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ABOUT THE HILDEGARD PROJECT:
WHAT IT IS:
The Hildegard Project is an online connection and resource space for women who are leading faith-based organizations and ministries.
I have heard so many women church planters, innovators, and ministry leaders describe the loneliness and isolation that comes from being church innovators in a male-dominated field. By sharing our stories, creativity, and wisdom, my hope is that we will reduce isolation, elevate women's voices, and be a connection point for resources and ideas as we make an impact in our neighborhoods and communities.
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WHO IS HILDEGARD?
In my first semester of seminary, I discovered a woman named Hildegard of Bingen. She was this bad-ass, medieval nun who had wild, prophetic visions, composed music, practiced medicine, wrote literature, and planted a convent with 18 nuns under her care. She was relentless in her pursuit of living out her faith with imagination, boldness, and authenticity. When I first started to pray about this project, Hildegard of Bingen is who came to mind as inspiration for what I hope for this experience and I hope you find a similar inspiration from her life's work in pursuit and service to God.
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May The Hildegard Project be a place of inspiration, empowerment, and nourishment for all of us out there in the wild who are committed to being prophetic voices in the lives of God's people and God's Church.
​May The Hildegard Project be a place of inspiration, empowerment, and nourishment for all of us out there in the wild who are committed to being prophetic voices in the lives of God's people and God's Church.
ABOUT ME, ANGELA ROBERSON:
I have created this space because it is the space I needed seven years ago when I was praying about a church plant and its the space I need now as I discern where God is calling me next. When I first began this work back in 2016, I found myself feeling isolated and lonely. My coaches were male, my church planting cohort peers were male, my pastor was male, and most of the plants I could find online were led by male leadership. I consider it an immense gift that all of these male leaders were encouraging, professional, and for the most part, inclusive. I know too many women who have shared stories that do not reflect the same experience. Despite having these positive experiences, I craved the presence of women who were in the planting trenches to swap stories, share ideas, and to be really honest about the experiences with out feeling like I had something to prove.
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As I pray through where God has called me next, I'm doing so with more vulnerability than this Enneagram 8 is comfortable with. I'm passionate about this work because I believe so much in the redemptive power of God's grace and I am committed to the sacred task of connecting God's people to God's community so that others might experience that same gift of love and freedom. So I am here to learn from other women with you, to be equipped for the task at hand, and to experience the sacred community that is found in a bunch of messy and brave women.
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When I'm not being weirdly vulnerable online, I have this messy bunch of people that belong to each other: My husband of almost 20 years, a college-age son, and a daughter in high school. These are my most sacred and they keep me humble daily, provide safe space when church leadership is hard, and make me laugh, smile, and roll my eyes more than any other bunch of punks and I am so grateful to belong to our family.
In Gratitude:
That first church plant would not have been possible without the bold and imaginative faith people of Blackwater United Methodist Church (and pastors, Rev. Dr. Jonathan King and Rev. Pattye Hewitt), the Congregational Development Team of the Louisiana Annual Conference of the UMC (Rev. Dr. Gloria Fowler, Rev. Karli Pidgeon, & Rev. Sam Hubbard), and the people who would become the new faith community of The Table. Thank you for your leadership, your trust in my leadership, and for imagining something holy and beautiful with me!
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Let's do it again <3