On the afternoon of Saturday, 21 May 2022, the Women for Mission (WfM) Committee welcomed over 60 participants to its first in-person Annual Meeting since 2019. This took place in Knox Free Church, Perth, which proved to be a very suitable venue for this occasion. The meeting was also livestreamed and it was encouraging to see that a very good number joined online including group events in Lewis and Skye.
It was a real joy to be meeting once again and to have the opportunity to give thanks to God for his goodness to us as we continued the work of WfM through a pandemic. It was a clear reminder to us of His faithfulness to His people at all times and in all circumstances.
Reports & Speakers
After opening the meeting with a time of worship and with the singing ably led by Catherine Joan MacDonald, reports were received from Holly Smith, Treasurer, and Sarah Lytle, Secretary. We then had the opportunity to hear from 3 speakers who had been or would be supported by WfM either through the Projects or by one of the funds for short term or community work. Kathleen MacSween of Sparkle Sisters, a relatively new charity based in St Columba’s, Edinburgh, spoke about its vision and work in the city, reaching out to vulnerable women with love and compassion. Abby Morrison, who had received a SAV grant to visit Tanzania under the auspices of Tearfund during the summer of 2019, shared with us how at very short notice that arrangement fell through. However, with the help of Catriona MacDonald, Abby found herself heading to Colegio San Andres, Peru, an experience she found so rewarding that she is returning there this summer for 3 months. On her return to Scotland, the trip to Tanzania had been resuscitated and she was soon travelling to another continent. This trip brought with it many challenges but through it all she was aware of God’s protection not least through the prayers of family and friends back home. Our final guest speaker was Maria Cockburn of World on our Doorstep who works with ethnic groups in Govanhill, Glasgow. She spoke of the very real challenges there are working in a relatively small area where over 80 languages are spoken! Maria’s love for the people in that locality was evident and she encouraged us to continue praying for her and her fellow workers as they endeavour to share the love of Jesus across the cultural divide.
New Project – ‘Refuge & Strength’
As the 2021/22 Project draws to a close (30th June 2022 being the last date for donations) Catherine Joan MacDonald launched the new Project, Refuge and Strength. This will raise funds for MISIUR (Peru), Sparkle Sisters (Edinburgh) and Bethany Christian Trust (specifically North East Scotland).
CookBook
Fiona MacAskill took to the podium and enthusiastically announced that plans are afoot to relaunch the Favourite Recipes CookBooks. Having raised thousands of pounds since the 1990s for disaster and relief, and with very few copies available for sale due to a fire at the printers where the books were stored, it is hoped that a new edition combining the two books will be ready for sale later in the year.
Women’s Conference
Before closing the meeting with prayer, the Chairperson announced that the Women’s Conference would be held on Saturday, 17 September 2022, in Inverness. For further information about the new Project visit this page. After the meeting we enjoyed refreshments and a time of fellowship.
