Apples and Ducks (The Devotion)
By Kelsey Law
In this first year of the triennium, Pam Snyder (PW Churchwide moderator) and I (PW Churchwide vice moderator) have shared space where we often hear the phrase, “You can’t compare apples to ducks.” And it’s true—apples and ducks couldn’t be more different. One grows, offering nourishment. The other takes flight, offering lift to its flock. Yet both remind us of what it means to live faithfully in community.
An apple is never just an apple. Every apple holds seeds—potential for future trees. And when those trees grow together, they form an orchard. An orchard becomes a system of mutual shelter and support where trees can better withstand wind, enrich and retain soil, and create a harvest far greater than one tree could manage alone. Presbyterian Women is like that orchard. Each faithful act—each apple—carries seeds of justice, compassion and leadership. When planted and nurtured, those seeds grow into future leaders, new ministries, and generations of women who will also sow seeds. The growth we tend, the bounty we enjoy is never just our own—it is the abundance of an orchard planted by those who came before us and tended by the Spirit among us.
And then, there are the ducks. When we watch ducks fly overhead in a V-formation, it’s striking—but it’s also practical. Scientists tell us that each duck, by flapping its wings, creates lift for the one behind it. Flying together in formation allows the whole flock to travel farther and faster than any one bird could alone. When one duck tires, it drops back, and another flies forward to take the lead. When one falls out of the formation because of injury or fatigue, two others leave the V to stay with it, protecting it until it can rejoin or until it finds rest. Our purpose calls us to nurture faith, support one another, and work for justice and peace. Like those ducks, our strength comes from the formation—the community—that God has shaped among us. Each of us takes turns leading, following and supporting. Each of us benefits from the faith and gifts of those beside us. In difficult times, may we remember that we are not flying alone. Our shared work matters, our shared purpose gives direction and our shared commitment carries us farther than we could ever go by ourselves.
So it is with Presbyterian Women. We are both orchard and flock—rooted and rising, bearing fruit and taking flight. Together we offer nourishment, shelter and strength. Together we create lift for one another. Today, we give thanks: for the orchard that sustains us, for the flock that carries us and for the ongoing harvest and flight of Presbyterian Women’s purpose. Apples and ducks are a mismatch—because they serve entirely different purposes.
In Presbyterian Women, our call is to ask the right questions:
• Are we faithful to our purpose?
• Are we doing what God has called us to do?
• Are we using our gifts together for the flourishing of the whole community?
When we ask the right questions, we start focusing on the shared flight, the shared warmth and the shared mission God has given us to our shared Purpose. PW is stronger, more faithful and more creative because of the many gifts in PW.
Like the apple that bears fruit season after season, your work—your prayers, your discernment, your leadership—has planted seeds that will grow far beyond this place and time. May we leave here rooted in our shared purpose, bearing fruit for the orchard, creating lift for the flock and trusting God to carry the work forward.
How does your group embody the apples and ducks aspect of Presbyterian Women? Do you have other ways of communicating the complex yet united ministry that is PW?
Kelsey Law is 2024–2027 vice moderator for Presbyterian Women Churchwide.