Decatur | Carmen Halsey-Menghini opened Priority 2026 Friday (April 24) with a challenge to women in churches across Illinois: step into people’s pain, see them as individuals, and use lived experience to bring hope where it is most needed.
Speaking to the more than 600 women gathered at multiple sites across the state, Halsey-Menghini framed the weekend around the conference theme, “Beautiful Scars: From Pain to Purpose” based on 2 Corinthians 1:4, urging participants to recognize suffering as both a shared human experience and a pathway for ministry.
“Our job is to close the gap between us, the church, and whoever God has put in our pathway,” she said. “People are desperate for a friend who is willing to step in and say, ‘I’m here, and I’ll walk this with you.’”
The two-day conference, held simultaneously in Decatur (main host site), Markham, and Troy reflects a shift toward a multisite model after last year’s statewide gathering was forced to pivot following a hotel disruption. The conference was also simulcasted to 13 local churches. Halsey-Menghini said the decision to scatter rather than meet in one location was intentional and rooted in the mission of cultivating new leaders and deeper local connections.
“We can’t set the table big enough for everyone God is bringing if we all stay together and don’t scatter,” she said. “We’re a sending church, whether we like it or not.”
Drawing on leadership lessons from author and speaker John Maxwell, Halsey-Menghini emphasized the importance of relational connection over position or authority.
“When I take the stage, my job is to close the gap between me and the audience,” she said, paraphrasing Maxwell. “I show up as a friend sharing what’s helped me in hopes it might help you, too.”
She described “the gap” as the moment when someone is overwhelmed by circumstances — illness, loss, addiction or disappointment — and no longer knows how to move forward.
“That’s where hope tends to fade,” she said. “And that’s exactly where God has placed the church.”
Throughout her remarks, Halsey-Menghini repeatedly returned to the idea that scars — emotional, spiritual or physical — are not liabilities but tools for empathy and service.
“The scar you’re wearing gives you eyes to see pain someone else might miss,” she said. “But we have to be healed before we try to leverage that scar, or we can make a bigger mess.”
She shared a recent story of recognizing a man panhandling near her office as someone connected to her church’s past, reminding attendees that familiarity can dull compassion unless effort is made to truly see people.
“In that moment, a name was put with a face,” she said. “He didn’t just need help. He needed someone to remind him of who he is.”
Halsey-Menghini also pointed to immigrants, refugees and others who have lost status, stability or identity through forces beyond their control.
“They’re saying, ‘I don’t care what you give me — will you just see me?’” she said. “That’s something the church can do that nobody else can.”
The message concluded with a call to action, challenging participants to leave the conference changed and ready to engage their communities intentionally.
“Don’t go home the same,” she said. “Ask yourself, ‘Am I leveraging my scars? Am I willing to step into someone else’s pain?’ Because nobody should be closing that gap second to the church.”
Halsey-Menghini closed in prayer, asking for obedience, clarity and renewed purpose for the duration of the weekend.
“You bring the flame, God,” she prayed. “We brought the sacrifice.”
Host churches for the three conference sites were Tabernacle Baptist Church in Decatur (Central Illinois), Grace Missionary Baptist Church in Markham (Chicago area) and Bethel Baptist Church in Troy (Metro East).