After the young couple have accepted the first call to ministerial or conference departmental work, the actual training begins in a conference setting. The wife who is associated with her husband must also be initiated into the many new responsibilities awaiting her. However, not all conferences offer workers the same opportunities for development. Often the smaller and less imposing conferences are the best training grounds for beginners. Here there are fewer workers, and the young ministerial couple soon find themselves leading out in many ways.
One of the bright spots of the minister's work is the periodic contact with other workers of the field. These sessions lasting from a half day to three or four days are hours of inspiration and instruction. Perhaps those workers who are far from the conference headquarters appreciate these meetings the most. Some conferences plan "retreats," when outdoor life and good food are combined with instruction in ministerial duties. Younger wives revel in such events, and much of the benefit gained is through fellowship and association with kindred spirits. Conference administrators have learned the value of these workers' meetings. And every minister's wife looks forward to them with joyful anticipation.
The needs and problems connected with ministerial work today differ from those of the past. More must be accomplished for the cause, and in much shorter time. The young college woman who kept stride with her future husband's work before marriage may be far better prepared for her role as shepherdess than some of her sisters. While the young couple were completing college the period of their engagement was directed toward specific preparation for the ministry. Young people of today speed their plans, and before their first appointment in the ministry they may have struggled with the task of completing an education, making a home, and raising a family. By the time they are assigned a district to work in, it may be that because of her many new home responsibilities, the wife has decided that she cannot attend these workers' meetings. Too often this happens when she most needs the instruction. Such gatherings are not just social occasions; they should be thought of as a continuation school.
Because the ministry is so important a calling, and so much must be learned about the work in order to make it a successful ministry, every young wife should consider her presence at these conference workers' meetings a matter of urgency. Only an emergency would justify her absence. That this would be a good shopping day for her because her husband is having a meal with his fellow ministers, would hardly be professional thinking. God's work is always a minister's first consideration and his wife shares in this responsibility. That matter should have been settled before the ministerial internship call was accepted. If it has been overlooked, it will certainly be made plain at his ordination in the future. Yes, it is just as important as that!
Judging from the many remarks we have overheard at these workers' gatherings here and there, our ministers' wives revel in attending them. Some of them smile indulgently as their husbands concentrate on the instruction and fill their little notebooks with copious items. The first few hours of the session pass rapidly, and then there is the fellowship dinner to look forward to. Becoming better acquainted with new workers in the conference makes this a wonderful occasion. It is a good plan for the Dorcas sisters to prepare the meal. All workers can then concentrate on the meetings.
Our women are far more likely to become Marthas than Marys, and need much encouragement to attend these spiritual gatherings planned just for the workers. This is not a day for shopping expeditions, for bigger business needs attention. And while we are on the subject, another item by way of caution: It is not the custom of true shepherdesses to sit together on the back seats of the church doing needlework. Aside from disturbing big business with chatter, this is not ethical. As host, the conference goes to much expense to invite the shepherdesses. How discourteous it would be to show a lack of interest! Culture is a very necessary attribute of ministerial women, and the training received at the workers' meeting will be of great value in our work.
The Shepherdesses Meet
You may wish to refer to the January issue of THE MINISTRY for instruction on organizing conference women into a shepherdess group. Mrs. Conference President may be the leader or chairman at your opening meeting. This would be ideal, for who would be better qualified than she to guide younger women? However, there may be other efficient women who might be trained for leadership under her direction. In your topical discussions the long-range program, building toward definite objectives, is preferable. You may want to get your suggestions from the following list; it will serve to prime the pump on ideas.
To have a good meeting, individual shepherdesses should be asked to contribute their ideas. The wallflower types—women who just want to listen—need to be set to work with the object of developing them into leaders. Every minister's wife should become a leader; but do remember that leadership comes more naturally to some than to others.
Here we should reveal the plan for this series of Shepherdess articles. These lessons for the first six months of 1958 are to help us in starting shepherdess groups on their objectives. Later we will feature various types of programs, hobbies, crafts, and so forth. Through THE MINISTRY we plan to let you know what other groups have accomplished. Our shepherdesses will eventually be writing their own book of acts—guidebook, manual, or whatever we find is needed.
Suggestive Topics for Discussion
(Choose from list below)
1. From a woman's angle, discuss the outstanding characteristics of your conference as a field of service.
2. Church duties for the ministerial wife. Offices where laymen should function.
3. Housing problems of the ministerial family. Making a house a home. Living on the level or above the level of the average church member.
4. Sharing the husband's pastoral duties from Sabbath to Sabbath. What about the children attending Sabbath school? Youth and junior meetings?
5. Leading out in church campaigns for the district. What is expected of the minister's wife? Of her children?
6. Accepting hospitality when visiting churches in the district. Accepting produce from farmers' families. How to reciprocate by entertaining church members. Types of social gatherings for our churches. The leadership of the pastor's family.
7. Vacations for the pastor's family. Visiting home folks for the holidays.
8. Teaching the principles of health reform. The church health supper.
9. The minister's wife and her family an example of Christian dress.
10. In a larger church, when her home duties are not pressing, should the minister's wife become his church secretary? Should she be remunerated for her services?
11. The minister's wife who works outside of the denomination.
Homeward Bound
We cherish the memory of one very successful workers' meeting in an area where the occasion was truly an event. Sometimes snowbound and isolated for months at a time, the workers had gathered to have this Thanksgiving Day together before scattering for the winter. It was a blessed occasion. Rejoicing over the success of its mission offerings and campaigns and laying even larger plans for the waiting year was so inspiring. While a wonderful health dinner was being served to parents and their children, heavy snow began to fall. Good fellowship prevailed indoors, however, and the program, which we learned had become an annual event, was delightful. We boarded our train that evening in a blizzard, but with warm feelings toward the many new friends we had left behind.
Another touching scene comes to mind as we reflect on a group of about twenty-five shepherdesses. Their meeting in connection with a workers' rally had been most cheering. Such a wholesome spirit had prevailed, and it was so good to have attended. As we parted in the late afternoon we formed a circle, joining hands and singing "Blest Be the Tie That Binds." A candle on a small table in the center now provided the only light in the room. In unison we recited the benediction found in Proverbs 31:18: "She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night." These shepherdesses were committing the story of the virtuous woman to memory. It was a moving sermonet. These unusuals, these surprises, appeal to the heart of the younger shepherdess and revive the courage of the more experienced. We had heard much that day about bringing the message to the dark counties, and our hearts glowed. We have watched that field's progress for a few years. These women have changed the picture, for some of those dark districts are now brightened by the message. Yes, above every other accomplishment God's shepherdess is a soul winner? Conference shepherdesses, He counts on your light—let it shine!
