Women in the Church
My sister was ordained as an Elder of the Church of Scotland last Sunday and though I was not there to see the event I am very proud of her and her achievement. My brother-in-law was at sea and so could not be there either but he himself is due to be ordained also as an "Elder o' the Kirk" in September. I am equally proud of him too. They have a marriage blessed in heaven and both lead exemplary Christian lives. I have seen many times acts of love and charity they have quietly performed without seeking either praise or reward.
I am spurred by this happy event to comment on women in the church and their role as Christians in society.
My mum was for many years the "Flower Lady" in our little village church. Sadly this is a noble position I have not found at all here in America. The flower lady takes the flowers from the sanctuary after the Sunday service and delivers them to a family in need of comfort or an elderly house-bound person in the parish along with a word of comfort and the latest news about the church.
One Sunday I was blessed to go with my mum on one of these flower lady visits. I learned first hand that it is not always a pleasant or easy task delivering flowers. The lady we visited that day was to my knowledge not a frequent visitor to the church but was on the role as a member. Many churches have people in this situation and do a poor job of keeping in touch with them. On that particular Sunday as we arrived at the ladies door my mum informed me that she was receiving the flowers because her son had been killed in an industrial accident in Australia and my mum felt sure that she would need someone to talk to and the flowers were to let her know that someone was thinking of her. The flowers may or may not brighten her day a little but each time she would look at them she would know that her friends in the church cared about her and her loss.
I still remember that day as my we sat and listened over a cup of tea to the lady tell her sons life story from birth, to wee laddie, to fine young man, to Australian immigrant in search of a better life and the details she had been told of his death. I remember his mothers grief at not being able to be there for the burial of her son. My mum gave words of comfort and understanding that only a widow and a mother could give to the lady and they were greatly appreciated.
That day as we left that sad home more than a few hours later I thought how proud I was of my mum and her role as ambassador for the church in her office as the flower lady to her church.
Here in America sadly elders to my knowledge or at least in my experience do not visit the members in their district nor in many cases does the minister or preacher. Being raised in an environment of pastoral visits I find this strange. Now if you are an elder or a minister reading this before you reach for excuses the minister in my home church in Scotland was blind and would walk to each church members home, sometimes in poor weather, on the arm of his ever loving wife and his sermons written in Braille and read out from the pulpit were better than many I have heard since because he was a man called by God and what he said he truly believed in his heart. People in the pews can tell when a man is inspired by God through the Holy Spirit rather than standing up there for a pay check and retirement fund.
Some say that women should only be allowed to be Deacons in the church and that they should not become elders or ordained ministers. My thought on this is that women should be allowed to become ordained as elders if they are worthy and capable of fulfilling the role of the office. I have never met or heard a lady preach other than Joyce Meyer on the TV but feel that if a lady is truly called of God then she should be allowed to follow that calling.
I know in my bible that it says that God is no respecter of persons and by that I take it He treats us all the same. If you love God and listen to the Holy Spirit and acknowledge His son Jesus Christ as your lord and savior then why should you not be allowed to hold any office in the church? To my knowledge Jesus never treated women like second class citizens and he is what Christianity is all about.
I am spurred by this happy event to comment on women in the church and their role as Christians in society.
My mum was for many years the "Flower Lady" in our little village church. Sadly this is a noble position I have not found at all here in America. The flower lady takes the flowers from the sanctuary after the Sunday service and delivers them to a family in need of comfort or an elderly house-bound person in the parish along with a word of comfort and the latest news about the church.
One Sunday I was blessed to go with my mum on one of these flower lady visits. I learned first hand that it is not always a pleasant or easy task delivering flowers. The lady we visited that day was to my knowledge not a frequent visitor to the church but was on the role as a member. Many churches have people in this situation and do a poor job of keeping in touch with them. On that particular Sunday as we arrived at the ladies door my mum informed me that she was receiving the flowers because her son had been killed in an industrial accident in Australia and my mum felt sure that she would need someone to talk to and the flowers were to let her know that someone was thinking of her. The flowers may or may not brighten her day a little but each time she would look at them she would know that her friends in the church cared about her and her loss.
I still remember that day as my we sat and listened over a cup of tea to the lady tell her sons life story from birth, to wee laddie, to fine young man, to Australian immigrant in search of a better life and the details she had been told of his death. I remember his mothers grief at not being able to be there for the burial of her son. My mum gave words of comfort and understanding that only a widow and a mother could give to the lady and they were greatly appreciated.
That day as we left that sad home more than a few hours later I thought how proud I was of my mum and her role as ambassador for the church in her office as the flower lady to her church.
Here in America sadly elders to my knowledge or at least in my experience do not visit the members in their district nor in many cases does the minister or preacher. Being raised in an environment of pastoral visits I find this strange. Now if you are an elder or a minister reading this before you reach for excuses the minister in my home church in Scotland was blind and would walk to each church members home, sometimes in poor weather, on the arm of his ever loving wife and his sermons written in Braille and read out from the pulpit were better than many I have heard since because he was a man called by God and what he said he truly believed in his heart. People in the pews can tell when a man is inspired by God through the Holy Spirit rather than standing up there for a pay check and retirement fund.
Some say that women should only be allowed to be Deacons in the church and that they should not become elders or ordained ministers. My thought on this is that women should be allowed to become ordained as elders if they are worthy and capable of fulfilling the role of the office. I have never met or heard a lady preach other than Joyce Meyer on the TV but feel that if a lady is truly called of God then she should be allowed to follow that calling.
I know in my bible that it says that God is no respecter of persons and by that I take it He treats us all the same. If you love God and listen to the Holy Spirit and acknowledge His son Jesus Christ as your lord and savior then why should you not be allowed to hold any office in the church? To my knowledge Jesus never treated women like second class citizens and he is what Christianity is all about.
posted by Wisdom at 11:59 PM
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