April 21, 2022
Vol. 22, No. 49
In This Issue FOUR SEASONS
20 years of helpingSingle mom ministry
Four Seasons, by Kevin Box, in real life is located in front of the Center for Transformative Learning on the UCO campus, but this week is hidden somewhere in our paper. Email contest@edmondpaper.com with the correct location to be entered in the weekly drawing. For more information, see page 4.
PHOTOS PROVIDED
Arise Single Moms co-founders: Executive Director Shelley Pulliam and Development Director Pam Kanaly.
Single moms connect during the Thrive Gathering. This year’s event is set for June 10-11 at Crossings Community Church.
Downtown Edmond Arts Festival 2022 program
Inserted today!
FRIDAY, April 22
Partly Cloudy/Wind High 84° Low 65°
SATURDAY, April 23
Scattered Thunderstorms/Wind High 83° Low 62°
SUNDAY, April 24 Thunderstorms High 69° Low 51°
Next Thrive Conference is in June
By Rose Drebes Arise Single Moms Co-Founder and Development Dairector Pam Kanaly knew what it was like to be single mom as she had gone through an unwanted divorce. God called her to help establish the ministry 20 years ago and she said she has been very “humbled” by what the now-global outreach has accomplished. Kanaly partnered with Executive Director Shelley Pulliam, then an eighth-grade teacher at Cimmaron Middle School in Edmond who had won a Teacher of the Year Award in Holocaust education. Never married, Pulliam brought a compassion for children to the nonprofit. “I was so devastated,” Kanaly said of her divorce and time as a single mom. She went on to remarry 30 years ago, but never forgot how she struggled to raise her children on her own and was compelled to help other women in the same situation. Kanaly said she wants the 20th anniversary of the organization to be the “greatest celebration.” Single moms are brave women, she said. “They are great,” Kanaly said. “They are courageous, amazing people.” The foremost challenges these women face are financial, time management and child-rearing concerns,
she said. Arise Single Moms strives to empower women who are on their own and provide resources so they are able to impact their children in a positive way. The children, therefore, can grow up to be healthy adults. “When single moms can feel strong, then their children feel that,” Kanaly said. There are five categories of single moms, Kanaly said. They are: -Women who are single again. -Women who are widows. -Women who have adopted children and never married. -Women who are moms and never married. -Grandmothers raising grandchildren. According to the U.S. Census, Kanaly said single moms are the fastest growing population in the country. “It is probably here to stay,” she said. “That’s why Arise Single Moms is so needed today.” Arises’ online resources include Bible studies, videos, blogs and podcasts. Those helplines have impacted a quarter of a million single moms in every state in the U.S. and 90 countries. Its podcasts have had 21,000 downloads, Kanaly said. The moms who have been impacted by the work of Arise are now forming small groups to mentor others. A focus of Arise, Kanaly said, is to empower these female leaders.
Small groups help women to build confidence, safety and strength, she said. While not everyone is a single mom, everyone knows one. “The best thing you can do is get her to the Thrive Gathering,” Kanaly said. The conference is set for June 1011 at Crossings Community Church, 14600 N. Portland Ave. It is a day and a half of breakout sessions, worship and “fabulous” door prizes, Kanaly said. Child care is provided for kids through fifth grade. The cost is $30 per mom and $35 for registration with childcare. “It’s just really a lot of fun,” she said. “Moms feel like moms. They feel loved and accepted.” Kanaly said a group of women has met every Tuesday, 4:30-5:30 p.m., for the past 17 years to pray for the ministry. “I give a lot of credit to those women,” she said. It truly is because of God that Arise Single Moms has accomplished so much. “We just marvel that what began with me being a broken single person has become this,” Kanaly said. “We want to give God the glory. “It is a beautiful, beautiful thing.” For more information and to donate, visit ariseministries.net.