Wake up, women! Let our lights shine!

Women Walking Together in Faith

March 14, 2012 | Viewpoints | Number 6
By Ev Buhr |
Ev Buhr, left, Kim Epp and Irene Baergen—members of the Women in Mission group at Edmonton’s First Mennonite Church—participate in a Lenten program at the city’s St. Joseph’s Auxiliary Hospital.

It’s time to throw down the gauntlet and say, “Wake up, women!” Our mothers and grandmothers left us a wonderful legacy of working together, and we need to pick up the slack in our own generation by participating in the work of Mennonite Women Canada (MW Canada).



We’re all busy, but it comes down to a matter of choice. For instance, my husband and I choose to have our children involved in only one or two extra-curricular events each week, and we choose to eat supper together every evening as a family. Personally I choose to be involved in our local women’s group at Edmonton’s First Mennonite Church, in the provincial body as president of Alberta Women in Mission (WIM), and in the national body as a member of the MW Canada executive.



My local group meets once a month and is an intergenerational group of wonderful women. I know these women as well as I do because I’ve attended this group since moving to Edmonton in 1989. Over the years I have seen many friends my age drop out of the group as their families got busier. Sadly I haven’t seen them come back once that busyness relaxes.



So what is my motivation in going and why do others attend? Here are a few responses:

  • “I have been attending the women’s group at First Mennonite Church since its beginning in the late 1950s,” says Irene Baergen, 75. “I attended because it was an opportunity to get to know the small group of women from the church. I’ve  continued to attend because I liked the projects we’ve been involved in, and I’ve found this to be a good support group, and a way to stay connected and have good times together. When I began attending I was definitely one of the youngest women and now am one of the oldest. It continues to be an important monthly event for me.”

     
  • “Belonging to our women’s group has been the strongest connection to the church for me,” states Kim Epp, 45. “There are so many hard-working and gifted women in our church. I’m so thankful to spend time in the company of this group. I am afforded the opportunity to connect with women on a personal level as we share our joys and concerns during the meeting and then fellowship over coffee. I love being a part of the work we do to help others.”

And what about me? Can’t I find similar connections with my other friends? I guess so, but not in the midst of such diversity. The friends I “hang” with at church are people close to my age with children my kids’ ages. But being a part of this intergenerational group of women gives me the opportunity to listen and learn from their quite different perspectives, and in the process to give and receive support. It’s a connection that builds me up, rather than an obligation.



For our mothers and grandmothers, WIM offered a place for women to be empowered within the church. That has changed. Now there are some Sundays when we have only women involved in the leading of the worship service. Even so, not everyone is a Sunday-morning-involvement kind of person. So we need to find new ways for them to be engaged in church, says Pastor Donita Wiebe-Neufeld.



That rings true. But perhaps it needn’t be so very “new.” Maybe it’s more a matter of rediscovering or resurrecting what already exists for women like Epp, who found her “strongest” church connection through the women’s group. The same can be said for others within that small circle who took on leadership roles they wouldn’t have chosen within the larger church structure because they didn’t  feel called to that.



Thankfully, MW Canada still offers a place for women to shine: a place where we can laugh, cry and work together; a place where we can support each other in hard times and rejoice in good times; a place where we can make a small difference in the lives of others as we support ministries abroad and closer to home.



So wake up, women! It’s almost Easter! A good time to let your lights shine.

Ev Buhr, left, Kim Epp and Irene Baergen—members of the Women in Mission group at Edmonton’s First Mennonite Church—participate in a Lenten program at the city’s St. Joseph’s Auxiliary Hospital.

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