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by Michele A. Rhudy
Nine years ago, Kim Newlen answered her heart’s calling to stay at home full-time with her two year-old daughter Kali. The new job was both rewarding and demanding, but also very lonely. Back then, Kim had no way of knowing she would soon start a global women’s ministry as a result of her own loneliness.
“I asked my husband Mark if something was wrong with me because my best friend was our 72 year-old neighbor who lived across the street,” remembers Kim. “And suddenly, I got the idea for Sweet Monday.”
Sweet Monday started as a relatively small concept. Kim decided to make a dessert and invite over every woman she knew to her Richmond, Va., home. She invited all of her neighbors (many of whom were strangers) and every woman in her church. This step, Kim remembers, was the toughest part.
“The night before the first Sweet Monday I had a dream that I got everything ready and nobody came,” says Kim. But that dream would prove to be untrue. That first night in 1995, more than 30 women flocked to her home to share in a “Beauty-Full Evening” – where each woman offered her favorite beauty tip while enjoying dessert and spending time together.
Nine years later, women of every age, size and color stream into Kim’s suburban home the first Monday of every month and sit in her large family room that has been renovated to accommodate the crowds. Some of these women are invited. Others just show up. Kim doesn’t care. The only criteria for coming to Sweet Monday are that you are female and willing to spend 90 minutes of fun and fellowship with other women in the pursuit of life’s sweeter things.
Sweet things, like tea parties and clutter auctions and seminars on beauty tips, are the vehicles through which Kim delivers her spirit and her goodness. And then there is her faith. “Every Sweet Monday I share something from the Bible,” explains Kim. “I want these women to leave with something that really matters. While Sweet Monday is different from most other types of Bible studies, Christ is definitely here.”
Christ was there four years ago, the day Kim met a striking and friendly African-American woman in the post office – a professional singer named Rhayne. “I invited her to Sweet Monday and not only did she come, she also called afterwards to come and discuss her faith,” explains Kim. With a new interest in God, Rhayne came faithfully to Sweet Monday for two years before moving to Las Vegas for her career.
Rhayne credits Kim for her blossoming spirituality. “Kim is so amazing. She puts faith and love in a place where everyone can reach them,” said Rhayne. “I met so many real and down-to-earth women at Sweet Monday who give each other incredible strength.”
Rhayne tours the country as a professional singer, but in March made a surprise trip to Richmond for the sole purpose of visiting her friends at Sweet Monday. “I had to go and see them,” she explained. “There is such a grounding, real feeling there.”
At Sweet Monday, women find a sanctuary of laughter, acceptance and faith where there are no dues and no money collected. Themes for the socials vary widely, but are often a reflection of the gifts of the women who attend. A recent Sweet Monday, the celebration was chocolate – in a big way – thanks to a Sweet Monday regular who prepared more than 10 decadent chocolate desserts and provided all the recipes for the group of nearly 50 women.
During the program, this same woman shared her courageous story of almost losing her teenage daughter the previous summer to a mysterious illness she contracted while on a mission trip to a third-world country. There was not a dry eye in the room as each woman was touched by her ordeal and many shared their own struggles. “I love to see these women shine when they share their passions and their gifts,” said Kim. “And I learn so much from them every month.”
Sweet Monday is catching on. The Sweet Monday Web site receives visits from hundreds of women around the world that are starting their own Sweet Monday in hometowns from Illinois to Australia. Kim tracks them in a database and enthusiastically explains her vision to have “a Sweet Monday in every town, everywhere, so that women can share life experiences, blessings and beliefs.”
Kim and a staff of Sweet Monday volunteers answer e-mails and help women around the world get their own Sweet Monday started. Since many of the requests come from women involved with their church or trying the concept on their own, the simple, “on a shoestring” ideas for socials are appealing.
“Many women might not want to start a program that requires hours of work each month, so we have developed dozens of ideas that are all sweet and simple,” says Kim. “I believe God is using Sweet Monday as a tiny tool to reach women everywhere.”
For more information about Sweet Monday, including ideas and techniques for hosting your own, go to www.sweetmonday.com.
