SHEPHERDESS ADVISED TO BE COURAGEOUS
The biennial Shepherdess Retreat of the Southern Ghana Union Conference (SGUC) has ended with a call on Pastors’ wives to be bold and courageous in order to take on the challenges of their husband’s work.
The Coordinator for the Shepherdess in the West-Central Africa Division, Mrs Sarah Opoku Boateng said this in a sermon on the Sabbath of March 26, 2016. She spoke on the theme ‘Shepherdess in oneness to reach the world’’. “You play a significant role in the duties of your husbands. To reach the world, you must first reach your families and that means you must support your husband to make your home a Christian home. Then you have a responsibility to ensure that your husband is prepared to step out, and here I say, be bold to stop him from going out when he is improperly dressed. His appearance matters in the business of reaching the world,” Mrs Opoku Boateng said. Over 200 wives of Adventist Pastors in the SGUC attended the Retreat held at the Valley View University from March 23-27, 2016. It was on the theme “Shepherdess in Oneness to Reach the World.”
The shepherdesses converged at the Women Centre to fellowship, pray, and learn new strategies on how to support their husbands in Ministry. According to the Coordinator of the Shepherdess for the SGUC, Mrs Diana Ocran, the retreat, which is held every 2years aims at bringing wives of pastors together to enable them fellowship, share ideas, pray for each other and to learn new skills and ideas to enable them perform better as supporters of their husbands ministry. “Ministry is a shared responsibility, the Pastor and his wife together make up the team, and advance in the strength of the Lord to win souls, and so we must be equipped to do our part of the work’” Mrs Ocran said. Some of the topics discussed at the Retreat include: conflict management, balancing work and home, growing a viable business, and preparing for retirement.
As part of the programme the women also visited the Pantang Psychiatry hospital and donated food items to the inmates. One of the Pastors’ wives, Mrs. Attah Poku shared her impressions, ‘I have benefited from this Retreat, I have learnt new skills, found answers to some questions on mind and I am positive that if all will practice everything taught, we will have testimonies to share at the next retreat.’’
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Solace Asafo/Vera Bont