Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Some This and That in W. M. S."ON DOING MY THING"Synodical Magazine EditorWhen I became Synodical MagazinefEditor in 1968, my vision of thework was limited. The comments onthe monthly W.M.S. devotional topicwould come to me, I was told, to beforwarded to The CovenanterWitness for a middle-of-the-monthissue. More than that, I would beresponsible for supplying material forthe W.M.S. Column in eachMissionary Number of the paper,under the by-line, "Some THIS andTHAT in W.M.S." Since the formerwould be contributed by writers solicited by the UniformProgram Committee, that part didn't seem so formidable;but the latter, for which I must solicit material or compose itmyself, hung over me heavily. It was gratefully that I wenthome with the promise of a copy of the Synodical President'smessage at the Convention, and a resume of the proceedingsof Synodical from the Secretary.One overwhelming impression was that the W.M.S.column in The Covenanter Witness had been conceived bythose in the Synodical and in the work of the church paper. Ithad been acted upon by the Synodical and Mrs. Willis M.Edgar, conferring closely with the Editor and his wife, hadbrought it into being during the two years before. Carefulplanning and thought had achieved a column for which thechurch women watched, and then read each month. Iwantedthe project to go forward, and prayed that, with Christstrengthening me, it would do that.In doing this editing and writing, one of the privilegeshas been the opportunity to sit down with some of ourwomen missionaries, and talk to them quietly and at somelength about their experiences on the mission field, and theirthoughts on missionary society work done at home to helpthem. Listening to the answers to my questions in a relaxedatmosphere, just two of us together, and also seeing Christin these dedicated persons has been a blessed experience.It surely must be that readers' reactions are a thermometerto every "editor," even when one is editing awomen's column, appearing only monthly, in a smalldenominational periodical. The reaction thermometer neverrises very high, but I have made some deductions from thewarmth I've felt. The mission field closest to the heart of ourW.M.S. members is the home, and the winning of their ownchildren to Christ is of great importance to them. Personalexperiences of human interest are welcomed as the mostinteresting reading. Our missionaries are loved and honored,intercession is made for them in personal quiet times, andpublic meetings; and it is the desire of the women of thechurch at home to fulfill their known needs.As many of you know, the Topeka W.M.S., of which Iam a member, has undertaken the distribution of a weeklyprayer letter from Cyprus giving specific requests for whichthose receiving the letter have indicated that they will praydaily. Many notes have come in as people wrote requestingthat they receive the letter. These have shown a great desireto have a part, and a realization that prayer is an importantpart. These expressions have been an inspiration:" This is one way many of us can serve."Cyprus is in our daily prayers, and we would like toreceive prayer requests so that we can pray morespecifically.""Our C.Y. have decided to take on a project of prayerfor our missionaries, and to learn a little more about ourmission fields. We decided to start with Cyprus, since weheard of this request.""Please include me on the prayer list for Cyprus.Enclosed is some postage money.""I haven't missed a day praying for the work inCyprus since the request was made."In the following months it is my hope that ourSynodical Superintendents will let us know about the functionof their departments in The Covenanter Witness.As another feature we will think about the "workparty." Did you know that is what our British counterpartcall a work meeting? Perhaps we can look in on them.Another interview with one of our missionaries isanticipated.Two years after becoming Synodical Magazine Editor,I see my limitations for carrying out the far reach of thevision.— Winifred C. ElliottSpeaking about the Twenty-Third Psalm, HenryWard Beecher, says: "It has charmed more griefs to restthan all the philosophy of the world. It has remanded to theirdungeon more felon thoughts, more black doubts, morethieving sorrows, than there are sands on the sea shore. Ithas comforted the noble host of the poor. It has sung courageto the army of the disappointed. It has poured balm into theheart of the sick, of captives in dungeons, of widows in theirpinching griefs, of orphans in their loneliness. Dying soldiershave died easier as it was read to them. Ghastly hospitalshave been illuminated by it. It has visited the prisoner andbroken his chains, and like Peter's angel, led him forth in hisimagination and sung him back to his home again. It hasmade the Christian slave freer than his master, and consoledthose whom dying he left behind, mourning not so muchthat he was gone, as because they were left behind and couldnot go too.16COVENANTER WITNESS