Wesley Network is providing a place where women can discuss difficult topics while surrounded by support.

The group's Women Empowering Women program began Feb. 22 and will run until early November.

The group meets the last Saturday of every month from 9 to 11 a.m. at Crossing Jordan, 7 Wesley Road, Quarryville. Free child care is provided along with a light breakfast. Women can join at any point during the year and do not need to be a member of the Wesley Network, which is made up of three churches: Wesley Main, Crossing Jordan, and La Cosecha.

More than 60 people signed up before the program started. There is no limit to the number of participants. "This is an atmosphere where every woman will be welcomed and feel encouraged," said Beth Foss, who is Wesley Network's director of congregation care. "The program is for women of every age and stage. I think that's one of the best things about it. One of the greatest attributes of the group is it's nice to have women from different stages of life."

This year's program theme is "Living With Courage." "Every year we pray to see what God wants us to do and what the women of this community need," Foss said. "Speakers from the community and the region will talk about all aspects of living courageously as a woman."

This is the fourth year Wesley is holding Women Empowering Women. "This group was birthed because during COVID we started seeing at the church a lot of women within our congregation and in the community who had a variety of needs," said Foss. "I started seeing these patterns of women who needed help creating a budget and had mental, emotional, and health needs. Women wanted to gather together, not only because we were so isolated, but also to form friendships and encourage one another in a really trying time."

The program continues to evolve. "At the beginning, the meetings were all about equipping women and providing the tools and resources they need to do as God directs them (and understand) what their family needs and what they need," Foss said.

Program director Alexa Gruber stated that the monthly meetings are "live coaching sessions on a particular topic that is geared around the theme." She brings in experts in a particular field. "I give them the floor and let them run with what they are good at," said Gruber.

"There was a need for women to get connected," Gruber added. "We needed to forge a group that could come together and help support one another in person. We point women toward valuable resources they might need. It's for women who want to grow personally, knowing that will directly impact their families and those they serve for generations."

She noted the program is an effective way for women to better themselves. "It's really about growing and improving yourself so you can be a stronger vessel for the Lord, for your family, for the workplace, any place you are going to be impacting," said Gruber. "Women needed a place they could grow, and this fosters growth."

Gruber plans to highlight testimonies from program participants that tie in to the theme of being courageous. "I really want women to feel comfortable here and that they can show up and be themselves," Gruber emphasized.

She said she often thinks of lyrics from the Jelly Roll song "Winning Streak," in particular the line, "Nobody walks through these doors on a winning streak."

"I feel like that is so powerful," Gruber said. "When you walk through the doors of a church or you need a support group, you might be carrying a lot of shame or embarrassment or hurt. You may feel liked you're weighed down. I want women to lean into that and come anyway. For me personally, it's those times where I was trying not to go, but I decided to show up anyway, and those were the life-changing times."

For more information about Women Empowering Women, visit https://wesleyqville.org, email Gruber at thirtyonetenfitness@gmail.com, or go to the Facebook page "Women Empowering Women (Wesley Network)."

"We're all here on this journey of life," said Gruber. "If we're not in a battle right now, we're typically just getting out of one or we are about to enter one. We need to surround ourselves with support because we were not meant to do life alone. What better way to talk about difficult things than in the walls of a church? ... That takes courage to do. That's scary."