By Sue-Mona Moses (Kingstown Church of Christ, SVG)
On Friday March 25, the 2016 nationwide ladies fellowship was held at the Kingstown Church of Christ building, under the theme: Women in the Family of God. As the ladies began to trickle in, they signed in as they entered the auditorium anticipating the start of the day’s event. With a schedule start time of 9AM, the event got on the way after a 20 minute delay. Sharlene Hector (Richland Park), welcomed all to the fellowship.
Following an opening prayer, Coreen Browne (Spring Village), in her role as the song director, led all present in the singing of hymns and choruses. The first speaker of the event, Dixie Lewis (Kingstown), presented an exhortation based on the scripture passage 2 Peter 1:1-8. She highlighted the many characteristics found in this passage, that each Christian should strive to foster within their faith. Lewis encouraged all the ladies to continue striving for Christian growth on a daily basis, and having a pure heart which would ensure that our outward appearance is equally beautiful.
The feature speaker, Michelle Byam (San Fernando Church of Christ, TRINIDAD), made her presentation entitled, Moving Forward, Looking Inward; Truth, Growth and Hope. Byam's presentation sought to define first and foremost who women are. Additional considerations were: who is the modern woman, what she does, as well as what it means to be a woman of God while balancing our role in the modern world. She expressed, "It is important that women focus on their inner self as a tool for growth." She also stated that once we know the ultimate truth (what and who God says we are; Children of God - 1 John 3:1) it paves the way for growth. If we do not know the truth there would be questions and doubts which would then lead to distortions which serve as distractions. Distortions are created to reduce the pain we are experiencing in our lives. This hinders us from growing and moving forward towards the plan God has in store for us. She concluded her presentation by assuring the ladies that at times it is quite ‘ok’ not to know everything about the future that will happen to us. The mere fact that we know where we are going and how to keep our mind, body, and spirit healthy is enough for us to move forward. She emphasized that there is no such thing as ‘false hope’ (Romans 5:5).
Byam answered questions posed by the ladies on pertinent issues concerning their spirituality, role in the family, and anger issues amongst other things. Although it was well after lunch time, the ladies did not seem to mind as the session was uplifting, stimulating and thought provoking.
The fellowship then took a lunch break, which allowed an opportunity for the ladies to mingle and share their thoughts with each other on the sessions thus far. After the break, the afternoon session resumed with a prayer and the singing of a few choruses. The much anticipated panel discussion got on the way. The moderator for this session was the energetic Kozel Fraser (Kingstown), who got the audience ‘fired’ up for the discussion. The panelists were Advira McCoy (Richland Park), Zita Arthur (Brighton), and Donna Ince (Kingstown). The panelists proceeded to share with the audience various aspects of their life as a Christian - the highs, lows, challenges and victories. Dating and marriage seemed to be a topic that can never be exhausted; the panelists shared their experiences as married women, advised those dating on some of the things they should seek in a potential spouse, and also shared their views on the role of the older women in the church. The discussion was very lively and at times very humorous. However, to the disappointment of the audience, the discussion drew close to the end as there were still quite a few other activities that were on the program to be completed.
Each congregation presented an item not lasting more than seven minutes. These included: choral speech; song; exhortation; poetry (floetry). The seven congregations represented in this session were Arnos Vale, Barrouallie, Biabou, Brighton, Kingstown, Retreat, and Spring Village. The audience was very well entertained and persons were able to be first hand witnesses to the talents of sisters both in group and individual settings. As it drew closer to the scheduled end time for the event, several congregations left as their transportation began to arrive to take them back to their destinations. Tokens of appreciation were presented to the various speakers and panelists for the day’s event. A vote of thanks and closing prayer brought the fellowship to a close.
Overall the fellowship was well attended, though all congregations where not represented. From the general feedback, everyone thought that the sessions were uplifting, and certainly everyone should be able to take away something from the event that would enhance their spiritual growth as Christian women who continue to meet the demands of the changing world without losing their spirituality. The nationwide ladies fellowship is definitely an activity on the church calendar that we (ladies) should all look forward to annually.
On Friday March 25, the 2016 nationwide ladies fellowship was held at the Kingstown Church of Christ building, under the theme: Women in the Family of God. As the ladies began to trickle in, they signed in as they entered the auditorium anticipating the start of the day’s event. With a schedule start time of 9AM, the event got on the way after a 20 minute delay. Sharlene Hector (Richland Park), welcomed all to the fellowship.
Following an opening prayer, Coreen Browne (Spring Village), in her role as the song director, led all present in the singing of hymns and choruses. The first speaker of the event, Dixie Lewis (Kingstown), presented an exhortation based on the scripture passage 2 Peter 1:1-8. She highlighted the many characteristics found in this passage, that each Christian should strive to foster within their faith. Lewis encouraged all the ladies to continue striving for Christian growth on a daily basis, and having a pure heart which would ensure that our outward appearance is equally beautiful.
The feature speaker, Michelle Byam (San Fernando Church of Christ, TRINIDAD), made her presentation entitled, Moving Forward, Looking Inward; Truth, Growth and Hope. Byam's presentation sought to define first and foremost who women are. Additional considerations were: who is the modern woman, what she does, as well as what it means to be a woman of God while balancing our role in the modern world. She expressed, "It is important that women focus on their inner self as a tool for growth." She also stated that once we know the ultimate truth (what and who God says we are; Children of God - 1 John 3:1) it paves the way for growth. If we do not know the truth there would be questions and doubts which would then lead to distortions which serve as distractions. Distortions are created to reduce the pain we are experiencing in our lives. This hinders us from growing and moving forward towards the plan God has in store for us. She concluded her presentation by assuring the ladies that at times it is quite ‘ok’ not to know everything about the future that will happen to us. The mere fact that we know where we are going and how to keep our mind, body, and spirit healthy is enough for us to move forward. She emphasized that there is no such thing as ‘false hope’ (Romans 5:5).
Byam answered questions posed by the ladies on pertinent issues concerning their spirituality, role in the family, and anger issues amongst other things. Although it was well after lunch time, the ladies did not seem to mind as the session was uplifting, stimulating and thought provoking.
The fellowship then took a lunch break, which allowed an opportunity for the ladies to mingle and share their thoughts with each other on the sessions thus far. After the break, the afternoon session resumed with a prayer and the singing of a few choruses. The much anticipated panel discussion got on the way. The moderator for this session was the energetic Kozel Fraser (Kingstown), who got the audience ‘fired’ up for the discussion. The panelists were Advira McCoy (Richland Park), Zita Arthur (Brighton), and Donna Ince (Kingstown). The panelists proceeded to share with the audience various aspects of their life as a Christian - the highs, lows, challenges and victories. Dating and marriage seemed to be a topic that can never be exhausted; the panelists shared their experiences as married women, advised those dating on some of the things they should seek in a potential spouse, and also shared their views on the role of the older women in the church. The discussion was very lively and at times very humorous. However, to the disappointment of the audience, the discussion drew close to the end as there were still quite a few other activities that were on the program to be completed.
Each congregation presented an item not lasting more than seven minutes. These included: choral speech; song; exhortation; poetry (floetry). The seven congregations represented in this session were Arnos Vale, Barrouallie, Biabou, Brighton, Kingstown, Retreat, and Spring Village. The audience was very well entertained and persons were able to be first hand witnesses to the talents of sisters both in group and individual settings. As it drew closer to the scheduled end time for the event, several congregations left as their transportation began to arrive to take them back to their destinations. Tokens of appreciation were presented to the various speakers and panelists for the day’s event. A vote of thanks and closing prayer brought the fellowship to a close.
Overall the fellowship was well attended, though all congregations where not represented. From the general feedback, everyone thought that the sessions were uplifting, and certainly everyone should be able to take away something from the event that would enhance their spiritual growth as Christian women who continue to meet the demands of the changing world without losing their spirituality. The nationwide ladies fellowship is definitely an activity on the church calendar that we (ladies) should all look forward to annually.
The first Nationwide Ladies Fellowship was in April 2015
