![\"Co-Authors](\"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Women-book-630-2.jpg\")
<\/a>Pastor Gry Beate Marley from the Norwegian Union Conference explored how to sustain a healthy relationship with one\u2019s spouse. Being both married to a pastor and a pastor herself, Marley reflected on her family dynamic. She highlighted three major keys: the need to prioritise time together, accept differences, and maintain friendship.<\/p>\n The third presentation focused on ministerial family life, with its unique set of blessings and challenges, particularly the dual role of being in ministry and a mother. Pastor Kaarina Villa, Ministerial Association Director for the Finland Union of Churches Conference, inspired many attendees with wisdom from her own experience. \u201cPrioritise your children and their well-being and make the Sabbath special for them,\u201d she recommended.<\/p>\n All three topics aligned well with the EPC theme, particularly the aspect of \u201cextending love\u201d to friends, spouses, and children. More than 70 attendees then split into smaller groups for further discussion on the topics and to get to know each other better.<\/p>\n Called to Ministry –\u00a0Second Meeting Once again breaking into discussion groups, attendees talked about their call to ministry, recognition, and how to uphold the pastoral calling through personal, public, financial, or spiritual challenges.<\/p>\n An Ever-present Need – Third Meeting He spoke about a study commissioned by TED on the experiences of women in ministry within their territory. He presented the findings and shared proposed recommendations. Additionally, Pastor Csizmadia offered a historical overview of the significant role women have played throughout the development of the SDA Church. After the presentations, they remained to answer questions from attendees.<\/p>\n For many, attending the women pastors\u2019 and pastoral spouses\u2019 meetings was an eye-opening experience. It reinforced the idea that passion for ministry, support, and mutual encouragement know no borders. At the same time, the experiences of various women pastors highlighted surprising differences in their countries\u2019 laws and church policies concerning the awareness, rights, and positions of women in pastoral ministry.<\/p>\n Several pastors, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed that while words of affirmation are important and welcome, more visible support is needed at the conference and local church levels. They felt that this conversation should continue and include conference leaders and male colleagues in the future. \u201cIt feels like these meetings are supposed to make us feel that we are important, empowered, and heard; to make us feel that we have a voice,\u201d one commented. \u201cBut are we? Do we really?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n The Real Connection Pastor Rosemary Lethbridge of the British Union Conference reflected, \u201cWe face similar problems, regardless of which country we are in. All pastors, regardless of their gender, have problems, but we have a unique set of problems.\u201d She added, \u201cHearing that you are not alone is helpful and healing.\u201d Pastor Anne Vrcelj, from the Finland Union of Churches Conference, also added, \u201cYou know that somebody understands.\u201d<\/p>\n While the meetings were inspiring, they seemed to raise more questions than could be addressed on the occasion. The need for open conversation and practical, visible support was evident. Yet, attendees bid each other farewell with the hope that something positive might emerge from these discussions in the future.<\/p>\n The networking event provided a much-needed opportunity for real connection among women in ministry. \u201cA more experienced female colleague was in a discussion group with me. It is helpful to talk to someone who has been where you are or has overcome the issues you face,\u201d observed Pastor Lidija Djordjevic Runi\u0107 from the South-East European Union Conference. \u201cWe are all different, and it\u2019s beautiful. We learn from each other, support each other, and cheer each other up,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n [Photos: James Botha, Adventist Media Exchange CC BY 4.0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How Female Pastors and Pastoral Spouses Connected During EPC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1592,7,1577],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bosnia-herzegovina-montenegro-north-macedonia-serbia","category-news","category-organisational-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20230"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20421,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20230\/revisions\/20421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nNetworking Time – First Meeting
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\nDuring the first meeting on Wednesday, 28 August, three topics were introduced. Pastor Karin Wieczorek from the Swedish Union of Churches Conference shared ideas on maintaining and developing close friendships while in ministry. She emphasised the importance of having friends from at least three different groups. \u201cColleagues are valuable friends,\u201d Wieczorek said, adding that \u201cwe should have friends outside the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, as well as within it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n<\/strong>
\nDuring the second meeting, Pastor Guis\u00e8le Berkel-Larmonie from the Netherlands Union of Churches Conference posed the question, \u201cHow do you cope with the current church climate for female pastors?\u201d Drawing inspiration from the book of Judges, she offered insights into Deborah\u2019s call and the recognition she may not have received despite her significant role. \u201cWe each have our own story; we each experience recognition in our own way. Just like Deborah, our story may be misunderstood,\u201d Berkel-Larmonie explained. \u201cWe are all in the ministry because of God\u2019s guidance and love. No experience, good or bad, changes that fact.\u201d She encouraged attendees with the thought that \u201cthe One who called you is the One who will always have your back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>
\nThe final meeting on Saturday, 31 August, differed from the previous two. TED President Daniel Duda, TED Executive Secretary Robert Csizmadia, and TED Ministerial Association Director Patrick Johnson joined the meeting to offer their support. \u201cDespite many challenges in your ministry, your presence here is a testament to your resilience,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n
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\nOverall, attendees felt love and respect for one another. New friendships were forged, and old relationships were strengthened. Some described the event as encouraging and refreshing, while others found it healing and peaceful. The majority considered it beneficial and helpful for their ministry. \u201cI felt that I belong,\u201d said Pastor Andrea Szilv\u00e1si-Csizmadia of the Hungarian Union Conference. The whole event \u201cfelt like a hug,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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