The year 2013 is not only the 25th anniversary year for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America but also for the church’s women’s auxiliary, the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America or the “WELCA” as we commonly call it. At the WELCA synod convention and again at the triennial national convention of the WELCA there will be celebrations of a quarter century of study, support, and service.
But the history of the women’s auxiliary goes back much farther. At Eidsvold the congregation was formed in 1886 and the women’s group came along only a few years later, once families had settled on the land. In Karlstad there was a women’s group conducting Bible studies in Norwegian before there was a congregation incorporated by the men under the laws of Minnesota in 1916. In those days not only were men and women not mixed in the same group, but Swedes and Norwegians did not mix well either. That’s why there are two Lutheran congregations in the city of Karlstad. Before 1987 the women’s group was called the ALCW for the “American Lutheran Church Women” because we were part of the ALC. Before 1960 it was usually called the “Ladies’ Aid Society.” And back when Norwegian was the every day language of the people it was the “kvinde forenning.” But whatever the language or the national organization, women of the congregation have long organized themselves for three principle reasons: 1) to study the Word, 2) to support the congregation, and 3) to do acts of charity.
The current purpose statement of the WELCA sums it up this way: “As a community of women created in the image of God, called to discipleship in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves to grow in faith, affirm our gifts, support one another in our callings, engage in ministry and action, and promote healing and wholeness in the church, the society, and the world.” This mission statement is printed on the first page of each year’s handbook and recited at Eidsvold at the beginning of each WELCA meeting.
There is no doubt that women’s groups have fallen on hard times. At the churchwide and synodical as well as the congregational level, there is much fretting about the absence of younger women. The churchwide and synodical organizations offer scholarships to try to get younger women to attend conventions. Congregational groups often discuss how to get younger women more active, usually without progress. If an older male pastor, such as myself, asks a younger female pastor if she is going to a women’s meeting or convention the frowns are immediate. Pronounce the acronym as “welca” and images of Lawrence Welk waltzing with Norma Zimmer pop into many a head. (a-one, a-two, a….) – if the person is old enough to remember those two or watches reruns on PBS on Sunday nights in North Dakota.
And yet these organizations endure to do these three core things: study, support, and serve. Perhaps they should not be limited to women. Maybe gender based groups do hearken back to a day when women did not vote in congregational meetings or serve on the church council, and only men stood in the pulpit. The purpose statement of the WELCA would work just as well for the whole church as for the women’s group. Just strike the word “women” and replace it with “believers in Christ” and it would do just fine. But down through the ages some things have been “women’s work” like it or not.
On the fourth Sunday of Easter (April 21) the first reading was from Acts 9 about the remarkable Dorcas (or Tabitha, both of which mean “gazelle”) who had a beautiful ministry of making tunics and other clothing for people. Although the text does not say so, many of us think she gave clothing to the poor as she remembered Jesus’ words to the righteous in Matthew 25:36 “I was naked and you clothed me.” From her story many churches once had a “Dorcas Circle” composed of women who sewed for the poor. That work continues on in the current WELCA with the “mission action” committees which make quilts and assemble school kits and health kits for distribution to the poor through Lutheran World Relief. It would be a great loss if efforts to modernize the church diminished this beautiful work.
In this year of 2013, let us celebrate the history of the women’s group in each congregation that have done so much over the years to deepen the faith of its members, support the congregation, and give to the poor. The Lord only knows how much good has been done by the women of our congregations, often behind the scenes. But as Matthew 25 points out, the Lord will remember and commend them for it on judgment day.
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