Ladies' Night Out
January 20 – May 11, 2023
Year In Review
What has the Women's Ministry been up to in the last year?
The Women’s Ministry Team (WMT) has been working to stay flexible during the changing demands of the pandemic and also to clarify our mission as we adapt to new leadership and the Sycamore Vision Statement.
During this time, we reconnected to the Women’s Presbytery of spiritual mature leaders who offer training and resources to local churches. From these dedicated ladies & their website, we have learned a great deal.
Some of the new and revised outcomes have been:
● A clear revised mission statement that reflects & integrates our role at Sycamore.
● A more organized electronic system of materials/resources to pass to the next WMT.
● A fellowship plan that we passed on to the the elders for their approval & implementation.
● A plan to offer training to equip women to serve/disciple other women in the church.
● A rededicated effort to support prayer among all women of the church.
● A more intentional effort to build intergenerational relationships among all women of Sycamore.
What is the Women's Ministry focusing on in the upcoming year?
As we move into 2022, as always, we seek to hear from the women of Sycamore! Give us your ideas/ criticisms and time!
We desire to reflect God’s glory and to grow closer to Him and to each other.
Our mission statement will guide our work as we strive for unity and growth for everyone.
● We will work out the details of our Prayer Triads.
● We will endeavor to connect with other ministries of the church.
● We will work with the Pastor to develop a Training Class for our women.
● We will develop leadership skills as both a Team and individually.
The Women’s Ministry seeks to:
Welcome all women to Sycamore as Christ has welcomed us.
I commend to you our sister…that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, (Romans 16:1-2a ESV)
Do life together.
…and help her in whatever she may need from you, (Romans 16:2b ESV)
Help women grow in their relationship with Christ.
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith… (Colossians 2:6-7a NIV)
Help women understand and fulfill Christ’s purpose in their lives.
We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work… (Colossians 1:9b-10a NIV)
Walk each other faithfully to our ultimate home.
For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. (Hebrews 13:14 NLT)
"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Ways to get involved:
Bible Study
For more information about what Bible studies we are currently offering, click here.
Lunches
Sharing a meal is a wonderful way to deepen relationships with fellow women in our church family. We often eat lunch together after Wednesday morning bible study. A restaurant location is announced that morning and all are invited to join!
Baby Showers
We love to celebrate babies at Sycamore! It is a special time filled with food, games, and lots of laughter. Announcements will be shared with the church congregation about upcoming baby showers.
Fall Retreat
Every year the Women’s Ministry Team hosts an in-town weekend retreat.
Our 2022 Retreat will be held at Roslyn Retreat Center in Richmond the weekend of Nov 4-6. This will be a full two-night retreat with sessions Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Registration opens on September 11th with early-bird pricing through October 2nd. (Additional details on the registration form)
We are very fortunate to have Wendy Alsup as this year’s retreat speaker!
Wendy Alsup is a mom, author, and math teacher. Her books include Companions in Suffering: Comfort for Times of Loss and Loneliness and I Forgive You: Finding Peace and Moving Forward When Life Really Hurts.
Prayer Meeting and Requests
There will be a prayer meeting every first Friday of the month at 10:30-12:30pm at Sycamore church in the Parlor to pray for many of the concerns and needs we have as women of this congregation and as part of the family of God. We invite all women to join us in this prayer endeavor or if you have a prayer request that you would like this group to lift up in prayer please send it to Beth Sheffield at [email protected]. Confidential prayer requests can be marked as such in the e-mail and will only be shared with the core team.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6
Other Events & Activities
Throughout the year, we offer other opportunities to serve and spend time with other women in the church as well as others in the community. Announcements about these opportunities are made through Ministry Moments or our church newsletter. Stay tuned!
Recommended Resources
The Women’s Ministry has enjoyed listening to these encouraging podcasts from some of the leaders of our PCA Women’s Discipleship Ministry.
The series is called Grid: Thinking Biblically and Living Covenantally and talks about our worldview as a grid: a structure through which we view the circumstances of our daily lives. If our grid is built of Biblical truth upon truth, it results in lives that are Word-based and relationally driven.
