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WIC Resource Letter
for PCA Women in Leadership If you are a Pastor's wife, WIC president, PresWIC president or Director of Women's Ministry and are not currently receiving the Resource Letter, click here to be added to the mailing list.
Looking forward to summer? Take these seeds of encouragement and creative ideas in cultivating a Women’s Ministry.
Women’s Ministries are always looking for creative ideas for their events! We try to share with you ideas that are not only creative, but have purpose such as, building community, giving opportunities in cross generational relationships and teaching, reflecting God s characteristics to others. Here are a couple ideas shared at the 2004 Leadership Conference that we hope will inspire your creativity and challenge you in purpose! The women’s hospitality team of Wellington Presbyterian Church in Wellington, FL, have been intentional in their planning. These women use their service of hospitality to foster relationships, reach out to the community and honor their fellow laborers. During VBS, an invitation on a 2x4" shipping label was placed on each child as they were dismissed from VBS on Monday. The card had the word "coffee" written in coffee beans and the note read: "Dear Mom, Please join us tomorrow morning for coffee in the breezeway of the Worship Center after you drop off your child for VBS. Signed, the WIC Council of Wellington Presbyterian Church The hospitality team set up a continental breakfast table for parents dropping off their children. Fore adult Bible Study Hour, Every Sunday, coffee and pastries were made available for those attending. For Elders and Deacons, food is prepared before several session meetings and also for the quarterly men's breakfast. For Wives of Pastors, Elders and Deacons, women gave them gifts of coffee mugs containing a bag of homemade goodies and flavored coffee. Gift tag read: We love you a "latte"! To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him according to the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess. 1:11-12
ARE YOU CONNECTED? Where do we fit in the big picture? How does that affect me? Connectionalism, other’s needs, intercession, support, encouragement Susquehanna Valley PresWIC used a dot-to-dot illustration to help the women of their presbytery visualize their presbytery and provided instruction on how being a part of the whole affects them. This is a great context for building community within the presbytery for prayer, encouragement, and tools Connectionalism: The connecting relationship among the churches of the PCA and a commitment to denominational ministry. Below is a "map" and list of all the churches in our presbytery. Can you identify each? Connect the dots in any manner you choose and see what image comes about. Can you think of a related scripture verse? Pray for: Unity and effective ministry in our churches and for God's kingdom to be extended from our churches! Connect with each other for ideas, speakers and ministry! Pray for and expect encouragement and equipping to happen at our PresWIC functions! [Here is where a list of churches' names and locations were printed] The best picture from the dot-to-dot was of an eagle. So they chose Isaiah 40:30-31 as a passage of encouragement for the year.
NEW THIS YEAR - Leadership Training Bible Study Track Equipping women’s Bible Study Teachers in Kingdom Discipleship Some responses from participants of this newest track: "Thank you for providing a forum for those of us who love to teach God’s Word." "I go home better equipped to articulate Reformed doctrine." " I felt warmly welcomed by WIC staff, speakers - everyone was available and easily approachable for questions and follow-up discussions." " Absolutely great conference – wish you had done it years ago! Thank you for the emphasis on the balance of thinking biblically and living covenantally." **** Your local church can share in the excellent teaching of this new Bible Study Track. Make this a priority for your teachers. Order the CDs …Equipping Women in Leadership in Covenantal Women’s Ministry LEADERSHIP TRAINING 2004 DIRECTOR OF WOMEN’S MINISTRY TRACK As the PCA denomination grows so do the opportunities for women in ministry. Directors of women’s ministry staff use this time for connecting, refining, equipping and encouragement. "It was such a blessed time for me in refocusing my vision for ministry, as well as ministering to me personally." " In my opinion this Director’s track was the best of the 3 years that I have been in attendance. As I continue to download all of the information, I continue to be thankful." "Thank you for allowing me to be a part of that time with so many other wise and wonderful co-laborers in the PCA. Great time to leave daily routine to refocus on vision, purpose and application." Pass the Legacy Please Leadership Training 2004 emphasis was passing our legacy of Biblical womanhood to the next generation. PresWIC presidents were encouraged to bring a “legacy” (young women) with them to prepare them in Biblical leadership for women.
As in previous Resource Quarterlies, we highlight our Living Letters. These are loving challenges to our readers from retiring Women’s Advisory Sub-Committee FL members. This issue we share thoughts from Sherry Kendrick, WASC member to the Florida region. Sherry has been a faithful teacher to the women in her region and has shared her gifts of training and organization with leadership women across our denomination. Pray for Sherry, Mike and family as they continue to love and serve God’s people in the Cypress Wood Presbyterian Church in Naples. We welcome and introduce Brook Breed to you as the new Women’s Advisory Sub-Committee member for Florida. Brook is the wife of ruling elder Mark, and the mother of David, Allison, and Andrew. Brook brings a wealth of godly leadership to her new calling. She loves the teaching of God’s Word as she teaches Sunday school, Vacation Bible School and The WIC Bible Study for her local church, Covenant Presbyterian in Sebring, FL. Brook has served as local WIC President, and PresWIC President of Southwest Florida. Brook models a servant heart and a love for the kingdom. Pray for her as she assumes this new kingdom role. “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 A Beautiful Masterpiece “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” This quilt is a double wedding ring made out of my childhood dresses and outfits. I can remember my grandmother sitting at her quilting loom stitching. She gave me this quilt at my bridal shower. Today it hangs on a wall in my family room where family and friends enjoy it. This quilt is also a good visual representation of my personal spiritual journey. As my grandmother began my quilt in my childhood, my Heavenly Father also brought me into a saving relationship with Him when I was very young. He established his covenant relationship with me and the piecing together of my life began to follow his pattern for me. These multi-colored pieces represent the events and circumstances that the Lord has brought my way. It is His workmanship created in advance just for me. It isn’t just for me. It’s for you too. All the multicolored pieces that make up different segments of ours lives are stitched together by a loving, heavenly Father who is ever faithful to keep his covenant promise of “I will be with you.” Like the quilt, we take time to be sanctified into that beautiful creation. That’s what a covenantal women’s ministry is about. It’s about teaching the truths of God’s redeeming and sanctifying process in our lives. This quilt also represents more than just my individual life. It represents four generations of women connected to one another: my grandmother for making it; my mother for participating in its creation and its protection; me as the recipient of something beautiful and my daughter who will receive a lasting legacy. My spiritual “quilt” also represents this connecting principle. My mother was wise and put other godly women in my life whom God used to faithfully weave the truths of his word through my life. Were they perfect women? No. Even in their failures before me, I continued to learn of His faithfulness to them and to me. Just as this quilt connects four generations of women in my family and the many other women in my life, the women’s ministry in the local church and in the presbytery needs to help us connect to each other. Faithfully woven through our ministries must be the truths of God’s Word. The truths that teach us about our creation design as women and about our covenant relationship with Him. Our events and activities should help us learn how we are to live in community with other believers as we develop those relationships that add to the beauty and color of our quilts. We are not to live isolated lives, enjoying our masterpiece alone. We need to teach each other and remind each other of the Biblical truths in God’s Word. I think that’s what happened many years ago at quilting bees. As women worked on the fabric together they passed on faith and life to each other – everything from cooking to child rearing, from marketplace to time management, from spiritual teaching to applying faith to life. Listen to these verses from 2 Corinthians: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…we are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” It has always been very easy for me to think of myself as a “daughter” loved by my Heavenly Father, but thinking of myself as his “ambassador” puts a different emphasis on my purpose. If my life is like this quilt and God is “working in me” I want to be a beautiful display, a beautiful ambassador, of all He has done for me. I could have never quilted my own life. He brought me into a relationship with Himself. He loves me and sustains me. I want to represent that in a Biblical way. In the darkness of the culture around us, I want to reflect God’s glory of what it really means to be a woman – not what our world tells us that women should be. While I love my quilt from my grandmother, it is my mother that I am indebted to for my spiritual heritage. She passed on to me not only the legacy of my childhood dresses patched together in a beautiful way, but she passed on to me a deep love for my Heavenly Father, His Word and His people. So while I want to pass on the quilt to my daughter, it is that faith that I want to invest in my daughter that by God’s grace will be the lasting legacy. I want to take my spiritual quilt and use it to enfold and envelope my daughter. But it can’t stop there. I can’t just stop with my own daughter. I have a covenant responsibility to envelope and enfold other women that the Lord puts in my life. You see, other women besides my grandmother invested in my mother spiritually. They spent time with her teaching her what her own mother had not about God’s Word. It is part of my legacy to do the same. My parting challenge to you is this. As you live life in the covenant community, remember the “quilting bee” and be willingly to intentionally be an ambassador of Christ to other women. So that from cooking to child rearing, from marketplace to time management, from Biblical teaching to applying faith to life, we will be passing the legacy that will continue from generation to generation. It is what a covenantal women’s ministry is all about. Denominations Connections and Changes Currently we have women serving as WIC Advisory members to several denominational committees. Women’s Advisory Sub-Committee members serve in this capacity to Christian Education and Publications, WIC Trustee Advisors to the Board of Covenant College and to Mission to North America. We ask you to: Ø
Give
thanks for the opportunities for these women to be godly conduits of
connection and wisdom. Covenant College WIC Trustee Advisors - Sally Illman, Martha Lovelady, Dottie Paden, Mary Beth MCGreevy, and Jane Patete Mission to North America WIC Advisory Members – Jennifer Mahaffey, Coaching Committee for Church Planters and Stephanie Hubach, Mercy Sub-Committee Christian Education and Publications Women’s Advisory Sub-Committee Members – Bethann Tyson, Martha Lovelady, Jane Wiggins, Maryls Mulkey, Brook Breed, Susan Phillis, Marilyn Melton January 12, 2004 saw a new employee in the PCA Retirement and Benefits Office. President Bill Kuh announced that Deborah Brown would be coming on board as the Relief Representative. Debby was the ministry coordinator for the Deacons Fund at Perimeter PCA in Duluth, GA and has been very active for a number of years in mercy and service ministries, including counseling. She also has a degree in Psychology and is well on her way toward her Masters degree in counseling.Pray for Debby in this transition year. We give you our welcome and the promise of prayerful support. As we welcome Debby Brown, we say Godspeed and thank you to our sister, Ann Llewlyn Early grieving and loss formed and created Ann’s legacy - Loosing her brother in Viet Nam, loosing her mother, and loosing her Tom, a PCA pastor, early in their marriage. God has given and she has accepted his will upon her life without bitterness. For many widows, widowers and men and women from across the PCA, Ann has been a life giver in the midst of death. For some 16 years she has been a faithful steward of the kingdom in her ministry to retirees, disabled pastors, pastors without call and those widowed by death or abandonment. She has provided comfort in their sorrow and in their needs – shepherding, listening, and loving them. Bill Kuh, in announcing her retirement, used these words to describe Ann – “She is a special blessing to the denomination, a servant of the Lord with exceptional gifts for her ministry. Ann has made a difference in innumerable lives through her selfless service to those in need and will be sorely missed by all who have had the privilege to know her.” We asked Ann to share some of what her new season of
life will include: We will miss you in the PCA offices, we will miss you at Leadership Training– we will pray for this next season of your life – we will give thanks to the Father for your faithfulness to your legacy. WIC Love Gift 2004Each year the WIC Love Gift is designated to enhance the ministry of a different agency of the PCA. What a privilege it is for us to play an instrumental role in expanding the Kingdom of God by supporting specific avenues of ministry. For the 2004 WIC Love Gift, we have the exciting opportunity to promote the work of Mission to North America (MNA) in establishing start-up funding for: · a Hispanic American Movement Leader who will facilitate church plants and train men and women called to serve people of Hispanic heritage; and · an English as a Second Language (ESL) Staff Member who will guide PCA churches in developing, coordinating, and strengthening ESL programs. Because Mission to North America is committed to spreading the Gospel across North America, we are very excited about these new initiatives! It has been said that “the church is usually twenty years behind the culture.” Consequently, we sometimes find ourselves responding to societal changes long after they have occurred, and while we are attempting to “play catch-up” we may miss new opportunities to bring the gospel to bear in our culture. In contrast, this year’s MNA project demonstrates a bold, progressive and forward-looking approach to ministry among Hispanic Americans and internationals. We live in a strategic time when—in North America—the world is coming to us. This does not in any way diminish the work of foreign missions. Rather, it affords the opportunity for us to supplement that work by also reaching the nations with the gospel in our own backyard. How can you encourage your congregation to give generously and passionately to the WIC Love Gift on behalf of MNA this year? The answers are as many and varied as the churches within the PCA. I would suggest the following: · First, understand and connect with the particular vision and mission of your local church. How does the MNA vision for reaching various people groups through Hispanic American ministry and ESL dovetail with your church’s specific vision and mission? You will be most successful at promoting the WIC Love Gift in your local congregation when your members understand how it relates to the priorities that your Session has established. · Second, get your Session "on board" and the rest will follow. This Love Gift provides the opportunity to connect the local vision and mission to the larger work of the Kingdom. It offers ways to see with new perspective the larger Kingdom initiatives of the denomination and how your church could be a part of that exciting work, while at the same time offering resources which most likely will be needed right within your own community, since Hispanic Americans and other internationals are moving into nearly every community in North America. · Third, use this as an opportunity to enlarge every member’s thinking. Ask challenging questions—first of yourselves—and then of others. Remove the planks from your own eyes with regard to multi-cultural ministry before you attempt to remove the speck from your brother’s or sister’s eye! · Finally, recognize that any movement towards fulfillment of the Great Commission is better than passivity. Have big dreams for what God can and will do in His Kingdom, but also recognize that changing hearts is God’s work—not ours. Accept and affirm positive changes wherever they occur. As you speak the truth in love, trust God—in His grace—to do the rest. Stephanie O. Hubach, WIC Advisor to MNA 2002: Children's MinistryAt the recent WIC Leadership Training meeting in Atlanta, Kathy Cheely, WASC representative for the southeast, presented Christian Education and Publications coordinator Charles Dunahoo with a check for $83,000. The check was the result of the 2002 WIC Love Gift project, of which CE&P was the recipient. Dunahoo reminded the LTS participants that the project would assist CE&P in developing and expanding their resources to assist local churches in reaching God's covenant children. CE&P works with churches and individuals involved in the vital ministry of "telling the next generation the wonderful works of God." The original plan for the project was to help CE&P fund a full time coordinator of children's ministry. Sue Jakes now fills that position. The intention of this Love Gift was to provide money that will be used over a three-year period, and to help move this ministry toward full funding from churches and individuals. The ministry is already assisting churches in locating and filling staff positions in churches, jumpstarting the development of several manuals for use in churches, hosting an annual children's ministry conference, providing a staff person to consult with local churches on children's ministry, and assisting the entire CE&P staff with its training opportunities. In thanking the WIC, Dunahoo reminded the women that previous Love Gifts received by CE&P enabled them to develop and expand the WIC ministry, as well as to put into place youth ministry resources for PCA churches. 2003: RUF“God is at work!” It is an oft-repeated phrase from the lips of Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) Campus Ministers and staff; it is true. This year, on seventy-five campuses all over the United States, to more than 12,000 college students, the good news of the gospel will be preached, taught, lived and applied. RUF is part of the church on the college campus, committed to our covenant children and to the youth of our culture who need to know the gospel of grace. We uphold the commitment of God’s people: “We will tell the next generation/The praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,/His power, and the wonders he has done.” Psalm 78:4 The university is the “brain” of the culture, with a profound influence on thinking, values, and lifestyles. In a postmodern world, personal experience is exalted above truth, relationships are fragmented and community is broken, and each person is encouraged to pursue personal fulfillment above all. Through the ministry of RUF, students immersed in this culture encounter the truth of Scripture, the Great “story” of God’s redeeming love. The foundation of covenant children is reinforced and the gospel is proclaimed to unbelievers. They experience community, through Bible studies and one-to-one meetings, and understand the importance of the church and grow in love for it during their college years. A challenge before us is establishing ministries on campuses where a high percentage of racial and ethnic diversity would demonstrate the power of the gospel to make a family of all of God’s chosen people. Pray the doors would open for this. As RUF demonstrates and proclaims a biblical worldview, students understand the supremacy of God’s Kingdom in their own decisions, values, and thinking, and seek fulfillment in Christ alone. The result? Young men and women come to faith in Christ, covenant children are strengthened in their faith, and Christians learn to love God’s church. Then, those same young men and women go on to become godly businessmen and women, parents, spouses, church leaders, and university professors. God is at work! Through the 2003 WIC Love Gift, Women in the Church is helping Reformed University Ministries expand to campuses in the Northeast, the Midwest and West, and Canada, to strengthen and parallel the growth of our church and to serve our covenant children in these areas, as well as to develop ministries on campuses with primarily ethnic minority students. Your gift makes it possible to provide the support services necessary to open these campus works: recruiting on seminary campuses, serving and training presbytery campus committees, processing the letters and donations necessary for ministries to be established, and training campus ministers. On behalf of the staff and students of Reformed University Ministries, I want to thank you for your willingness to participate in this ministry of the church. May God bless you as you share with us in the strengthening of God’s Kingdom through our ministry to the university campus. For His Kingdom, Rod
S. Mays
By Kari Stanback, Director of Women’s Ministries at Park Cities, Dallas, TXFollowing a year-long strategic change study, Park Cities Presbyterian Church discovered while it was excellent at its teaching, it fell short in producing disciples when it did not equally encourage its members to be involved in fellowship with accountability and service. The Session challenged all of the ministries of the church to clearly demonstrate how they are evangelizing and discipling people within their area of service. As part of the total ministry of the church, the Women’s Ministry seized the opportunity of the Fall Kick-off to demonstrate the principles of biblical teaching, fellowship with accountability, and service. The theme of the event was, “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” Psalm 34:8. Biblical Teaching: The Fall Kick-off event featured Carolyn Custis James, author of, When Life and Beliefs Collide. This book challenges us to think seriously about what we believe about God and how our true beliefs are woven into every aspect of our lives. Service: Prior to the event, the Women’s Ministries leadership team selected three women from three ages and stages of life that it felt beautifully exemplified these ministry principles. The team produced a video of these women as they served: making bedspreads for homeless, reading to inner city children, and incorporating their family life into mercy ministry. Fellowship with Accountability: As the women arrived for the Kick-Off Luncheon, they walked into a restaurant setting. Each table was covered with a read and white tablecloth. The lunch was served in Styrofoam boxes. At each place a “Ministry Menu” with various mercy opportunities listed. Each ministry was briefly described during the luncheon. The ladies were given a “To Go” order form on which to respond to the menu. These forms were gathered and members of the Women’s Ministry team did personal follow-up. As a result of the luncheon, over 75 women responded. But most importantly, we demonstrated by the theme that we view women’s ministry as one that extends the Kingdom through evangelism, discipleship, and service. We must not be simply receivers of quality teaching of the Word, but doers of the Word. Without this, we stunt our spiritual growth. “The purpose of the Women in the Church is that every woman know Christ personally and be committed to extending His Kingdom in her life, home, church, community, and throughout the world.”
Both of these churches are shaping the church of the future through a ministry to college students. One remembers that our local children of the covenant are still a part of the body even if they are far away, the other ministers to the student who have come to them from far away. Grace Church of the Islands, Savannah, GA… reflect Christ’s love for his church in remembering their college students away from home. The ministry coordinator receives the names of college students in the church along with information such as addresses, birthdays, etc. and assigns individual women to keep in touch with them. Corporately, at a church brunch “shoe box” items such as toothbrushes, pens, paper, snacks, and a note reminding them that they are prayed for are put in the boxes and mailed to the student. (note of appreciation) Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Waco, TX… remembering that we were once strangers, reflect Christ’s love to their community. Redeemer PC women put together special “snack bags” for the Baylor University RUF students, as they study for their finals. This is done twice a year in the fall and in the spring. Also, at two other times during the year they make the “snack bags” for the Law students, who are on a different semester schedule. Decorated plastic bags, tied with a ribbon are filled with cookies, coffee, tea, candy, pencils, popcorn and a note or verse reminding them that we are praying for them as they study. Zion PCA, Columbia, TN… moving with its changes in church and loss of the covenant family that knows and cares for you is painful, especially for a soon to be mom. Zion PCA eases the transition and expresses love across the miles when it sends a “shower in a box” a few weeks after the baby is born. The box is filled with baby shower gifts from the church (thoughtfully, no names attached, so only one corporate thank you note is written) Village Seven Church, Colorado Springs, CO…the Women’s Ministry team has a special prayer team (four or five women) assigned to each pastor’s wife. They are to keep up with the regular activities of the family and the wife could call them any time with any need. First Presbyterian Church, Schenectady, NY…Women’s ministry team has three unique team opportunities as part of their ongoing ministry to the church. 1) New Members team…as new members join the church, women are invited to a tea or luncheon in their honor. A member matching their age or interests is paired with them for one year to help them get settled. 2) Mom’s Breakaway team…provides fellowship and study time for mothers by providing nursery care for three age levels. The fellowship and study time is segmented, the first hour being variable with testimonies, tips on all aspects of home life, crafts, etc. The second hour is small group Bible studies and topical studies to choose from. There is a generational connection through 3-4 official grandmothers who are there to advise and assist. 3) Etiquette and Purity Seminars team…provide seminars for moms and daughters lead by special speakers and include a nice lunch.
Make copies of the WICK and distribute to every woman
in the church. Schedule
the WIC Love Gift Video: contact the Video Library 1.800.283.1357 or order
online
Local WICS: Make sure the CE&P/WIC office has a correct and updated
name and address for your WIC president/contact woman. Call 678.825.1132
or make corrections through the web
site.
Pray for the CE&P/ WIC staff in Atlanta, your WASC representative, and
your PresWIC President. Plan
to attend the 2004 Mercy Conference in Atlanta and publicize
it to your entire church. PresWIC
Councils: Be creative and diligent as you seek to connect your women
through newsletters and other publicity for important equipping events.
Pray for WIC Trainers, PresWICs and local churches as they prepare for
upcoming WIC training events. For information about scheduling a WIC trainer, contact the WIC office at 678-825-1146 or jpatete@pcanet.org
Pray To get more details about conference content and registration, go to www.pcanet.org/cep. Either select the conference listed in the left hand bar or go to the "Events" calendar on the right hand bar. Have you changed addresses? Stay connected! If you are a local WIC president, a WIC contact person, a PresWIC president, a director of women’s ministries or a wife of a teaching elder, please update your contact information with us. Go to www.pcanet.org/cep/wic and click on "WIC Contacts" on the left hand sidebar. Complete and send the form to stay in touch. "IF WE ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO SHAPE THE WORLD ...THE WORLD WILL SHAPE US." Each year, CE&P sponsors large conferences which bring together hundreds of people from many PCA churches. These events are often the catalyst for renewal in the local church as members are motivated and trained for service. Check the CE&P website to find out more about the following conferences.
We want to hear from you: good ideas for local and PresWIC events and WIC training events…especially ways that women are connecting personally, cross-generationally, denominationally, and globally. Also, what are some creative ways you have shown the 2002 WIC Love Gift video? If your church or WIC has a newsletter, please send it to the PCA WIC office. Put us on your mailing list so that we can see what things are happening at your church or in your PresWIC. We depend on you for information and creative ways of ministering to the Daughters of the Covenant. Let’s share with one another the good things God is teaching us. Published by: Christian Education & Publications, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 102, Lawrenceville, GA 30043 Charles H. Dunahoo, Coordinator; Jane Patete, Coordinator of Women's Ministries
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