Women’s groupings within the Church, what’s in them for you?

Different religions have women’s groupings within them but what is their significance? How do they help a woman grow spiritually? Mwereti Kanjo asks these very important questions.

Different churches in the country have women groups though they operate under different names. It is very likely that these women have similar responsibilities in their respective places of worship. For instance, the Presbyterian Church has Mai a Mvano (women’s guild) and Islamic faith has Mai a Dawa (Islamic sisters).

However, a lot of young women do not seem too keen on joining these groups within their churches. Is this because they do not understand their significance? What purpose do these groups serve anyway?

St James CCAP Women’s Guild chairperson, Esmie Pangani says it is very important that a woman joins a guild in her church because this is where spiritual growth in enhanced. She says the guild is guided by prayer, principles and unity that come in handy in a woman’s everyday life.

“The guild is about invitation, encouragement, commitment and fellowship which lead to providing opportunities for continuing growth in Christian faith through worship, prayer and action. Worship is an essential part in all meetings and activities. Prayer underpins everything and is a means of involving those members who cannot be with us at that particular time.

“I bear testimony that being a member of women’s guild can change a person’s life. We are encouraged to read the Bible and pray a lot, which is essential for spiritual growth. A woman is there to help in the running of things, even in the home we see to it that things are okay. As a women’s guild, we add that feminine homey touch to the church.

“When a fellow woman is crying, we cry with her; we are sisters in Christ who believe in the same thing. No woman must be afraid to join us. They will not regret it,” urges Pangani.

Pangani admits that it is inevitable for women to gather together and have a gossip-free environment. She, however, points out that people often exaggerate the extent to which women within the guild gossip. She says that as a chairperson, when she hears of such, she calls the responsible persons aside to talk to them and hear their side of the story without passing judgment.

Agreeing with Pangani, secretary of Kanjedza Islamic Sisters, Jamila Lire, says there is freedom and openness when women come together which allows them to tackle serious issues affecting the Muslim woman.

She says in addition to spiritual growth, a woman learns how to run her home, how to be humble and act in different situations. The bonus of learning all these things within Mai a Dawa is you learn together with the Word of God.

“Where there is a group, there will be some challenges. God gave us weaknesses as well as strong points which are different with each person. When we come together, we learn from each other the good things and leave out our weaknesses. We grow together as women, understanding each other because we are faced with almost the same challenges,” said Lire.