Women's Ministries

Women’s Ministries Contact Information:

Mary Clark
475 Riverside Drive , 18th Floor
New York , NY 10115
(800) 722-9977, ext. 3233

mclark@rca.org or tbyrnes@rca.org
www.rca.org/women

During a question and answer session a woman said, “So what you’re saying, Mary, is that the Blessing Boxes are really a replacement for what we used to cover with our ‘dues’?”

The language of “dues” may not make sense to some of you. Those of us who have a little gray in our hair remember that former women’s organizations collected dues to cover the expenses of the ministry. In fact, with the encouragement of Sarah Doremus in 1834, “women’s work for women” began with Cent or Mite Societies, so called because the cost of membership was one cent per week.

In today’s culture, words like “membership” and “dues” create the impression of exclusivity—a club—someone is either “in” or “out.” If you’re out, then the ministry of that “club” doesn’t involve you.

But working in the kingdom of God involves all of his people, and we can’t afford to put boundaries or a price on this work. We are all called; all gifted; all required to offer ourselves in his service. That hasn’t changed in the 174 years since Sarah gathered women together to create “women’s work for women.”

Those little green Blessing Boxes with a daffodil blooming on each side are how we, the women of the Reformed Church in

America

, will continue to create, serve, and develop ministries for women. Today the needs of women are even greater; we live in a world hungry for spiritual answers, where women and children continue to be marginalized through poverty and political oppression.

When you place a coin in a Blessing Box you have just stepped into the circle of women from around the world who continue to bless others because they have been blessed!

She spoke to me during the coffee break on the morning of a women’s gathering. I had been speaking about the need for congregations to stay healthy and vibrant and had mentioned Natural Church Development (NCD). She never told me the name of her church, but she explained that they were small and getting smaller; the pastor would soon retire and they were afraid no one would want to come and be their new minister. Could I tell her more about this NCD “stuff”? I explained that with NCD a congregation takes a survey, and the survey results show which areas of ministry its members are doing really well and which areas they need to work on. It’s kind of like looking in a mirror; not everything is going to be perfect, and some days it will be obvious it’s time to go get your hair done!

A year later I received a phone call from her explaining that her congregation had looked in the mirror, and people were very concerned about what the survey was showing them. The two areas they needed to work on were “passionate spirituality” and “inspiring worship.” How could this be? They all loved the Lord, prayed, and studied the Bible; wasn’t that evidence of their spirituality? And worship! They faithfully worshiped every Sunday. I encouraged her to not give up. Other congregations had similar scores but had stuck with the process and were seeing positive results.

This fall she called again, and now the reflection in the mirror was looking better. The congregation had taken the NCD survey a second time and, praise God, their “inspiring worship” score had improved! They are still working on “passionate spirituality,” but they have a new understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ. The spirit of failure and fear for the future of their church has been replaced with an excitement about what God is doing in their lives and community.

This story isn’t unique; it’s the story of many of our congregations, mine included. NCD is just one of the tools we can use to help grow healthier congregations but it’s a good one. If you want more information, you can find it on the RCA website. Or call me. We need to talk!

This spring, RCA Women’s Ministries will unveil Sister Share, a way for women to make a commitment to share with their sisters around the world. Sister Share is your opportunity to save lives and make a difference by committing to a monthly gift that will go into a fund specifically created to serve women and children around the globe.

It’s a tradition of outreach and service with a long history in the RCA. In 1834, Sarah Doremus and other New York area women organized the Society for Promoting Female Education in China and the Far East . This was the very first Protestant women’s foreign missionary society to support missionary work by women and for women in foreign lands. David Abeel, an RCA missionary in China , had brought the women new information, information that touched their hearts and made them want to help women and children in faraway nations. What followed changed the world, as women offered health care, education, and economic development opportunities to women and children around the world. And in all they said and did, they offered the love of Christ and shared his gospel with the people they served.

Today we find ourselves at the beginning of a new century, and the needs of women and children have not diminished. We see their despair every day as we read our newspapers and watch the evening news. The World Health Organization tells us that 600,000 women die every year as a result of complications arising from pregnancy and childbirth; 99 percent of these deaths happen in the developing countries. Think of the many areas in our world where refugees are caught in political chaos; 9 million of those refugees are children. Consider the effects of poverty and hunger, the startling reality of human trafficking, the violence against women and children, the spiritual hopelessness so many find themselves living in.

We urge you to become engaged in the answers and not simply lament the facts. As women of the RCA you have the ability to save lives and make a difference in a world so loved by God. In Leviticus 26:8 we’re told, “Five of you shall give chase to a hundred, and a hundred of you shall give chase to ten thousand.” It’s a biblical principle that together we can accomplish more.

RCA missionaries and mission partners need your support to continue to do what they do best—serve the communities that God has called them to. As information about Sister Share is released throughout the RCA over the next few months, please take the time to read about the needs, and then make a commitment to make a difference, together, with Sister Share.

Despite a snowstorm the night before and a day of icy roads, about 125 women gathered at Crete Reformed Church in Crete , Illinois , the evening of February 1. Worship leaders Tammy Hoffman from Faith Church in Dyer, Indiana, and Katie Kapteyn from Grace Reformed Church in Lansing, Illinois, led a blend of heartfelt hymns and joyous praise and worship songs. Myra Lindquist, also from Faith Church , gave a short mediation of encouragement.

“In the middle of winter, we needed a night out, a night to simply be together and worship the Lord,” commented one woman. And another stated, “This is wonderful! We need to do this again.”

I've spent a lot of time in the Word, in prayer, listening, and asking God to reveal to me how I can serve him. I believe that my call is intercessory prayer. I keep a prayer request list on my nightstand, and day and night I pray for these requests. When I learn about something that has been answered, I put a check mark by it, and now the prayer becomes a prayer of thanksgiving. Some prayers are answered quickly, some later, and others are waiting.

One person had asked me to pray for her because she was in arrears with her mortgage for a large amount. She lives in

Canada

. She had given me her telephone number so that we could stay connected to follow the outcome. We would call each other and pray about the situation and be in agreement that God was going to answer, and we would be thankful whatever way he answered.

While I was in Texas attending the “One Thing” conference she called me. I missed the call, but when I returned home I called her back. She shared with me that God had answered our prayers. She had received the money she needed to save her home. Thanks be to God that she and I believed that God would answer before we saw the manifestation of his power. God wants to use his power in the world. Our power in prayer is the Word of God. I give thanks to God that I am his servant.

The Women’s NetWork, a weekly Bible study of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove , California , wanted to reach out to someone during the Christmas season. When the story of a young single mom with cancer was brought to our attention, we prayed about how we might help.

Since fundraising had not been part of our usual routine, a few women listened for how we might raise money in a way that would not take our focus off our purpose: to study, pray, and create a network of support for one another.

One woman came up with an idea that would take no planning or preparation, except that each woman would clean off her bookshelves at home and bring any unwanted books to our next meeting. On that day, we would invite the women to take as many books as they wanted and donate any amount of money they felt was fair. They were instructed to bring the books in bags and place the unopened bags on a table so no one would start browsing until our 20-minute break. That way, our minds would not be distracted from the lesson or our special prayer time.

When break time came, everyone swarmed to the long table covered with more than 500 books. After the time was up, the women had bags of “new” books to take home, and we made $250 in 20 minutes! The leftover books were donated to a prison ministry and local library that very day, so this was a quick and successful adventure and EVERYONE was happy. The women had cleaned their shelves and gotten a new supply of reading material, and we generated money that would go to our worthy cause.

It was still several weeks until Christmas, so we continued to listen to see if there was another “painless” way to raise money. Again, we did not want to change the focus of our purpose, but there is that 20-minute break when the ladies love to socialize and have fun.

This time the idea came to clean out our jewelry boxes at home and bring any tired (or re-tired) pieces of jewelry to our next meeting. Again, this was no real work for anyone, except going through a jewelry box. The results were even more surprising than the books! It was suggested that all pieces be packaged in individual zip-lock baggies so nothing would get separated or tangled. To our amazement, over 1,000 pieces arrived—earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pendants, chain, watches, etc.—and this time, in 20 minutes we made $500!

Each week, our director of Women’s Ministries, Michelle Cavinder, would tell us a little more about this young mother of two, and one woman in particular was moved with compassion knowing that Christmas was coming. She said she would match the funds generated from the jewelry sale. So all in all, Women’s NetWork was able to donate $1,250 to a family whose members thought they would have no Christmas.

May 4, 2008, is the day set aside for the Blessing Box offering to support regional coordinators for RCA women’s ministries. Please remember the women in your congregation and beyond by using this opportunity to support their ministries with this offering. Boxes can be ordered from the Women’s Ministries office. Also, be sure to check out the worship service ideas on the Women’s Ministries page.

The 2008–2009 Horizons Bible study is Jubilee! Luke’s Gospel for the Poor, by Dale Lindsay Morgan, with suggestions for leaders by Louise Lawson Johnson.

In nine lessons Dale Lindsay Morgan highlights Jesus’ message of jubilee that calls for a reversal of the social order: the poor will be rich; the rich will be poor. Suggestions for leaders, definitions, a bibliography, and additional resources are provided to deepen the Bible study experience.

If you missed the 2007 study, Above and Beyond: Hearing God’s Call in Jonah and Ruth, we still have a few copies on the shelf. We’re hearing great reviews of this study, which was written by Carol Bechtel, who will serve as president of General Synod in June.