Our WMU (Women’s Missionary Union) meets the first Tuesday of the month at 1:30 p.m. We learn about our missionaries and their work, pray for them, and plan ways to serve. We have donated school supplies to Ridge Elementary School, baked cookies to be given out at the Richmond Raceway, donated groceries to the Henrico Food Bank, prepared birthday bags for Special Needs friends, donated snack bags for the homeless and collected quarters for the Oregon Hill Baptist Center to aid homeless in doing laundry.
In September, funds were collected for Lamb’s Basket to help provide turkeys to families at Thanksgiving. The WMU presented a $420 check from RBC to the organization on October 1, 2024.
WMU Retreat (November 2024) Seeking the Will of the Holy Spirit:
On November 16th, the Ridge WMU hosted a women’s retreat at the Roslyn Center. Abbie Duenckel led two sessions entitled “Power for the Journey” and “Walking with the Spirit on the Journey.” In the third session, Abbie shared personal stories of how the Holy Spirit has worked and moved in her life, including details from the journey of church ministry into serving God in public education at Ridge Elementary School.
Eight women attended and were taught how to recognize the Holy Spirit’s energy in motion (i.e., it can be from the smallest source, His breath or even the wind). We learned that the Spirit does work in mysterious ways; He is our advocate, gives us wisdom/courage in life, and yes-even stirs within us working to ready us to move or be moved. If we pray to God for the leading of the Spirit’s will in our lives, He will answer. We then become His vessels to direct our hearts and minds for His work.
Even though Abbie has moved on, her impact remains at RBC. Ridge Elementary School continues to interact with RBC on a regular basis. Joan Moses and Laura Gilmer are part of a Community Impact Committee with the school. We meet once a month to find ways RBC can serve them and vice versa. Life is all about connections, something we must each be aware of in our daily lives.
We thank Joan for her hard work in planning the retreat, choosing Abbie as our Facilitator, providing the quiet moments to reflect/meditate, and sharing in some lighter moments by offering brainteasers. We learned that women keep way too many things in their purse and we need some work on our knitting/crocheting skills. When we adjourned to the glassed-in Bishop’s Chapel, Phyllis Coffman led us in some songs about the power of the Holy Spirit. She was really in the moment; she gloried in the sound of the piano, was warmed by the sunlight, and enjoyed watching eagles/hawks fly gracefully outside the windows. Leaving that day, we all took away the need to allow God to center us for His work by calling on the Holy Spirit.