On Sabbath, June 22, the Adventist church in Bari celebrated Women's Ministries Emphasis Day. This year's theme, “The God Who Sees You,” was especially heartfelt because it responds to the spiritual needs of our hearts. The experience of three women in the Bible, Hagar, Rispa and the adulterous woman, showed that unlike the superficiality with which others look at us, God sees us as something precious, follows us and is attentive to our needs.
The sermon
The sermon message was presented by seven women, who shared the various parts and readings from the texts. For some of them it was their first preaching experience!
The feedback from the community was very positive. Some thanked the Lord in seeing all those sisters serving God; others expressed their satisfaction in understanding even more clearly that when we go through difficult times in our lives, we can have the assurance that the Lord sees us, and this gives us strength to face any obstacle. I too thank God that, at the end of the program, we all accepted Jesus' loving invitation, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
The seminar
The following Sabbath, June 29, after the morning worship service, the whole congregation moved to a church member's property in the countryside. We had lunch and then presented the Women's Ministries Emphasis Day 2024 seminar, entitled “The Apple of His Eye”. The God who sees you is also the one who frees and protects you.
We formed several groups, distributed the materials and explained how to proceed. The groups began to answer questions, discuss the various points proposed, share experiences, and learn from the biblical texts. It was a truly uplifting afternoon. We were all enriched by the moments of discussion and sharing, but also became more aware of how precious we are in God's eyes. At the end, each participant received a sheet with the biblical texts mentioned in the seminar as a reminder of this time spent together.
A note on the Women’s Ministries Resources
I would like to emphasize how valuable the materials that Women's Ministries prepares for the three annual days dedicated to this department are. These are resources that do not end with use on the scheduled occasions, but can also be valuable at other times, for community meetings, Bible studies and other events. In fact, on the evening of June 8, I was invited to “The Long Night of Churches,” an interfaith event held annually in Bari. The theme of the evening was “Find Me.” Having to prepare a short talk, I thought the material “The God Who Sees You” would fit perfectly, and it did. Together with a part of the Bari Adventist choir who attended the event with me, I was able to give a very uplifting message to the people of various faiths who were present in the Catholic church where the meeting was taking place. I invite you, therefore, to dust off resources from past years from time to time to continue to receive blessings from the Lord.
As reported by Santa Abiusi, leader of Women's Ministries in the church in Bari, Italy.