Montgomery church features ‘ladies’ night’

August 21 was “Ladies’ Night” at Eastern Hills Baptist Church, Montgomery. Pastor Rick Marshall relinquished his platform to the church’s Women’s Enrichment Ministry (WEM) team as he has one summer evening for the last five years. 
   
Martha Johnson, WEM team chairman, praised the pastor, saying he has been supportive and flexible as the women plan the service each year.
   
What began as a one-time WEM anniversary celebration has become an annual worship event. 
   
Johnson explained that the service is “geared to providing a worshipful experience for all offered by a different group of people with a variety of aspects of worship.” 
   
“We have so very many gifted women in our church and so many outstanding testimonies that it would be a shame not to have a time to let them share these gifts and godly experiences,” she said. 
   
“On traditional Sundays, a woman may do music or drama but rarely anything else,” Johnson continued. “On this Sunday night, she does everything she wants to and is competent to do.”
   
This year’s theme was Daily Detours: Lead Me, Lord. The women of Eastern Hills Baptist handled every aspect of the evening worship service, which included drama, PowerPoint presentations, testimonies, a devotional, prayer and music. 
   
A 30-member choir was led by Karen Gosselin. Johnson noted they did cast a man in one dramatic role, the offstage voice of God, and joked that the team “let our pastor give an invitation and offer a closing prayer.”
   
Marshall noted that “it is not uncommon at (Eastern Hills) for us to focus on various church ministries during the year. As usual, we recognize special music events, choir tour homecoming concerts, Carpenters for Christ and other events.” 
   
He explained that giving the women’s ministry this opportunity benefits the whole church. 
   
“The WEM has such a strong role for women in the church throughout the year,” Marshall said. “This evening demonstrates to the congregation the spiritual vitality of this ministry. I have been especially pleased each year at the number of women who are involved in the program who might not have done so in any other settings previously. The service is always appreciated by the congregation because of the moving personal testimonies and enthusiasm for spiritual growth.”
   
Johnson described this year’s service as “a super witness to what God can do through a group of believers who seek His will, are committed to Him and the project and work as a team with no pride of ownership for any aspect of the development of the program.” She added that a particularly moving moment in the program was WEM founding member Carol Handey’s testimony. 
   
She shared publicly for the first time how the “detour” of breast cancer interrupted her life.“I had been feeling for some time that the Lord wanted me to tell what He had done in my life and how He had brought people alongside to minister to me during that time,” said Handey, now a five-year cancer survivor.
   
Eastern Hills WEM has a busy fall lined up with weekly morning and evening Bible studies that began Sept. 6. The group also has special events planned for October and November.