When my mother-in-law passed away seven years ago, her friends organized a celebration of her life at The Plains United Methodist Church. The family didn’t have to do much more than show up. Cloth-covered tables were set up for seating; other tables had been placed around the edges of the room for the lovely memory boards her friends had prepared. Off to one side, more tables were loaded with pans of fried chicken and trays of sweets.
It was a blessing to our family; we were all in shock and exhausted. And it was all made possible by the ladies of the church.
Those of us of a certain age (ahem) remember Dana Carvey’s smugly superior Church Lady on “Saturday Night Live.” Carvey says the Church Lady is a caricature based on officious women at his childhood church, and no doubt such women (and men) exist in congregations everywhere. All I know is that the women behind my mother-in-law’s service showed love to strangers as they would to their own friends and family.
Those women, and those I remember from my childhood church, tended to be middle-aged or older. And I wonder who will take their place when the time comes.
For now, I’d love to hear about the church ladies where you worship. Who’s brewing the coffee for fellowship after Sunday services? Who’s organizing the fundraisers and outreach? We want to celebrate them in an upcoming story—and know if a new generation of church ladies is at the ready. Send us a note at info@athensindependent.com with the subject line “Church Ladies.”
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