The Virtuous Wife

This past weekend, Camp hosted three women’s retreats at Camp. Though the retreat groups were very diverse in background – one was from an urban church plant in Philadelphia, one was from a Garifuna Mennonite church in Brooklyn (an Afro-Caribbean Culture), and one was from a multi-ethnic faith community reaching out in North Jersey. Though diverse in background, they were united in purpose: to meet their Creator in his Creation and experience his refreshing, revival, and renewal.

Women’s and men’s retreats are unique and essential spaces for faith communities to work on contextualizing the Gospel to the different experiences of women and men. Just like different cultures, our one God is known in different ways by different human experiences, but is still the same One who unites us in one salvation and one Body.

There is a famous proverb about the virtuous wife in Proverbs 31:28-31:

Her children arise and call her blessed;

    her husband also, and he praises her:

 “Many women do noble things,

    but you surpass them all.”

 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

 Honor her for all that her hands have done,

    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

This Proverb is rich for today, a time when “the battles of the sexes” often dominates the conversations about women and men and their roles in politics, life, and the church. In this proverb, the woman has full agency economically, culturally, and socially which she uses to maximum effect to do good to her family and community, but still she does not undermine, oppose, or make irrelevant her husband Lemuel (his name means “Devoted to God”, so he is a man devoted to serving God). While the conflict, pain, and long history of the gender wars is very real — and even growing in intensity today in many lives — this can give us the hope of possibilities revealed in Jesus.

While it’s true that Godly women should be honored in the way described in this proverb, it’s important also — in my opinion — to apply the image shown to us by these virtuous women to the church – the Bride of Christ. Because of the virtuous woman’s compassion and diligence, “Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land” (v 23). In the same way, when we follow this example to work diligently for Jesus’ family and our communities, his authority is recognized in the world around us — an especially important idea to connect the health of the church to our ability to continue to have relevance in the era of Post-Christendom.

Please pray that Camp would continue building a place here where we make the Bride of Christ ready for her husband. She (the Bride) is empowered here to do the work of caring for and advancing God’s family – and your prayers are directly responsible for supporting that work.

Please also pray for the peace-building work of Camp and the whole church during an era of conflict and turmoil regarding gender. Pray that God brings comfort and healing where their is hurt and pain, and that the Spirit causes the repair of each broken heart and relationship to be stronger and more rooted in Jesus than it was before.

Praise God With Us:

• The PA Banquet was a great success with about $40,000 being raised! Thank you to all our donors who gave generously and to the hard working staff and volunteers that made the even a success!
• Praise God that the Summer Camp staff continues to grow as counselors and junior staff are added through the leadership’s recruitment efforts.
• Thank you to our owner churches United Revival, Immanuel Community Church, Valley of Jesus, Manhattan Evangelical Garifuna, North Bronx Mennonite, and Grace and Peace Mennonite who have volunteered this year to do Cabin Cleanings and various other projects (more are scheduled in coming weeks).
• Praise God for our continued strong relationship with Grace Fellowship Church in Port Jervis, especially the involvement of their youth Group, who recently helped us clear up dead and fallen Ash trees and make firewood.

Please Pray For:

• Inter-generational connection and reconciliation — our theme for Peace Camp this year.
• Camp’s re-development of our ministry, training, and discipleship model and methods and our work with NYC Leaders and LMC Leaders on every-member missions, church multiplication, and movement dynamics.
• Recruitment for this year’s Summer Camp staff.

Upcoming guests:

• Iglesia Monte Armenia (Bronx)
• Heavenly Vision (Mount Vernon, NY)
• Immanuel Community Church Women (Queens)
• Koininia Church Women (Staten Island)