‘Honor the Widows Sunday’ Is June 26
The last Sunday in June of each year is designated Honor the Widows Sunday. It is the only day recognized by the Church of God as a special day of honor for our widows.
These women need to understand that they have value and worth in the kingdom. They can be mighty prayer warriors, a powerful force in ministry, and can help establish the vision God has given for your church. On this special day Church of God congregations are asked to honor the widows in their local churches and to receive an offering for the Iris B. Vest Widows Ministry Center in Sevierville, Tennessee—the premier widows ministry in the Church of God. Being a part of no one’s budget and receiving no portion of the tithe fund or church appropriations, the Center is TOTALLY dependent upon these offerings—and the meager rents that residents can afford to pay—for its existence. Although it costs approximately $1200.00 per month to care for one resident, the average rent received is much less (approximately $300.00 per month), leaving a difference of hundreds of dollars to be raised at large. Caring for our widows is a mandate of scripture given by Jesus in James 1:27 where He tells us to “care for the fatherless and widows in their distress.” Your special offerings provide a safe, Christian haven in which our precious widows can live.
If this particular date does not work for your congregation, please set another Sunday to honor your widows and to receive your offering for the Widows Center in Sevierville. Our widows are dependent upon your support. Send your special offerings to: Iris B. Vest Widows Ministry Center, 509 Park Road, Sevierville, TN 37862. Visit our web site at www.widowscenter.org for more information and downloadable fliers.
Ideas to give special recognition to widows on Honor the Widows Sunday:
1. Have greeters seat them in a place of honor (1Timothy 5:3).
2. Acknowledge them as great matriarchs and mothers of the church (Titus 2:3-5).
3. Have the church council or elders to speak blessings over them and pray for them.
4. Present them flowers: a wrist corsage, or a flower to each of them, or let children give them a flower.
5. Write notes of appreciation, affirming their worth and value.
6. Give volunteer gift certificates, such as good for one car wash, clean your home, wash windows, transport to the mall or grocery store.
7. Invite widows to lunch, or hold a special banquet in their honor.
8. Give them hugs (lots and lots of hugs). We find that widows consistently need and desire closeness with others.
9. Ask people to give a small gift to a widow who has influenced their life. (On one occasion, a church brought all the widows forward, and persons whom the widows had impacted gave them a small gift and words of praise.
–Dr. Coleman Peacock, residential director, Iris B. Vest Widows Ministry Center
