Women’s Sabbath in the Mid-Rhine Conference, Germany

On August 19, 2017, the Women’s Ministries Team of the Mid-Rhine Conference under the leadership of Brigitte Grohrock, their recently reelected director, joined forces to organize a women’s Sabbath in all of the churches of the Gießen and Marburg districts. This was the third effort of this kind this year, when each church in a district has the privilege of welcoming one woman of the team to preach the sermon. The churches in Dillenburg, Gießen, Grünberg and Wetzlar were served by Xenia Bachmann, Andrea Orgeich, Brigitte Grohrock and Ellen Krumreich. Larissa Beitel and Helga Kürbiß preached in Gladenbach and Marburg. For the afternoon program all women from the district gathered in Dillenburg to consider the topic: “One woman, many hats – how to juggle with many responsibilities without losing balance”. The hats symbolize the many tasks a woman performs as wife, mother, daughter, sister, volunteer in the church, professional etc. In spite of all this, women should not forget to find time for their loved ones. That is why they should remember some basics: nobody expects them to be perfect; delegating is important; and learning to say no is important, even when it is hard to do so. The gist of something Martin Luther is reported to have said is: when I have lots to do in a day I pray more in the morning. That is something that applies to women as well and it is the only way to cope in life.