Title: Women’s Ministries Group Fetes Pastors’ Wives Taiwan Church News 2838, 17-24 July 2006
Reported by Yu Shu-ling. Written by David Alexander
The Women’s Ministry committee of the Taipei Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan held an open forum featuring wives of ministers on July 14th. They invited spouses of retiring ministers to address Christian women on the bitter and sweet of life with a clergyman in a parish situation. Committee vice chair Huang Bih-yun said, ‘This sort of forum offers leaders of parish women’s women fellowship groups an opportunity to develop deeper understandings of the lives of their ministers’ wives.
Wu Huei-yu said that being a pastor’s wife requires deep concern for church members, but also offers opportunity to receive support from many sisters and brothers in Christ in time of personal crisis. Her own husband was a theological educator for 20 years before he left the academy for parish work. Before he was there even a year, he fell ill. Ms. Wu is grateful to God for the support she received from the church members.
Chiang Mei-ti shared how, from her youth, she heard her mother pray that a suitable Christian man might be found to be her husband. Neither she nor her mother had ever considered the possibility that that Christian man would also be a pastor! They served churches on Taiwan’s rural east coast for over 20 years before moving nearer to Taipei. The life on the east coast gave her the opportunity to become involved in service to the community through a nearby middle school.
Lin Huei-chu and her husband learned much over the course of more than 20 years in ministry. There were many “trials, weaknesses, failures and disappointments,” the greatest of which came when her own children resisted attending the church youth group. She said that she heard church members repeatedly complaining that their children did not come to church, and her own situation drew criticism from them. She encouraged all to remember that she herself suffered from the non-participation of her children, and she continues to pray that they will not lose faith but be returned to God’s love.
Yang Li-rong ,said “the pastor’s wife encounters the salty, bitter, sweet, and spicy with equanimity. At times it was grievous, but, thank God, now that we are retired, in addition to participating in a church as a volunteer, I can more directly focus on evangelism to not-yet-believers.
In conclusion, the Rev. Hsieh Jie-ming, who is the “theological consultant” to the women’s work committee, said that everyone uses highly artificial standards when they look at the families of clergy. This is most difficult for the pastor’s wife. He encouraged all in this position to develop patience and wisdom to solve problems.
Hsieh Jie-ming FAX +886 2 23754842
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