’s, and children’s ministries.