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Two
New Resources Available for WM
WM
Devotional Book 2002 Update
Bits
& Pieces: News, Observations and Ideas from Here and There
Use
Your Brain to Cut Stress
News from the World of Women's
Ministries is
published monthly by the General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventist Department of Women's Ministries for
the purpose of communicating news and information about
Women's Ministries.
Director & Editor: Ardis
Stenbakken
Asst. Editor & Layout: Iris Stovall
You may contact the editor by writing:
General Conference Department of Women's Ministries
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600
United States of America
Ph: 301-680-6672
Fax: 301-680-6600
Email: 102555.2653 102555.2653
@compuserve.com
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Two
New Resources Available for Women's Ministries
Two new resources have just been released for use in Women's
Ministries. One is the long awaited Evangelism Manual produced by the
Department of Women's Ministries and one is a set of small group Bible
studies written by Ardis Stenbakken and Carole Ferch-Johnson.
"Women's Ministries Evangelism
Manual."
Written by Cynthia Burrill, Ione Richardson, Waveney
Martinborough and Ardis Dick Stenbakken.155 pages plus 5 different sets of
Bible studies.
This manual is a comprehensive manual that can benefit either the
experienced or novice evangelist; it consists of 11 chapters plus an
evaluation and an extensive appendix. It covers one to one evangelism,
small group evangelism, seminar style evangelism and public
evangelism. There are also chapters on the basis of evangelism by
women, on how to prepare the community and church, how to prepare and
present the sermons, how to do visitation and get decisions, the baptismal
service and how disciple new believers. |
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One unique feature of the manual is short case studies experiences of
women in doing evangelism, witnessing stories, and how-to's.
The appendix covers an expansive resource list, various types of
surveys, a planning check list, suggested books to sell or give away and a
sample form for an evangelistic budget.
Funds have been made available for translation into Spanish,
Portuguese, and French. How soon those will be available is not known as
yet. The General Conference is also giving each division some money to
help subsidize translations into other languages.
A copy of the manual has been sent to each division Women's Ministries
director. They will be responsible for its distribution in their
territory. If individuals wish to buy them they may be available through
the division director or from the General Conference Department of Women's
Ministries for $25 including standard shipping and handling.
"Bible Studies for Busy Women."
By Ardis Dick Stenbakken and Carole
Ferch-Johnson. Pacific Press Publishing Association. Available through
your ABC for $4.99 in English and Spanish.
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While traveling together
in the South Pacific, Carole Ferch-Johnson and Ardis Stenbakken
discussed the obvious need for small group Bible study guides
just for women. They felt they should be inexpensive and easy
to use. So they wrote fourteen lessons.
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| These are all relational
type studies, not doctrinal. The sections covered are: The
Bible, Jesus,Salvation, Prayer, Spiritual growth, Relationships, Self-worth,
Personal integrity, The Kinsman-Redeemer, Managing emotions,
Coping with worry, Mentoring, Managing resources, and Rest. |
The set contains complete instructions for the leader, although a
leader is not really necessary. Each lesson has a Fellowship Activity,
Texts on the Topic, Discussion Starters, Prayer Activity Suggestions, and
Personal Application.
"These are not the normal question and answer type lessons,"
says Ardis Stenbakken. "These are set up for digging, discovering,
and discussion."
(back to headlines)
WM
Devotional Book 2002 Update
Another devotional book deadline has passed and we are happy for each
of you who have generously shared your writings with us. Thank you so very
much. We're excited, too, that we have at least 18 new authors!
Just a brief update: acknowledgement letters have been sent to all
authors who submitted material for consideration in the 2002 devotional
book. Submissions are currently undergoing editing and then final
selections will be made. Letters will go out to authors in August advising
them of the status of their submissions. Meanwhile, the 2001 book
will be rolling off the presses at the Review and Herald by summer.
Authors are encouraged to submit material at any time of the year.
Remember, 375-425 words per devotional, and send a 3-4 line bio also.
You can e-mail your devotional book submissions to our new Women's
Ministries departmental e-mail address womensministries@gc.adventist.org.
When sending submissions by e-mail attachments, please send them as
Wordperfect, Word, or text files. Then, it's easier for us to format them.
It would be most helpful if you didn't bold, underline text, use italics,
or full caps. And please, no codes! If you need our Devotional
Book Guidelines, contact us.
You can, of course, continue to send hard copies of the devotionals by
mail (include a disk if possible so we can format right from your disk),
or you can fax them.
Thank you for your continued support of our devotional book project
which enables numerous deserving women to receive financial assistance at
SDA educational institutions of higher learning. To date, 454 women
throughout the world have received scholarships. Often, we get letters of
thanks from scholarship recipients and letters of appreciation to each of
you who contribute to the devotional book. We also continue to get letters
from our readers telling us how the messages in the devotionals have
inspired and encouraged. We can only say, praise the Lord!
by Iris Stovall, GCWM (back to headlines)
Bits
and Pieces News:
Observations, and Ideas from Here
and There
Sad News:
Fannie Jele, the Women's Ministries Director for the Malawi Union has died
after a short illness. She began Women's Ministries in Malawi and
during her term of office she managed to ensure that all three fields in
Malawi elected women to be in charge of WM. Ardis Stenbakken notes that
she and Lynnetta Hamstra both met Jele at the Women's Ministries Advisory
and Congress in Malawi in August 1998. "We, along with Priscilla
Handia and all the women in Malawi will miss her tireless efforts and
contributions. This is a real blow."
New E-mail Address:
Women's Ministries has a new e-mail address: womensministries@gc.adventist.org.
This can be used for all mail to the department. For individuals in the
department:
Ardis Stenbakken: 102555.2653@compuserve.com
Lynnetta Hamstra: hamstral@gc.adventist.org
Iris Stovall: stovalli@gc.adventist.org
Louise Driver:
driverl@gc.adventist.org.
Clever Message:
On the cover of the announcement for women's evangelistic meetings
in Kingston, Jamaica: "Come hear God's Message for this
Mess-age as presented by His Messengers."
Scholarship Recipient:
Honey Todd, one of the early recipients of a Women's Ministries
scholarship is the associate pastor of the College Heights church at
Canadian Union College University in Alberta, Canada. Todd has
graduated from Loma Linda University Canadian campus with a certificate in
family life education. She received her BA in the pastoral track from
Avondale College in Australia and a degree in psychology from James Cook
University of North Queensland, Australia.
Books Still Available at Clearance Prices:
Copies of Notable Adventist Women by Selma Chaij and The
Welcome Table edited by Pat Habada and Rebecca Brillhart at $5 each
plus postage are still available but not for long at these prices. Contact
Louise Driver for your copies.
Close to Home Available at Sams Club:
For our readers who have access to a Sams Club, Close to Home,
the Women's Ministries devotional book for 1997, is available with a
matching journal. One church is giving this to new women members and
encouraging them to journal their first year after baptism. Excellent
idea! Your ABC may have this set also.
It's a Small World After All!
Birthe Kendel, the Women's Ministries Director of the
Trans-European Division, met Mrs. Evy Baasch when Birthe attended a WM
retreat in Ireland. Mrs. Baasch is an American in her seventies who
teaches in Galway, Ireland. Her grandfather and family, Methodist
missionaries, had gone back to America from the Far East because of
illness. The doctors could not help so sent the family to Battle Creek.
While they were there, Mrs. S.M.I. Henry had Bible studies with the
grandfather, who had studies with his wife, and both were baptized. The
family later went to Australia where he became one of Ellen White's
editors. A great-grandson, Harold Baasch, works in the Ministerial
Department at the General Conference.
Report from Cambodia:
As has been reported earlier, Women's Ministries has started
literacy programs in Cambodia. The mission would like to begin some
projects in the northeastern provinces. A report from Cambodia states,
"The devil has really concocted a horrible mess here in Cambodia. He
inspired Pol Pot to kill off the educated people or force those who could
to escape overseas. He convinces the uneducated and illiterate people that
sickness and disease is caused by evil spirits so no one is interested in
hygiene or health principles. In the northeast part of the nation, up to
70% of women cannot read or write. All they do is have babies. By the time
they are 30 they have eight or ten and look like a 45-year-old
woman."
Ardis Stenbakken comments, "I sat by just such a woman in Siem
Reap, Cambodia. I thought she was an old grandma. Then a small child
crawled into her lap, pulled up her blouse and started nursing."
These women need our support.
Women's Ordination:
The New Life Church in England witnessed their first ordination
service for deaconesses. The pastor noted that all had their BA (Born
Again) degree and needed to move on to their MA (Master's Ambassador) and
finally their PhD (Pray Harder Daily).
So We Don't Offend:
Our task and purpose is to win others to the love of Jesus Christ.
This is very hard to do if we have already offended them. This is often
done with one little word a perfectly good word to most of us, but very
offensive to our Muslim brothers and sisters. That little word is crusade,
a word often used to describe evangelistic meetings. But in the Muslim
world it is equivalent to a "jihad" or holy war. In their memory
it signifies the twelfth century crusades when Christians set out to
destroy the Muslim "infidels" and their families were killed. We
can easily say evangelistic meetings, services or series. Let's do it so
we don't offend.
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Use
Your Brain to Cut Stress
Relieve stress by understanding which brain hemisphere
is stressed.
If you feel depressed or emotionally overwrought, your
stress is in the right hemisphere--the creative, emotional, holistic side.
What to do: Switch to your matter-of-fact left
hemisphere by doing math, writing factual prose or organizing. The
emotional right brain will calm down.
If you feel time-stressed and overburdened, the left
hemisphere is involved. Swith to your right brain by singing
or playing a sport.
Source: Communication Briefings, Ideas That
Work; Jane Cole-Hamilton, registered nutritional consultant, Wellspring
Seminars, 355 Park Ave., Newmarket, ON, L3Y 1V4 Canada.
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