BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – Notla River Baptist Association sponsored She Loves Out Loud North Georgia to provide women hungry for connection an opportunity to fellowship with their peers, both locally and around the world.

Over 50 women came together at North Georgia Technical College to worship with others across the nation from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Many arrived ahead of time because they were so hungry for the chance to fellowship with other women.

Cindy Bailey, Notla River Baptist Association Women’s Ministry Director, organized the North Georgia branch of the prayer movement. She saw a real need for opportunities for women to fellowship together in the community. 

When asked if she felt local women had a strong female worship network, Bailey responded with, “No, they don’t.” She believed this stems from a two-fold issue, “We have our own busy lifestyles. Women especially, they work and, generally, they have their home. If they’re married, they have their husband. They take care of the home. They have their children.”

The constraints of children and the home have limited women’s opportunities to get out into the community and connect with others. Bailey also called attention to problematic weather, which can keep people in their homes. For this reason, social media has become a gathering place.

She Loves Out Loud North Georgia saw an encouraging turnout for the inaugural event.

“I’m involved with the women’s enrichment center, and women will come through the door – time after time after time – they look for fellowship,” Bailey stated.

Additionally, the topographical diversity has served as a hindrance for people who want to be involved but can’t leave their house in bad weather.

Bailey, encouraged by conversations with other women in the community, has started a monthly prayer group that takes place over the phone and assembles quarterly in person.

When it comes to young women, she has asked churches in the area if they would be interested in starting activities. “What I was offering was to either come into their churches and teach their women how to facilitate these types of churches. On March 7, we’re having an open meeting, at Redeemer Baptist, for all the women of the association [to] tell us what [they] need. Tell us what [they] see that’s not working, that is working. Our business is not to come into [their] business, but our business is to support [them],” she explained.

The event focused on the needs of North Georgia in the morning with Bailey speaking on suicide and Dr. Jenny Heuer from Clearview at Chatuge Hospital discussing mental illness.

The afternoon featured testimony and praying through scripture in seven areas, which included anxiety, depression, race relations, friendship, healing from abuse and trauma, crisis pregnancy/adoption and fostering, America and military wives, marriage betrayal/pornography, and families and children.

During the crisis pregnancy, adoption, and abortion session, Claire Culwell and Barbara Culwell shared their adoption story. Claire was a special-needs baby, who experienced a botched abortion after the doctor didn’t realize there were twins in her birth mother’s womb.

“It took [my birth mother] a long time to believe [my forgiveness] or maybe accept it. I think for so long she believed lies about herself that not only she wasn’t worthy of forgiveness, but because she placed me up for adoption, she wasn’t a good enough mother,” said Claire. “I was able to share with her how none of those things are true because she gave me my [adoptive] mother. She gave me, my family. [My adoptive mother] is the best mother for me.”

The prayer movement started with Diane Strack, who felt God calling to her to gather the women to pray. At last year’s National Day of Prayer, Strack voiced her desire to hold a prayer event for women, who also felt a similar need. She Loves Out Loud came about through Strack and her conservations with other women. For those who couldn’t attend, the event offered a free live stream.

Sponsors for the national event included Lifeway Digital Resources, Life Today, The North American Mission Board, One More Child, Student Leadership University, and Notla River Baptist Association.

Women from across the mountains joined in prayer at She Loves Out Loud.

Six local organizations attended the event: The Women’s Enrichment Center, Georgia Mountain Pregnancy Center, Healing Hands Community Clinic, Hope House, Goodies from the Heart, and S.A.F.E. Revive Our Hearts, a national women’s ministry also came to educate attendees more about their services. 16 churches and seven denominations were represented from across three counties.

“The big is seeing the impact on the women and just watching them pray together and knowing there are groups like this all over the world is just kind of mindboggling. It’s not that there aren’t prayer groups aren’t the world every day, but these are women praying in the same hour, no matter the time zone,” Bailey marveled.

Bailey also announced the intention to create an area connection plan that accurately provides organizational information for anyone in the community. She added that if they can cleanly compile all the phone numbers, addresses, and websites, Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris has said the county government website would link to it.