“Hear, O Daughter... Listen to Me”
An
Update from Members of the Bethany
Association
of Women Living Single for the Lord
in the Sword of the Spirit
It was with joyful anticipation that
twenty-three women arrived at the Gilmary
Retreat Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA,
this past August 2015 to spend several days
together.
The women came from fifteen different
communities of the Sword of the Spirit
throughout the world to attend the 2015 Bethany
Association International Conference. Seventeen
of the women were committed to living single for
the Lord, and were joined by six guests – women
who are discerning their state of life. Only two
lifelong committed sisters were not able to join
the conference.
Bethany
Association
is an international association of women living
single for the Lord in the Sword of the Spirit,
women who have committed themselves to one
another for mutual support. They meet
internationally every two years.
Nurturing the life
Guided by conference theme “Hear, O Daughter . .
. Listen to Me” (Psalm 45:10) we were inspired
by meditations given by several of the sisters
and spent time seeking the Lord together about
how to nurture and strengthen our commitments to
our call and ideal of life and how to move
forward into the future.
In one conference presentation in particular – “Bethany
Association: Past, Present and Future” – we
looked with gratitude at our past “history” and
the Lord’s work among us to establish the
association (we were founded six years ago),
and were encouraged to continue to live
our present calling with passion, zeal, and
dedication. And to move into the future with
hope and faith in the Lord’s word to us coming
to further fruition and fulfillment.
Sherry Snyder (right) was elected
president of the Bethany Association
Council and
Jeanne Kun (center), outgoing president,
was honored for her service. On the left
is
Bethany member Beth Melchor from Ligaya
ng Panginoon community in Manila
During the conference, the women also elected
new officers. The first council’s six-year term
had come to an end, and Sherry Snyder (Word of
Life, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA) was elected as
the second president of the association. Sherry
and the new council, comprised of sisters
representing each region of the Sword of the
Spirit, were instated at the closing session of
the conference. The out-going president, Jeanne
Kun (Word of Life, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA),
was honored for her years of significant
service.
Spending
time together
In addition to presentations and elections, the
conference schedule allowed ample time to deepen
sisterly relationships through sharing,
fellowship, and recreation. As Marge Connelly
(The People of God, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
USA) noted, “I love the sisters’ personal
sharings and hearing their personal testimonies
the most. I love getting to know my sisters and
to see how the Lord is using them, how they’re
dealing with difficulties, and how God is
blessing each of us.”
Jhola Salazar (Ligaya ng Panginoon, Manila,
Philippines), who made her lifelong commitment
two years ago, added, “It’s important to see
that I’m not alone in the vocation I’m pursuing,
and it renews my commitment even more.”
Mags Tierney from Charis Community
in Belfast giving a
presentation to the sisters
Giving witness and blessing others
Six women who are discerning their state of life
with serious interest in living single for the
Lord also participated in the conference as
guests. Over the years since the establishment
of the association, Bethany sisters have seen
the Lord offer a call and invitation to more
women to commit themselves to him
singleheartedly and have helped local pastoral
leaders assist young women in discernment.
“I believe God is doing something great and I
feel blessed to be here’ said one of the guests,
describing her experience with Bethany
Association. “The Lord has blessed me to see
strong women of character who have battled
illness and many other sorts of personal
difficulties. Despite our diversity, God has
brought us together in one vocation. I thank
these women for being a living testimony of
fortitude, depth, and joy. They have shown me
that despite the test of time, they have
persevered. This is just hors d’oeuvres and
there is so much more in store.”
Another young woman spoke of her contact with
Bethany Association sisters during her ongoing
time of discernment: “Bethany is where I’ve
grown, I’ve loved, and been loved in return.
This is a place of rest for brothers and
sisters, a refuge. That’s what Bethany is to me.
When things are hard and dark, Bethany has
always been shining for people like me. The
women are so happy and joyful. Lord, I just want
to be that happy. There is so much strength
here. I pray to be as strong and as brave as
these women. The Lord needs people to show his
love and show that this is real and that this is
possible. This is a way for us to set fire in
the Sword of the Spirit. We’re ambassadors of
Christ’s love.”
God has broadened our vision and insight into
how our lives are a source of strength to others
and he is using us to touch many women – and
men as well – through the witness
of our way of life. Even on the way home
from the conference, two sisters had the
opportunity to tell an airport attendant about
their life style and commitment when asked by
him how they knew each other. As Beth Melchor
(Ligaya ng Panginoon, Manila, Philippines)
relates this experience: “I shared with him
about our conference and living single for the
Lord. He was so interested, asking me more
questions, and sharing about his own family
life. When I got off the cart at my gate, we
exchanged an earnest handshake and wishes of
God’s blessings. He was an Ethiopian grandfather
who has been in the USA for thirteen years. It
was a joy to share about our life in Bethany.”
Many are blessed through the relationships that
they see among us Bethany sisters and our
variety of living situations. Indeed, God is
calling us to make more spaces for women to come
to see our lives, in our houses and in
non-residential ways of meeting us.
“A lot of the women I talk to cannot imagine
living by themselves and that’s something of an
obstacle for them if they have a sense to live
single for the Lord, “ explains Sue Cummins
(Word of Life, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA). “For
them to see different ways of how we share life
together is an important part of how we can
witness to them, but also to invite them in and
share the life with us can help them define the
way God has for them to live it. Different ones
of us have different living situations. We
should reflect on this and take seriously what
we are doing with our houses. This is something
that God is calling us to in Bethany, part of
our vision. Our own homes and other living
situations of us Bethany sisters are not only
for the sake of us women living single for the
Lord but other women and men will be blessed as
well. Our homes will be a blessing and they are
one of the ways we as gems are called to give
light and beauty in the Sword of the Spirit.”
Bethany
women enjoy view of Pittsburgh
skyline
Applause
for our host community, The People of God
The local Sword of the Spirit community in
Pittsburgh, The People of God, generously served
Bethany Association by providing hospitality,
transportation to and from the retreat center, and
other assistance as well as some lovely gift items
for the conference participants.
On the opening evening of the conference, we were
welcomed by presiding coordinator of The People of
God, Milo Milburn, and his wife, Joanne, who
expertly arranged the on-site practical support
for us. More members of the community joined us
for a dessert reception where we showed the
Bethany Association video and offered our hosts a
sample of our diverse cultures with Filipina and
Spanish songs and attire. Then we enjoyed
performances by the community’s women’s choir and
two of their young adults.
On Saturday evening, after the Lord’s Day dinner,
we had the opportunity to see Pittsburgh from the
Mount Washington overlook point, enjoying the
breathtaking view of the city skyline and the
Three Rivers (Allegheny, Monogahela, and Ohio),
which form Pittsburgh’s “Golden Triangle.”
After the conference closed Sunday, August 9, many
of the sisters remained for two days of
sightseeing in Pittsburgh. People of God community
members enthusiastically served as our tour guides
and accompanied us on a Gateway Clipper River
Cruise and to Oakland, Pittsburgh’s cultural
center.
It was with gratitude to the Lord, our sisters,
and The People of God, that we said farewell to
one another and dispersed, returning home to tell
our own local communities of the goodness of the
Lord to us.
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God’s prophetic
word to the women of Bethany
Association
You are
my Beloved women. You have a space in
my heart that no one else has because
you've done something for me that no
one else can do. I have chosen you and
I have called you in a very unique and
special way.
As we worshipped, I heard, “Now is the
time,” with a vision of us going out
in bands of two, going out joyfully to
spread that word. Now is the time to
spread the news far and abroad to all
we meet of our Beloved, of our love
for the Lord and how beautiful he is.
“Speak boldly. Speak confidently.
Speak from your heart. It will come
easy when it is from the heart and it
will be like a song flowing from your
heart.”
All my will for you is love
– my love for you and your
love for me, about you being love at
the very heart of the Sword of the
Spirit, right at the heart of what I
am bringing to life among you. Humble
yourselves before me and before your
brothers and sisters in the Sword of
the Spirit in order to do this. Just
as the woman who expressed her love
for me when she broke her alabaster
jar, to love me so personally. In
humility you can come close. Do not
let the lies of the enemy distract you
from this personal ministry and from
honoring of me, witnessing to who I
am. Fix your eyes and hearts on me.
Encourage each other to fulfill this
in your lives. It is my will that you
do something beautiful for me. All I
have done in your lives and in your
communities is for this sole purpose.
People you don’t expect will come from
areas you done expect. People will
come from nations all over the world.
It's a new time for the Church and
communities to have women living
single and there’s a freedoms for
Bethany to serve.
You women are great treasures to me,
says the Lord, precious in my sight
and I cherish you. I brought you
together for my purpose and I've been
doing great and deep things in each of
you in these days together and I will
do still greater works in you and
through you as Bethany Association in
the days and in the months and years
ahead.
One sister shared, “Three words are
shining brightly before my eyes
– love, humility, and
service. The Lord would want these
shining brightly in our own
communities and families. The Lord
would be very pleased if people see
love, humility, and service in our
lives.”
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