In July, The Idlewild Foundation and the Idlewild Women’s ministry combined to bless the widows of IBC. Before the pandemic Idlewild had a widow ministry, In His Image, that held monthly luncheons. But the pandemic and its seemingly never-ending health issues put an end to in-person meetings like that, even ones so important to good spiritual and emotional health.

But time passed and by mid-2022 it seemed overdue to offer some help and encouragement to our widows. So, we reached out to the Idlewild women’s ministry and got the ball rolling.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do,
but encourage one another,
especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25

There were several factors that called out that this was God’s timing:

•  There was a generous donation given to the Foundation for widows.
•  The previous head of the widow ministry had stepped down after 20 years of service and God provided a new volunteers to head it.
•  All of the facilities and support needs fell into place with the incredible cooperation and hard work of the Idlewild special events team.

The only problem with the luncheon timing was that it fell ten days after John Campbell, the Executive Director of the Foundation, was to return from a mission trip to Atibaia, Brazil. But that seemed like enough time to deal with the final details and preparation. Satan worked to make things harder. The return flight was delayed by a day and John returned home with a mild case of Co-vid 19, but enough to keep him quarantined right up to July 8.

Still, with the extraordinary effort of Jodie Montgomery, Director of the Idlewild Women’s ministry, her volunteer helper, Keira Rinchuse, who made literally hundreds of phone calls, and the Idlewild Special Events team led by Nancy Reed, the luncheon happened and was a blessing. Also helping was the chairman of deacons Chris McNeal and a number of deacons who drove the cart from the parking lot, greeted the widows, and sat with them for a Carabbas meal and a dessert choice from Wright’s Gourmet Deli. Take-home treats were put together by the special events staff with an extra treat by the Fox family

Jodie led the luncheon and did a short devotion. But the best part of the luncheon was the fellowship with a deacon at each table and the widows spending precious time together.

The luncheons will resume regularly now, led by Terry Gilbaugh and Meredith Wester. The widow ministry will bear the new name, Silver Linings. Additionally, the widows will continue to be blessed through the generous gift to the Foundation which will also help support widows with particular needs that they cannot handle. This community effort shows the church at work in a big way. The church is not and should never be a building. Instead, the real church is a body of believers living in the rescuing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is what just happened.

“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much”
Helen Keller.