At E-three, we mentioned a letter that we sent out in September to all of the churches in the MS Valley Presbytery, giving some background about the Leadership Team, where we started, and what we have been doing.  For those of you who haven't had a chance to see that letter, here it is:

Dear Women in the Churches of MS Valley Presbytery,

My name is Kerry Wright, and I have been serving as the team leader for the MS Valley PresWIC Women’s Ministry Leadership Team, or what was formerly known as the PresWIC Council.  In the fall of 2010, the PresWIC Council decided to take a year to evaluate the women’s ministry in our presbytery.  We needed to find out what types of ministries were already established, and what areas women wanted or needed help from a Leadership Team.  I sent a letter to the women in our churches telling them about this new team.  We are a group of women who volunteered to work together in 2011, contacting women in all 46 churches in our presbytery by phone and mail.  We sent surveys to every church, made many calls, and had many meetings to pray and discuss results of the surveys and the needs of women in our churches.  In 2012, we have continued to work, pray and plan, and want to share some of what we have learned from our time of evaluation:

1.      Wonderful things are happening in many churches across the Presbytery!  Outreach, missions, tutoring programs, Bible studies, retreats, conferences, and other events.   Women are busy serving their families in their homes and churches.  They would also like to know what is happening in other churches in the presbytery, to learn from them and attend some events at sister churches.

2.      There is a strong need for better communication and connection between the churches.  Women need encouragement and want to build relationships with women across the presbytery.  We want to know where to find information and how to get plugged in or involved when we can.  The Leadership Team wanted to share information with the churches, but didn’t know how best to reach them.  This led us to develop a website, Facebook group, and email mailing list, and to plan the first “E-Three” Presbytery-wide women’s conference for this fall.  Through these avenues, women can find encouragement, information and ways to be better equipped to serve the Lord.

3.      We all need a clear purpose statement to help us focus our lives on what matters most.  After much prayer and discussion, these purpose statements became clear to our team:

 

The purpose of PresWIC Women’s Ministry in MS Valley Presbytery is for every woman to know Christ personally and be committed to extending His Kingdom in her life, home, church, community, and throughout the world. 

The purpose of the Leadership Team is to promote deeper relationship and connection among the women in the MS Valley Churches, and to educate, encourage and equip them to fulfill their purpose.

We hope you will be able to join us next month at the first annual E-three Women’s Conference!  On the back of this sheet, I have listed the current members of our Leadership Team, and the churches they have contacted.  If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to contact us.  Also, we are looking for women who have a passion for serving the women of our Presbytery, and who might like to join our team in 2013.  If you are interested in finding out more about that, please contact one of us. 

God Bless You All,

Kerry Wright