Shannon Women’s fellowship day
It was with some anticipation that I met up with some of the other ladies from the Ennis church and we headed out to Shannon for the Ladies’ Day of fun and fellowship.
… these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (1Co 2:10-11).
It was very soon evident that Paz, the main organiser, had planned several fun activities and allowed time to mingle with and chat to the ladies from other churches, mainly in Shannon and Limerick.Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (Jn 7:38-39).
Once we had recovered from various team events (that certainly helped us to get to know one another better!), we settled down to listen to several inspiring ladies who described their caring roles. These included Clara who talked about how her work with people with disabilities glorifies God (Mt 25:35-40) and how she seeks to show her clients His grace. She prays to the Lord every day before going to work and, through obeying His calling and helping her clients, she feels she is brought closer to Him.
Phil O’Connell used John 3:16 as the starting point for a beautiful presentation about God’s CARING - Compassion, Awareness, Response, Initiative, Needs, and Getting alongside. She spoke about those times when we sometimes feel we are only hanging in by a thread and about the encouragement of Isaiah 40:31. She also pointed us to Scriptures that show us that we should:
* keep our focus on God (Heb 12:3)
* study the Bible daily (2Ti 2:15, Ps 119:11)
* pray daily (1Th 5:17)
* attend church regularly (Heb 10:25)
* learn from Christian friends (Pro 13:20)
* tell others about Jesus (Mk 16:15)
Three ladies had been identified by their churches as having been and continuing to be great servants for the Lord - Phyllis Doherty, Pearl Good and our own Margaret Angland. Brenda Duffield spoke about their wholehearted devotion and willingness to minister to those given them by the Lord (ie the rest of us!) from the right thoughts and motives (1Ch 28:9). But she reminded us that we are all saved to serve. Phyllis, Pearl and Margaret were each presented with an engraved plaque to considerable applause (even though we were told at the start that we had to wave our hands in the air and give a greeting in Filipino rather than clap!). The Ennis ladies went on stage to sing one of Margaret’s favourite songs - Our Great God - a joyful noise indeed!
Other highlights of the day were the singing nuns (!) and a mime by Cecilia to the song “You Raise Me Up”. My own favourite came when the room was darkened and 12 Philippine ladies dressed in black wearing white gloves illuminated by UV light gave a wonderful mime display. There were flying birds, men walking, words constructed and a picture of the cross - fascinating and moving.
Many thanks to Paz and the other Shannon ladies for their great organisation- and we should not forget that the Ennis church was challenged to organise and host the next such event!
We posted a link to pictures on the day of the conference.
And a comment from Margaret:
“Thank you to all those who took part in making the women’s day of fellowship in Shannon on the 4th April such a special day. Thank you all for your kind words and blessings. I was very touched by all your hard work and kindness. May the LORD bless you all.
With love.
Margaret“
