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In the peaceful town of Danbury, Texas, over 50 ladies
attended the special Women’s Weekend “Hands to Work,
Hearts to God” April 5 to 7, 2013. The focus of the weekend
was on exploring spiritual gifts and discovering how we can
use them to spark change in our families, congregations and
communities. The weekend was organized by Lisa Ryan-
Powell and June Powell with a team of 15 ladies, under the
direction of Jim and Judy Servidio.
The weekend began on Friday evening when ladies checked
in and participated in a “Getting to Know You” activity. On
Sabbath morning, the ladies enjoyed a full brunch followed
by church services with a sermon by Larry Salyer. Follow-
ing church services, Susan Scott Smith and Kathleen Giza
presented a workshop on seven spiritual gifts where we all
identified our personal spiritual gifts. After the workshop,
several ladies presented examples of voluntary efforts they
are currently involved in and inspired everyone to volunteer
in their community and make a difference to those around
us. A lasagna dinner was enjoyed before we watched the
documentary
A Powerful Noise,
which highlighted three
women, on three different continents, giving back to their
community.
On Sunday morning, the ladies participated in group discus-
sions related to the documentary we watched the evening
before. They answered questions about the movie and dis-
cussed what God instructs us to do to help others in need.
The weekend ended with a quick recap of events and inspi-
ration from women on how they, too, can make a powerful
noise!
Sandy Lawler
Photo by Lisa Ryan-Powell
Ladies Explore How to Use
Their Spiritual Gifts at Houston
South Women’s Weekend
This year’s leadership class in the Jefferson and Atlanta,
Georgia, congregations, had its end-of-the-year class on
Sunday, May 5, 2013. The wives were invited, and all enjoyed
the table topics session and three fine speeches. Afterward,
everyone enjoyed an afternoon of fellowship at a cookout
hosted by Wes and Trish Cohron.
This year’s class attendance was approximately 15 to 18 men.
Mr. Gore, who directs the class, stated, “I feel we had a very
good year in our leadership class. Our emphasis has been
on understanding the importance of godly leadership, being
rooted in humility and service.”
God’s educational work goes forward, and fall 2013 will
mark the beginning of another year of developing godly
leadership. In the Jefferson and Atlanta congregations, we
can already see the fruits of this class in many ways.
Donna Quintana
Georgia Leadership Class
Completes Program
Five men and women were ordained as deacons and deacon-
esses on Pentecost, May 19, 2013, in Austin, Texas. From
Austin, Danny and PamNeal were ordained as a deacon and
deaconess. Renee Mills, whose husband, Clay, was previously
ordained as a deacon, was also ordained as a deaconess. From
San Antonio (which met with the Austin congregation), David
and KimGatley were ordained as a deacon and deaconess.
Needless to say, it was a great day for our congregations, with
much happiness and excitement over the ordinations. Many
remarked that it had been a long time since there had been
an ordination in Austin. Many also thought the people who
were ordained had already been ordained because of the
service these people were providing.
David Treybig
Five Ordained in Austin, Texas
Ladies at the Houston Women’s Weekend
sing hymns at Sabbath services
David and Kim Gatley, Renee
Mills, Pam and Danny Neal