Ministry in the Sorority
 

Hello Sorors and Sisterfriends,

I have recently met a Soror at a church I visited, and we have become good friends and keep in touch regularly. She (a Soror from '73) has shared a vision of an organized ministry unit within chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Her hope is to one day form a ministry in undergrad and grad chapters in our community that will spread through out our sisterhood. She would also like to speak to chapters, sharing messages of encouragement and ways in which we as a sorority can do the Lord's work. She wants to focus on our continued spiritual growth as sorors, in hopes that this will aid us in our interaction with the community and beyond as a Sorority. My question? What input do you all have on this issue, and does anyone have any experience with this type of ministry in their chapter? I would love to hear any suggestions/ideas on the topic.

~Miss1908~

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Depend not on your own strength, but on the strength that come from the Lord.

[This message has been edited by Miss1908 (edited June 25, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Miss1908 (edited June 25, 2001).]

I'm not a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha however I am a DAUGHTER OF THE ALMIGHTY GOD! Just from reading this post I got excited. To think that in a few years or months that something like this could be established throughout chapters brings joy to my heart. I love the Lord and am very active in ministry and have been praying on how I could (if selected for membership) intertwine sorority business with God's business. I recognize that we all may not be of "like-faith" or of "like-belief" systems but to come together in unity to fellowship in the presence of the joy and luv of the Lord is truly MARVELOUS! To answer one of your questions...I know that some undergrad chapters on my campus (not limited to Alpha Kappa Alpha) attend one another's churches ~ especially those currently on line.

All in all this is an excellent idea.

[This message has been edited by DreamfulOne (edited June 25, 2001).]

No, Soror we don't have this type of ministry in our chapter.

You never know what will happen in the future.

Good luck with the endeavor.

LOL, you and I both like to "hang" with more SEASONED Sorors. Mine is from Spr. 76 http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif

ummmm, numyummm...ya'll better get on it... http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif

good question,Soror!

I am not a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, but I feel that I should respond. I love the Lord with all of my heart and I know that without him I'd be nowhere. I want everyone else to feel the same love and joy from knowing the Lord that I do.

But, I feel that in our pursuits to minister and bring people into his presence, sometimes we, christians, can end up pushing them away. I would never want to cause someone's personal relationship with my God to diminish because I was too zealous in my attemps to minister to them. I do not push my beliefs on anyone, because I believe that one day the Lord will call on those people himself.

I am afraid that if religious sections are added to traditionally secular organizations, not sororities specifically, that we will end up pushing people away from the Lord and those organizations. I cannot speak on any sorority, because as I have said, I am not a greek.

I believe that a person who has lost his or her faith or has any other problem with the Lord and his religion might move farther away from Him because they were presented with his teachings and beliefs when they weren't receptive to such things.

You may not understand me right now. But, everything that I have written is out of my love for the Lord. I love him so much and know that he is the light of my life. Like I already said, I love him and I want everyone else to know him like I do. I would never want to think that anything that I may have said or done has kept someone from knowing him like I do.

DreamfulOne, I know exactly where you are coming from. I will email you on a personal level as soon as I find time. If your emailaddy isn't on the profile, please send it to me. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/cool.gif

LOL, gotta love 'em Soror! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

This IS an excellent question. One that I am still pondering at the moment. I would really like to hear from the other sorors, non-Christian and Christian alike. We must be mindful of each others' beliefs, remembering to respect one another, even at the line in which we begin to disagree.

I will be praying on this one.

~Miss1908~

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Depend not on your own strength, but on the strength that come from the Lord.

[This message has been edited by Miss1908 (edited June 26, 2001).]

ClasslyLady:

Good points, all very valid. Thanks for the response.

Peace Sorors:
Question...
Being a Soror that grew up in the church and being that GOD was a big part of my undergrad chapter, I would have no objections to making the sorority a more spiritual experience... BUT what of Sorors who are other religions... say Muslim or even Athiest? Would this ministry only reach out to those interested? Would it be frowned upon if Sorors of other religions wanted to start an outreach of their own?

In other words... Should Alpha Kappa Alpha be used as a religious tool?


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...Taking control of my beauty... loving me for me...

i don't see where the problem of having individuals of various religions comes into play...most major religions have common threads of belief and if you base your ministerial activity on the bible...absent of shallow interpretations and legalism...you shouldn't have a problem...have you not heard of interfaith services or non-denominational services...most are based on the bible...but again...absent of legalism or interpretations that favor any one particular religion...

[This message has been edited by CelestialBlu1 (edited June 27, 2001).]

Peace Celestial:
So if you're using the bible, should you also use the Quran, The Torah (sp?) and whatever other religious books there may be?
All religions may have the same moral values but they don't use the same books. I'm sure Muslim Sorors would not want to just use the bible as a reference.
Also... yes I do I know of non denominational churches but in essence they are Christian churches. That still leaves a lot of religions shut out.


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...Taking control of my beauty... loving me for me...

if god and balanced living are the focus...i don't see where conflict should arise...if bible use is offensive to non-christians...despite the fact that most major religions essentially highlight the same principles...philosophical principles...which don't require a biblical reference...then i am sure that if the desire to further EVERYONE spiritualy is TRULY there...and a true sense of tolerance is there...a plausable solution can be found...




[This message has been edited by CelestialBlu1 (edited June 27, 2001).]

Peace:
It seems as if you are talking about a spiritual element... not a religious... or at least an organized one.
Maybe a spiritual as opposed to religious standpoint would work better to accomadate everyone.


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...Taking control of my beauty... loving me for me...

spir·i·tu·al (spr-ch-l)
adj.

1.Of, relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. See Synonyms at immaterial.
2.Of, concerned with, or affecting the soul.
3.Of, from, or relating to God; deific.
4.Of or belonging to a church or religion; sacred.
5.Relating to or having the nature of spirits or a spirit; supernatural.

re·li·gious (r-ljs)
adj.

1.Having or showing belief in and reverence for God or a deity.
2.Of, concerned with, or teaching religion: a religious text.
3.Extremely scrupulous or conscientious: religious devotion to duty.


...so...yes...spiritual...having a religious element does not mean that any spiritual progress is being made...so i would say to emphasize the spiritual as opposed to the religious...

Sent an email to you with my email address(es)

I sent you an email to aol.



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Depend not on your own strengths, but on the strength that come from the Lord.

I like that idea a lot. Though, If Alpha Kappa Alpha was used at a religious tool, then Sorors who aren't a member of the religion of the majority would feel shut out. Sorors who don't have any religious beliefs might also be shut out as well. I know that if I was a Jewish or a Johovah's Witness soror, this little religius activity would probably be of no use to me. Nothing would be made to accomodate me. I would then feel left out. That's not a good idea. Even if it was something with the label "spiritual" I know that from my experience with my grandmother and aunts who are Johavah's Witnesses, it might not be too well taken to from some people of that religion. It was stated that spiritual can mean "Of or belonging to a church or religion".

Oh, my, could it get any better. As a interested sisterfriend, I love the idea. If Alpha Kappa Alpha were to go in such a direction, I think that would be wonderful and only add to the Wonderful Grace AKA already has.

Well, maybe the Soror can go about from the perspective that Oprah (um)has with her "Remembering your spirit" segments. They are generally universal, where no one should get offended. Ya know if "O" does it and doesn't receive any flack then it's okay! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif

LOL, true, true. But Oprah did receive some flack about it initially, people said that the word "Spirit" implied too much. She had a whole show about it and with the support of her audience, decided to go on anyway.
But yes, a generally universal take may be one solution.

~Still praying on the matter~

~Miss1908~

see, I didn't know that. That just goes to show you how much I watch her show! LOL

This may be kind of off the topic but I was in a church and the Co pastor Pastor's wife) was talking about people outting false gods before god and she stared naming all kind of stuff and she said "sororities -that ain't of God" I was kind of horrified, now this woman is college educated, and the church is 99% Black. When I left- the parking lot was filled with women with sorority bumper stickers-so I said to each her own. But I thought that statement was whack-especially knowing what sororities have done and are still doing for our people.

why would you assume that about her??? having a bad opinion of fraternaties and sororities does not mean one was rejected...it could just mean she is ill informed or had a bad experience...

Question- Was AKA founded on any religous principle?

She was probably rejected. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif

Anyway, my mother's best friend is a Preacher's Wife for 40+ years. She always wondered why my mother didn't invite her into the sorority via the grad chapter. So, ALL PWs don't feel like she did/does.