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Executive
Committee Women Meet During Annual Council
Scholarship
Applications Due January 1, 2001
Scenes
from WM Congress in Columbia, South America (IAD)
How
to Treat A Guest Speaker
WM
Statistics
Mothers'
Place
WM
Resources You Should Own
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: womensministries
@gc.adventist.org
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Executive
Committee Women Meet During Annual Council
Thirteen of
the 21 women who have been elected to serve on the G C Executive
Committee during this new quinquennium met together for lunch to
get acquainted and begin networking on September 27, the first full
day of Annual Council. The lunch appointment, with cookies and punch,
was arranged by the GC Women's Ministries.
The entire Executive
Committee meets together each fall during the Annual Council. Those
who are on the Committee will also be delegates to the General Conference
Session in St. Louis, MO, USA, in 2005.
Of the 277 members
of the Executive Committee, only 21 are women, or 7.5%. This is
not as good a percentage as last quinquennium when 24 women served.
"A few of the
members are chosen by the GC Administrative Committee, but most
are chosen by their local unions or are de facto members--division
presidents, secretaries, treasurers," explains Ardis Stenbakken.
"For this reason we must begin working on the local levels if we
expect to get more women on this important committee."
There are no
women representing the Southern Asia-Pacific, Eastern Africa, Southern
Asia Divisions, or the Southern Africa Union. Six of the 12 divisions
have only one woman each.
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to headlines)
Scholarship
Applications Due at GC January 1, 2001
Scholarship
applications must be approved by the Division Scholarship Committees
and turned into the General Conference Scholarship Committee by
January 1 for approval if the money is to be distributed the first
half of 2001.
Scholarship
applications are becoming more competitive and there is less money,
notes Lynnetta Hamstra, the coordinator of the scholarship program,
"So it is important that the applicant presents all the requested
information in a timely manner."
All money for
scholarships comes by donations or from the profits of the sale
of the Women's Ministries devotional books. "When you buy a devotional
book for yourself or as a gift, you are helping twice" points out
Ardis Stenbakken, department director. "There are so many needs
and we have so little money!" To date, Women's Ministries has given
468 scholarships to women in all divisions of the world church.
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to headlines)
Scenes
from the first ever Women's Ministries Congress in Colombia, South
America (IAD)
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Because
of the war-like conditions in Colombia, the women received physical
as well as spiritual and emotional blessings as they met on
the island of San Andres. The top two pictures show the women
from the Pacific Conference and from San Andres and Providentia
with banners and beautiful costumes presenting their reports.
At left is Cincia Garcia and Olivia Ochoa from California who
led in special times of prayer. |
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How
to Treat a Guest Speaker
I have been
a guest speaker a number of times and places and have always been
treated really well. I always return home blessed. But I have also
discovered a number of things that planners could do to make life
easier for the speaker.
When issuing the invitation, tell the speaker exactly what you want
her to do: how many presentations, what length of time she will
actually have to speak (figure this carefully, taking into account
all special music, prayers, announcements, etc.. It is important
to the speaker to be given her full time.).
If you are going to want a picture, resume, or titles of presentations,
ask for these when you make the early arrangements.
Discuss with the speaker as to whether or not the presentations
will be recorded or video-taped.
Discuss transportation. If the speaker is flying in, tell her what
airport to use and how far it is from the retreat/congress. Tell
her by what time she needs to arrive and after what hour she may
ticket her return. If you are planning some sight seeing for her,
tell her what and when.
Allow plenty of time for the speaker to rest and get settled before
any speaking engagement. If she is flying overnight, do not schedule
anything the first day unless she agrees--do not plan any interviews,
receptions, greetings or anything.
Tell her what her accommodations will be like, what kind of weather
she might expect, and whether the women will be dressed casually
or more formally. If there is to be any type of tea, banquet, reception,
or other special event, tell her and what type of dress is expected.
Send the speaker the material that goes out to those attending.
This way she will know to bring a swim suit or hiking shoes--information
everyone else gets. Send her a complete schedule as soon as you
can.
If there is going to be translation, tell her about how many translators
there will be. If they need copies of the presentations, ask for
them early--not just before the presentation! Arrange for someone
to translate to the speaker also so that she understands other presentations,
reports, and announcements.
If there are to be seminars, discuss with the speaker about equipment
needs: computers, projectors, extension cords, etc.. And have them
set up and ready for her.
Have someone assigned as a hostess to escort the speaker to the
first meetings, the meals, and other engagements. It is tiring,
sometimes frightening, and always lonely to go everywhere by one's
self.
Enjoy your retreat.
With this kind of care of your speaker, she will enjoy it more too.
by
Ardis Stenbakken (back
to headlines)
Women's
Ministries Statistics. . . Why
Keeping Track is important
to Us
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What better
way to encourage cooperation for Women's Ministries than to
gather statistics every year and distribute the exciting results
of women working together for the glory of God around the
world? That is why we encourage our WM leaders worldwide to
send reports. There are two types of statistical report forms:
GC
WM Quarterly Statistical Report: (If filled out quarterly)
it gives the director an idea of how active and effective
the women in their divisions are and helps them plan for future
programs or outreach.
Statistical
Report: With information gathered from conferences
and unions through the divisions, the WM division director
submits this report to GCWM.
We cannot
stress enough the importance of consistency and accuracy in
the reporting. Info from GCWM Handbook.
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Women's
Ministries Directors and Leaders:
Please
remember to keep statistics updated for your division,
union, conference, or mission. Deadline for 2000 statistics
is
February
1, 2001.
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Mothers'
Place
Which are the
best and worst places in the world to be a mother? Save the Children
asked this question and here are some of their rankings: Top: Norway,
Canada, Australia, United States, Switzerland, Netherlands, Britain,
Finland, France, Cyprus, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and Singapore.
At the bottom, Niger, Mali, Guinea, Ethopia, Burundi, Chad, Burkina
Faso, Nepal, Gambia, Angola, Pakistan, Mauritania, Bangladesh.
Mother's health,
access to health care and education were taken into account. National
wealth did not always guarantee a mother's well being.
Some examples
were cited that show the gap between a mother's well-being in industrialized
nations versus developing countries: Lifetime risk of maternal mortality
- 1 in 263 in developing countries and 1 in 3,180 in industrialized
countries; women using modern contraception - 30% in developing
countries versus 60% in industrialized countries; births attended
by trained personnel - 63% in developing countries and 98% in industrialized;
adult female literacy rate - 61% in developing countries and 98%
in industrialized countries.
Source: The
Washington Post, What On Earth a Weekly Look at Trends, People and
Events Around the World by Dita Smith.
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to headlines)
WM
Resources YOU Should Own ---
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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 comprehensive
manual can benefit either the experienced or novice evangelist;
11 chapters plus an evaluation and an extensive appendix.
It covers one-to-one evangelism, small group evangelism, seminar
style evangelism and public evangelism; basis of evangelism
by women; 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 to disciple new
believers.
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case studies--experiences of women in doing evangelism, witnessing
stories, and how-to's; 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. $25.00 through GCWM. |
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Bible
Studies for Busy Women. By Ardis Dick Stenbakken and
Carole Ferch-Johnson. Pacific Press Publishing Association.
Fourteen
lessons. Relational type studies, not doctrinal. Covers: 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. Contains complete instructions for the leader.
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lesson has a Fellowship Activity, Texts on the Topic, Discussion
Starters, Prayer Activity Suggestions, and Personal Application.
The lessons are "for digging, discovering, and discussion,"
says Ardis Stenbakken. $4.99, through your ABC. |
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Let
us come before him with thanksgiving. Let us sing him psalms
of praise.
Psalm
94:2
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