An email from a reader asked for our views about a women's day at her church with a woman speaker. Here is Pat's reply:
As for the Women's Day, we have never heard of XXX (the woman speaker), and there is nothing about her I could find on the web. I just don't know; maybe it's OK. Personally, having been burned by two very famous and allegedly 'anointed' women speakers in the USA when I was one of the Ignorant Brethren, I am glad that our church does not have women's days. I hate to be negative; maybe the lady coming to your church is wonderful with a great message.
I have sometimes wished we could have a women's time at our church, maybe just a coffee morning - not with some outside speaker, or indeed any speaker at all, but just the women together to share and pray. Just us, the women of our little fellowship, who all know each other, but maybe not as well as we could if we got together once in a while apart from the men.
For example, some of our women know a lot that would benefit the rest of us, and I don't only mean Bible knowledge, but worldly stuff. Like exercise, and the right exercise to strengthen a bad back; what supplement to take to ward off Parkinson's disease*; how to cope with children who wet the bed ---- that sort of thing. Yes, we can talk after church, but it would be nice to be able to share things like this and have everybody hear it at once. And we could pray about the problems. And it would give the very shy women a chance to open up a bit.
But for a teaching day, we only have male teachers at our teaching weekends.
My idea for a women's morning might even be up the creek, because when someone tried men's days in America, it went pear shaped. It was about 20 years ago, and we can't even remember the name now, but it was a mega movement, with men filling stadiums at their events. It became weird and not only took men away from their wives and families, but encouraged them to divulge very private things to each other, things they should probably have kept in the family.
Sorry if this is negative, but that is my take on this. Actually Arnold Fruchtenbaum has a Jewish lady teach at a ladies' conference inTexas, and it is probably excellent, but ......um......I would rather hear Arnold!
Anyway....thank you so much for getting in touch and being so encouraging...
Love from Pat.
PS * As for Parkinson's...my daughter advised me to take Vitamin K when I felt like I was getting shaky, and the shakiness has completely gone. It may or may not have been the start of Parkinson's, but there was a definite shake, and it is definitely gone. Thank You, Lord!
