Yesterday, Mars Hill Bellevue held a Women’s Training Day to serve and equip women with a theology of beauty. Celeste Gracey, a member of Mars Hill Bellevue, was on the ground to cover the event with photos captured by Brenda Miller.
As a teen, so much of Alyssa DeHoop’s self-worth was tied up in her relationships, she kept a list of boys that had crushes on her. When she grew bored of dating one classmate, she’d move on to the next.
Each relationship took her further from Jesus, until she denied him altogether. It’s been several years since God placed the gospel in her heart again, but it wasn’t until yesterday at a Mars Hill Church Women’s Training Day that she fully grasped the struggle of her life.
“I feel like I had open heart surgery today,” she said. “This brought it full circle.”
The event, which focused on the theology of beauty, explained her past brokenness of never feeling adequate and her struggle today with self-worship.
About 500 women from the Puget Sound area and Portland gathered at the Bellevue Church to hear from four deacons about the destructive power of skewed beauty standards and how God has redeemed beauty through himself. The core message was that beauty is found when we trust Jesus and so reflect his beauty.
A powerful moment in the day-long event was when a queue of women formed at a wooden cross and trailed the width of the auditorium. They took turns scribbling lies that they had believed and laid them to rest at the foot of the cross. The women then replaced the lies with Bible verses, which offered encouraging truths.
High school student Olivia Swanson was surprised to find herself in the line, she said. “I didn't think I had a problem with self image.”
A prop on stage, ironically a mirror, kept reflecting her image back throughout the day. She couldn’t help but stare at herself. God used the moment to teach her about the envy that she never thought she had, she said
The lie she placed at the cross: “Jesus isn't enough.”
Her truth: “True beauty is loving Jesus.”
For Genevieve Lin, who once studied sociology and women's studies at a university, the teaching by Missi Wilson and Shadlie Kensrue on the impacts of social media and the pervasive issue of self-image provided a refreshing affirmation of the Christian perspective. It was good to see the dialog happen, she said.
While the speakers spent most of the time working from the book of Romans the event wrapped up with Psalm 34:5, which says, “Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.”
“It was a beautiful day of listening to hard truths, but redeeming truths,” said Nancy Schmidt, a key event organizer, at the close.
To get involved with your local Mars Hill women’s ministry, get connected here or at the Connect Desk at your local church. Below, check out more pics from the event.
