Women’s Group

Women’s Group 2022

Women’s Group met at Carol Shook’s house throughout the year, enjoying Bible Study, prayer and fellowship, as well as great coffee, tea & goodies (often prepared by Rudy Shook …many thanks!)

In 2022; we:

  • Read and discussed the book, The Family of Jesus (meetings led by Carol)
  • Watched videos of the life and ministry of Jesus, shown in “The Chosen”
  • Met for lunch out at Flipside Coffee in Thomaston
  • Sent cards to members of the congregation (& to others in need of encouragement)
  • Gave prayer shawls
  • Spearheaded a church soup-&-salad supper before the Randy & Marli Brown concert
  • (Several of us) Participated in the Zoe walk-a-thon and attended the Zoe banquet, and we collected baby clothing & supplies to donate to the Zoe “blessings” room
  • Traveled to Topsham and Freeport for a Christmas shopping day
  • Organized Christmas caroling (by members of the congregation, to homes & nursing homes)
  • Enjoyed fun, games, and food at a Christmas Party hosted by Carol and Rudy
  • Prayed weekly for our families & friends, the church, the community, and the world

We welcome all ladies and we offer rides within the Thomaston-Rockland area. We also encourage members to join by telephone if in-person attendance is difficult. Our goal is to love God, understand the Bible, follow Jesus with the help of the Spirit, reach out to others, and support & encourage each other as we navigate our way through life.

As usual, we encourage folks to let us know their prayer requests and potential shawl recipients.

In Christ,

Meg Sawyer, member of the Women’s Group

Women’s Group 2021

Women’s group has about 8 regular members who, with God as our guide, enjoy: camaraderie and fun, devotion to prayer, growth in Biblical understanding, support in our everyday lives, and strengthening of our relationship with God.

During 2021, we:

  • Met in person and by Speakerphone & Zoom, depending on the preference (and distance from the Shook’s) of those attending.
  • Were led primarily by Carol Shook and Becky Lord and studied a variety of topics including:
    • The connection between Jesus and the book of Genesis,
    • What the Bible has to say about what we say, and
    • The book of Job.
  • Had a fun “ladies night out” at Applebees in September, shopped & had lunch in Augusta in December, and enjoyed a party at the Shook’s with games, gifts, and good food, a few
  • weeks before Christmas.
  • Took over the TBC shawl ministry (passed on to us after much time & devotion on the part of Pat Ross), wrote some cards of encouragement, hosted an all-church hymn sing (with help from Wayne and Bunny), and had a sing-along at Carol’s with two visiting musician friends.
  • Enjoyed the Zoe (pregnancy center) annual banquet (some attended in-person, and others watched the interesting program later via video at Carol’s house).
  • Joined with American Baptist women around Maine to see/hear an update (via Zoom) from Ann Clemmer about the struggles and blessings of Christian ministry in Goma, Africa (The Clemmers are American Baptist missionaries from Maine).
  • As always, we devoted part of each meeting to thanks & petition to God for friends, family, our church family, the community, and world.

As of January, 2022, we’re gaining insight from the book of Job. We invite all ladies to participate; come as you can, come as you are. If COVID or other matters prevent attendance in person, feel free to speak to Meg, Carol, or Joanie about remote attendance options. If transportation is an issue (and you live in Thomaston or Rockland), please check with us about rides. Also, if you’d like prayer or know someone who’d like to receive a prayer shawl, give one of us a call or speak to us at church. We can’t solve all the problems of the world, but we can pass on God’s light and love to those around us.

P.S.— Many thanks to Carol & Rudy for looking after us with much hospitality, including coffee/tea and snacks at our in-person meetings (if you’re watching by Zoom, someone will probably point the camera for a few moments to a plate of goodies; you’ll wish you were there!)

Submitted by

Meg Sawyer

Women’s Group 2020

Women’s Group was very active during 2020, in spite of the COVID-19 situation. Our gatherings evolved from meeting at the Shooks at the beginning of the year, to no meetings, to meetings by Zoom, and finally to “hybrid” meetings, in which some ladies met in person and others joined our weekly meetings via speaker-phone.

Activities for 2020 included:

  1. Studies and discussions:
  • led by Carol Shook from her research and Bible study sources
  • led by members who took turns researching notable people of faith
  • led by members who volunteered to lead discussions of selected Bible passages
  1. Time spent each week lifting prayers of thanksgiving and concern to God
  1. Special programs viewed on video or Zoom, including:
  • Monumental, a documentary by Kirk Cameron
  • The CareNet annual banquet program
  • A Maine American Baptist women’s event with speaker/missionary Ann Clemmer
  1. Kindness and Service-projects:
  • We helped the Shooks with a new ‘Lite Meal’ ministry, providing easy-prep meals to lighten a burden for anyone who might find it difficult to get out and shop for a bit.
  • Carol inspired us to adopt “kindness challenges” which help us to live our faith and be “do-ers of the word”.
  • We occasionally sent “thinking of you” and “praying for you” cards.
  • We assembled some of the Sunday School lesson/activity/care-packages.
  • Carol, with miraculous pre-COVID-shutdown inspiration, gave each of us a kit with Lenten activities and readings that we could do weekly at home. Shortly after we received them, the government issued stay-at-home orders. The at-home kits turned out to be a special blessing for the Women’s Group.
  • One of our challenges involved keeping a “blessings jar” for a month and, at the end of the month, translating the jar tally into a donation to an organization which reduces hunger.
  1. Fun and Games
  • Carol led a Bible quiz during a few of our meetings, a fun way to test and encourage our Bible knowledge.
  • Carol and Rudy organized a great Christmas party with games, goodies, and a challenge which provided interesting Christmas facts.

In 2021, keeping in mind the availability to “participate-from-home”, it would be great if a few more ladies join us. For those attending in person, rides within the Thomaston/Rockland area can be provided upon request. We believe that, as we seek to follow Jesus, we are both challenged and blessed at TBC Women’s Group.

Submitted by Meg Sawyer

Women’s Group 2018

We had a great time in 2018: studying the Bible, talking, praying, listening, laughing (and once in a while: crying), eating yummy things, and encouraging one another. We’ve been studying some Biblical conversations with God (prayers), taking time to reflect on what these interactions tell us about God and God’s relationship with us.

Some special events this year were:

  • Dinner out and a movie at Flagship Cinemas*
  • Helping with food for the Rockland teen center meals
  • Sending occasional notes of encouragement to folks in the congregation
  • Attending a women’s conference at Waldoboro Baptist Church (led by Bonnie Merrill)
  • Traveling to Bangor for supper out and the Mercy Me concert in November
  • A Christmas shopping day in Damariscotta, Bath, and Topsham (with lunch in Bath)

We are rescheduling our year-end party to February 2019 and are praying for healing for Carol, who had eye surgery in December.

Carol and Rudy host our meetings, with open arms, Tuesdays at 6pm.

There’s room for more and rides can be arranged by calling Joanie, Marie, or Meg.

In Christ, Meg Sawyer

*We saw “I Can Only Imagine” and if you haven’t seen it, we highly recommend it.