Judith Calf – Theological Education Program Manager, Anglican Aid

I was recently reading the book of Ruth and was struck again by Boaz instructing her to not glean in another field, letting her know of the dangers to her as a young widow but also the goodness of God, “May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have to come to take refuge.” (Ruth 2:12)

The vulnerability of women, young and old, remains to this day. Anglican Aid ‘values women’ as seen through many of our projects that provide education, health care, safety, and income generation skills. In most churches throughout Africa, more than 70% of the Sunday congregation are women. They truly are the backbone of church giving, ministry to women and children, and support to families and communities. Yet they often remain the least educated, the least trained servants in God’s church.

We are thankful for generous supporters like you, who enable Anglican Aid to work with faithful overseas partners to train pastors and lay church leaders, including raising the number of women being discipled and trained in the Bible and ministry.

Esther, a 22-year-old from a rural village in Tabora, Tanzania, is one of those women (second from the right in the photo above). Born and raised in a Muslim family, she came to Jesus Christ through a difficult path of fear, superstition, and gender-based violence. Esther was thankful for the opportunity to study at Tabora Anglican Training Centre, supported by Anglican Aid; to learn more about the Christian faith and Bible so she could become a well-trained Sunday school teacher. She loved learning of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and the equality of men and women before God.

Esther is just one example of giving women Bible training to build their faith on solid ground. With your continued support, through Anglican Aid’s Equipping Church Leaders projects, we’ll be able to reach and teach more women – whether the precious girl child, the vulnerable young woman, the mother, or the grandmother – so they can pass on their faith in their homes and communities and strengthen churches around the world.

Judith Calf
Anglican Aid Theological Education Program Manager

Pray:

• Pray that many children around the world will come to know Jesus through trained Sunday school teachers.