As I contemplate my new role as Women’s Pastor, I am confronted with the question: Why have women’s ministry? I wonder, “Can’t women minister just like men can, especially in this church?” The answer for me is, “Of course.” I have been allowed to pray for others in private, to pray publicly, to provide counsel, to preach…it seems I have been allowed to explore what my gifts are and use them freely in the body. So why have a separate women’s ministry? What is it for? I think because there is something about women being together. We have things to talk about that men just don’t understand. When I’m with women we talk about our pregnancies, our childbirths…and, as I’m about to be 45 years old, I find myself talking about menopause more and more (I’m not quite there yet, though☺) Those are things I can’t talk about with men. And shouldn’t. But getting together with women is not just about discussing our uniquely “female” things, moreover it is about being with others who are more like me by virtue of our shared gender, thereby allowing me to talk about my life with Jesus, my frustrations about my prayer life, and my epiphanies about the Lord with those who “get” me. 

I am thankful for the women in my life. I hope that Vineyard Women will provide a place where women can feel understood and challenged to grow in our individual and shared walk with the Lord. May you be blessed, all you women! 

 Nancy