You will notice in the photo that all of the women are of an “older”
age. And it appears that they, too, have
that same question that I hear over and over within my own organization, Women of the ELCA… “How do we get younger women involved?”
This question is like that proverbial stone that hangs around my neck
that I get asked no matter where I may be.
And then I sit amongst a women’s group like this one and I see the same
thing. Staid, official “call to order”
followed by the obligatory devotional read straight out of a book with the
speaker not deviating one whit from the text nor looking up into the eyes of
those in the group. Then comes the
standard prayer that everyone present knows by heart. The reading of the minutes, dry as bones… the
call for “Sister So-And-So” to give the treasurer’s report… and then the final coup
d’état, refreshments that consist of watered down punch and some strange stale
cookie that has seen better days.
Now this is not said to unfairly malign my Guyanese sisters… this meeting
could have just as well been at any women’s gathering in the US where outdated tradition
and “that’s the way we’ve always done it” prevail. As I sat there I wondered (just as I have
wondered at some rather tedious other meetings I have sat through over the
years), are the women present really enjoying this exercise or are they merely
suffering through it as I am. Are you
really engaged or are you going through the motions?
Perhaps no one new is interested in becoming involved in a group that
is so closed to doing new things… there is no space for someone to enter that
gathering. So I guess that is my lesson
for today… not a new one by any means.
But still, it’s as true here in Guyana as it is for our church in the US…
as the old adage says, “The only thing different between a rut and a grave are
the dimensions!” 
No comments:
Post a Comment