This coming Sunday we are hosting a woman led Sunday in honor of the woman at the well St. Photini. We will have a group of ladies speaking, representing the different generations at Jacob's Well. The goal of this sunday will be to show that every woman at every season of life; can develop a relationship with the Lord and be on mission. The trick is getting new eyes to see that mission isnt something outside your day to day life, but its living your life with purpose and creativity.
Seeing each activity as a natural path toward glorifying God and sharing Him by either word or deed. Looking for ways to rest in Him at each season. Understanding that serving the Lord as single student, career employee, nursing mom, toddle chaser, struggling wife of preschoolers, or as an empty nester or elder with lots of time but little energy is the art of learning to live from a center of grace and attentiveness.
We want to help women see that Spiritual formation and mission are integrated into all our daily lives. We are in Jesus and everything we do is in Him and becomes kingdom filled. Our work is seeing that, hearing that and participating with the Spirit in the everydayness of mission. Dishes, conversations, school, birthday parties, coffee times, work parties, lunch breaks, the gym, the grocery store, mommies groups, doctor's offices, business trips, training days, college dorms, professors and coworkers, meals, recreation, hospitality....everything is included in the mix. God is in it all and can be found through it all....every season has its opportunities and challenges.
"...For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." -Galatians 3:27-29
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I have to say, I'm excited about this. Here's why.
I was raised by my single mother. I always looked up to the women who made major advances in their fields. They inspired me, because they had to put up with so much more resistance simply because they were women.
Without starting a debate (though it's one I love to get involved in), the role of women as leaders, in the church especially, is a topic of great importance to me.
I can't wait to hear from the Mary's, the Tabitha's, the Esther's, and the Deborah's we have in our church. And I am very proud to be part of a church body that allows them to use their voice (literally and figuratively).
Wow! This is so cool! I dig this idea, ha ha!
"What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split open.”
- Muriel Rukeyser
This Sunday isn't about St. Phontini, her life, saint worship, intermediary baloney or the truthfulness of the historical record or not...the story is probably some fact and some apocryphal stuff all mixed together.
The point is "a woman" is at the center of the story where we get our church's name...Jacob's Well (John 4).
Photini was an ostracized, sinful, marginalized, hard working, divorced, relationally conflicted, promiscuous, religiously confused but strongly opinionated woman....who took Jesus on, in a pointed theological debate.
She was one of the very few who Jesus ever came right out and said he was the Messiah to.
Women represent the majority of those who are truly living on mission in the church. They do most of the work, teach the most, invite, care for, clean, support and give the most money. They dream the most, pour themselves out the most and carry most of the load of raising kids, working and being the church.
They are "saints" in the sense of the word to me.
Our church body aims at recognizing, supporting and encouraging them to live out their full potential and inheritance in Jesus.
That is what this Sunday is about...
none of this bothers me, because i grew up in a church with a woman pastor...even though it was a very conservative foursquare church..
actually, it was a husband and wife team of pastors, but she usually preached, because she was a much, much better preacher than he was..... :D
I read the story today, and really enjoyed it. The stories of the saints are so rich and full. I'm reading a book about Mother Teresa right now that contains many of her own personal writings. I love it. It's my feeling that my own branch of Christianity has missed out on a lot by not reading and absorbing the stories of the saints, and I'm enjoying making up for lost time.
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