Meeting for Women in Yverdon, Switzerland

This was the theme chosen by Women's Ministries (MIFEM) for this day on May 26, 2024, which brought together 60 women from almost every church in the territory of the Swiss-Romande Conference. What a blessing.
Our guest speaker, Marie-Pierre Péchoux, a theologian and psychopractician who has been in charge of Women’s Ministries for the South France Conference for 8 years, led us in a pertinent, clear and profound way through this theme of emotions, with concrete examples from life and the Bible.
What are emotions, and what are they good for? Why do we get stuck? What are the solutions? What does the Bible say about emotions?
Here's a mini-summary:
- Identifying the emotions you feel: joy, fear, sadness, anger, surprise or disgust, permits you to know what's going on.
- Putting words to what I'm experiencing allows me to welcome and REGULATE the emotion (not manage it).
- To manage an emotion is to pretend it doesn't exist, to sweep it under the carpet... It comes back with a vengeance.
- An unresolved emotion will give rise to a new emotion; it returns and cannot be overcome = pattern.
- For each emotion, the body, mind and behavior must be considered.
- Readjusting emotions through words is liberating. Tell God EVERYTHING. Dialogue with Him. It's depositing. Just as David cried out to God.
- Talking to oneself and to God allows us to regulate. Tell Him what emotion you're feeling.
Tell Him what emotion is "sick" so He can do something about it. And grow with the Lord's help. External situations change little or nothing. It's my innermost self that changes.
- Taking care of my heart, head and body means daring to tell God the truth about what I'm going through.
For as Philippians 1 .6 NIVsays, "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. »
We all had a wonderful day. Our warmest thanks go to the church in Yverdon, which not only made its premises available to us, but also put together a kitchen team to prepare a succulent meal for us, not forgetting the magnificent dessert we were able to enjoy in the church garden. Dominik Frikart, the pastor of the Yverdon church, led us in meditation to start the day, many thanks. Thanks also to Debora Belloy for accompanying us on the piano during our times of praise, and to Susana Oliveira for animating these times of praise. Special thanks to Ludovic Sbarzella for his technical support. We thank God for touching our hearts.
Karin Hoareau, Women’s Ministries FSRT