On Saturday 13th May around 90 women gathered together in Glasgow City Free Church for the Women for Mission (WfM) annual meeting.
Helping to Help, WfM’s 2017/18 fundraising project, raised £38615 which will be used to help Shekinah Evangelical Church in Nepal buy land to build a church, Richard and Barbara Davies to share the gospel with a particular people group in Marseille and WfM to provide small grants through their Support a Volunteer Fund.
We were delighted to welcome Duncan Peters who spoke to us about his work in sharing the gospel amongst the Muslim community and Fiona Christie who has recently returned from serving in Colombia. We also heard about Derek and Catriona Lamont’s trip to Nepal and from Marsali who will soon return to Dwelling Places in Kampala, Uganda, having completed her studies in London.
As well as giving thanks for the response to the closing fundraising project, every year the new project is introduced at the annual meeting. The 2018/19 project, Community Connections, will raise funds for medical work in Bulgaria, helping disabled refugees in the Middle East, building work in the Philippines and for WfM’s Heart for Home fund which provides small grants for community outreach in the UK.
With many WfM supporters based in the Western Isles, we’re grateful to those who make it possible for us to link with those who meet there. Some of the ladies from the WfM group in Uist have sent us their thoughts on the day.
Several Uibhistich crossed the Sound of Harris to make their way to Stornoway on a breezy Saturday in May to join friends from Lewis and Harris for the WfM video link-up to the AGM in Glasgow City Church. Owing to the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the 19th of May 2018 will be embedded in the national consciousness for a long time. The main focus, for those of us gathered in the Murdo Alex Memorial Hall that day, however, was primarily on the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Having said that, we did follow the biblical command to ‘rejoice with those who rejoice’ though, and happily took advantage of the big screen that was laid on for us; and which, despite the occasional glitch, enabled us to appreciate the joy that a wedding brings. While some of us marvelled at the fabulous fascinators on show, those of us unable to distinguish between a Versace and a Valentino set about serving the delicious soups and puddings prepared for the occasion. It is surely significant that our Lord Himself chose to launch his public ministry at a joyous occasion: a wedding in Cana of Galilee. In the course of a weekend dominated by the grim news of another American school shooting and of a Cuban air crash, it was a pleasure to be focusing for a little while on a happy event. It was also, as weddings generally are, a reminder to us of the wonderful celebration awaiting all who follow Jesus Christ, irrespective of their earthly ethnicity or status.
The diversity of Christ’s family was reinforced as we moved upstairs to link-up with our Glasgow friends and hear from speakers who serve Christ in this country and abroad. We feel very blessed to be part of a network of Women for Mission groups who have raised almost £40,000 to be spent between missionary endeavours in Marseille and Nepal, in addition to supporting short-term mission workers.
It was good to hear from Fiona Christie regarding her current missionary endeavours in Scotland, and of her plans to stay here after many years of service which included short and long-term mission work in Hungary, Moldova, Germany and Colombia. Rev Duncan Peters, a Free Church minister for Asian Outreach, also addressed us with a particular focus on the Holy Injil, Luke – A New Translation from the Original Greek Text with Commentary, recently published with support from WfM, and proving to be a useful tool in explaining the Gospel to Muslim friends. Although the sound quality prevented us from hearing presentations by both Marsali Campbell and Catriona Lamont, the pictures on the screen were well-received as we saw the obvious delight on Suraj Kasula’s face on welcoming Catriona and Derek Lamont to Shekinah Evangelical Church in Nepal!
We are sorry to hear that Rona Matheson is stepping down as Chairperson this autumn, but we know that Janet Murchison, our new chairperson, and her committee, will continue the good work.
We echo the sentiments of Psalm 145, which we all sang heartily, whereby through God’s leading and our endeavours that: Thus all will hear about your mighty acts and know the glorious splendour of your reign. Your kingdom will endure for evermore; For all time your dominion will remain.
Thank you to WfM Uist for their contribution!
