With every opportunity to speak at women’s ministry events, invariably the women of these churches never fail to surprise me with the many gifts and talents they have contributed to the preparations. Women’s ministry teams seem to know almost innately how to pull everything together: food, décor, worship, organization and all of the other fine details that go into making a brunch, lunch or similar gathering quite memorable.
But the reality is, most church women’s ministries only have the energy and “manpower” to offer these gatherings a few of times a year, In a calendar year, one can expect to plan for some sort of spring event, a Mother’s day gathering--often mother/daughter affair—and a Christmas tea. This would be in addition to the small groups and Bible studies. Of course, some ministries may do more because the size of their church allows for more women to be involved. But because the average church size in the U.S. is around 200 with many far fewer, the ability to plan for these three events can become quite burdensome. I do not believe any of these events should be eliminated from the master plan of any women’s ministry simply because they are laborious, because I also understand they have utility--glorifying God and ministry to women. This is worthy work toward the advancement of the Kingdom.
However, the flip side of the coin is the belief that every significant gathering must include ornate centerpieces, petit fours and elegant programs.
3 comments:
Sarah,
thought i'd drop by to say hi!
I love to see the talents and gifts of my friends and sisters. It is a blessing to be able to witness and enjoy the love of beauty innate to us all as women.
I enjoy being real with these women in sweats and PJ's as they have opened their home to this holiday orphan so far away from home., or as we take a break from papers and coursework during a busy semester of teaching and grad school stuff.
I also enjoy getting dressed up and having a dinner party or girl's night where we consciously make it an occasion to celebrate aesthetic beauty and inner beauty, and just have a wonderful time.
I enjoy beauty and revel in god's gifts to us, and am comfortable with the women around me expressing who they are regardless of stereotype or expectation!
Thanks for the article! Drop by for a visit when you get a chance and take a look around. My place is a little different to yours! :)
Morning again Sarah! back for another visit. I wanted to let you know that i tagged you in a meme this morning! Hope you'll come by for a visit!
The tips used in the post are really informative.
- J.
Web Designing
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