Church Lady Mafia

I am writing this for my dear friend, who will remain nameless.  Well, maybe I need to give her a name, to eliminate confusion, so I shall call her Samantha and her husband will be Steve, not their real names, to avoid any embarrassment.

I am a part of a group known as PWOC, an acronym for Protestant Women of the Chapel.  I have been a member of this group for nearly 20 years, and have held board positions in the past.  I became acquainted with PWOC in Italy, during our first tour here years ago.  For those of you who have never been a part of the military, each post or base has a chapel that serves all denominations and religions.  There are usually three or four different Protestant services, but one PWOC group that draws all the women together for Bible Study, fun, and fellowship.  It is a highly organized group, with levels of authority, and a structure that goes from the local chapel to the area to the region.  For example, the local Vicenza PWOC, the area Mediterranean PWOC, and the region, European PWOC.  There are offices at each level, voted on by the women.

Well, my friend, Samantha, has been involved in PWOC as long as I have, and has held offices at several of the levels.  She is a dynamic speaker, has a heart for the Lord, and is always helping and nurturing others.  Her husband, Steve, has been very supportive of her activities in PWOC, and he knows the value of the ministry, but he jokingly refers to us as the "Church Lady Mafia."  This upsets Samantha, and I know she would like him to stop. She worries that others will have a negative view of PWOC if it is referred to in this irreverent manner.  I, however, think Steve is very funny and know that his teasing has a bit of truth to it.  In fact, I think it is a compliment.  He recognizes how highly structured we are and that, because of this, we get things done.

Really, if you want a job done right, and sometimes quickly, the Mafia is just the group to do it.  Ok, so the jobs they do are illegal and immoral, and definitely not the same as the ones we do in PWOC, but they are a highly structured organization, with tentacles that reach far into the communities in which they operate, they are in the know about what is going on, and they take care of business.  That describes PWOC to a tee.  We have a boss who is in charge; his name is Jesus Christ or Abba Father, and we have servants who have been called and chosen to act as his representatives in our communities.  We work together for the good of the Church, minister to others, and provide for needs as they become known.  We reach out to lost women and children and teach them of the love of Christ.  We disciple them and train them to take on their own leadership positions.  And, when someone needs prayer, our phone lines and computer are burning up, not with gossipy, sordid details of someone else's life, but with minimal information and lots of concern.  In many cases, we think of our communities as family, and we try to keep the family together and growing. Doesn't that sound like the Mafia to you?

Just what does the "Church Lady Mafia" do?  First and foremost, our ministry is to the women in the Chapel and the community.  We provide Bible studies for women hungry for the Word, and we reach out to women who are looking for friendship and companionship in a place that is unfamiliar.  We care for  the young wife whose husband has been deployed to a war zone, calling her to see how she is doing or what she needs.  We direct her to services provided through the Chapel, such as the men's group that does minor automobile repairs, or the MOPS group if she has young children, or AWANA and Club Beyond for the spiritual education of her children.  We pick her up and take her places, such as shopping in Nove, a highly important activity while in Vicenza, showing her all the coolest places to shop, especially on a budget.  We also provide support when she is expecting a child, and sometimes one of us will stand in when the husband cannot be at the delivery of his child.  We provide meals and child care for those who are sick and injured, or who have just had a baby.  We help each other move in and out, we cry together over sad events, we celebrate birthdays, holidays, promotions, graduations, and other important events.  We direct women to other sources of spiritual and community support when needed. We provide food for Memorial services and stand by our sisters and brothers when there has been a loss.  And we pray without ceasing for our families, for each other, for our Chapel, for our Community, and for our country.  In short, we become one another's family.  This is the basis for true spiritual community, which we are desperately trying to develop.  We love, as Christ loves, when we do this well.

Obviously, we do this so well, that Steve knows who to call on for help or information when he needs it.  He just calls on the "Church Lady Mafia," because he knows they get things done, done right, and done quickly.  While he is teasing us, he is also admiring in us women something that the men lack.  They do not love Christ any less, but they do not have the relationships that we women have, nor the organizational structure that says, when you need a meal you call Becky, or when you want a prayer warrior, you call Laura, or when you need child care, you call Patty, and Samantha knows everything about the local area, so if you need to know anything about Vicenza, you call Samantha.  He is really in awe of what the ladies of PWOC are able to accomplish through Christ.  So, Samantha, when you read this, please hug Steve and thank him for dubbing us "The Family" aka the "Church Lady Mafia!"