Circles (Women in the Church)
The women’s circles have been a part of the work of the church for many years. The circle has been a vital part in the growth of the congregation at Seven Springs. The women have met in the evenings once a month, since the mid-1950’s. Prior to that time some of the ladies from Seven Springs were part of a circle that met during the day. Many of our ladies, past and present, have served in leadership rolls in the Women in the Church at the congregational level and presbytery level. Hope Sullivan served a term as President of the Women in the Church at the Westminster Presbytery and Gladys Owens served as Treasurer of the Pres.W1C. The wonderful blessing of the WIC has been in giving the ladies of the church additional opportunities for personal growth in their Christian walk, to become more knowledgeable of the Word of God, and to become more effective servants for the Lord.
A tradition began many year ago of exchanging small token gifts at the Women in the Church December meeting. Several year ago, Hope Sullivan began hosting the December Circle meeting. A reading of a Christmas story by Mrs. Sullivan also became another tradition at this December gathering. These meetings have been wonderful times of fellowship for the ladies of the church.
The Circle or Women in the Church have had projects that have aided in the ministry of the church. In recent years they have included: obtaining curtains and tablecloths for the fellowship hall, a Women in the Church/Church project of a new and improved kitchen (1992), and padding the church pews (1999).
Much of the work of the Women in the Church involved ministry to the local congregation with such projects as those listed above. In addition, their ministry has included showers for new brides-to-be and expectant mothers, distributing fruit baskets for the sick and shut-in at Thanksgiving, presenting gifts and cards to graduates, and the annual Mother/Daughter banquet. Also, a large part of the work of the women has been in benevolent giving, reaching far beyond the local body. For many years the ladies sponsored a child through The Christian Children’s Fund. Later the WIC supported the work of Child Evangelism Fellowship at the national, the regional, and the local level by helping to defray expenses for the Good New Club at the local school. More recent benevolent giving projects have included: support for wives of Greenville Seminary students from Westminster Presbytery; support for missionaries from Westminster Presbytery; shoe box gifts for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child; collecting foodstuffs, clothes and other needed items for the Haven of Rest Rescue Mission; and the PCA Love Gift.
