Building relationships focus of Community-wide Women's Night
By WENDY JEFFCOAT CRIDER, T&D Features Editor Friday, August 28, 2009The Orangeburg-Calhoun Baptist Association is planning a special night just for the girls.
The Helping Hands, Healing Hearts Community-wide Women's Night will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at St. George Baptist Church. Tickets are $10 per person and includes a meal prepared by the St. George Baptist men. Tickets must be purchased in advance by Sept. 14.
"There are a lot of churches individually that offer women's events, but we just wanted to go a little bit beyond that," said Kathy Welch, one of the evening's organizers who include minister's wives and women in the ministry from throughout the county and the association's 43 member churches. "There are lots of men's events -- wild game dinners, that type of thing -- but we wanted to offer an event to meet the needs of women, something that speaks particularly to the women in the community.
"It's just a way to help and support women, and everyone needs an event like that."
The evening will feature entertainment by musicians Ahira Sanchez, Naara Sanchez, Avis Owen-Gilliard, Deborah Parler, Susan Ulmer and Ronda Smith.
Speaker will be Heather Hoopes-Matthews, former WIS-TV News anchor, who will speak on the keys to building relationships. The Kansas native is the marketing director for Nexsen Pruet, a seven-office, 180-lawyer law firm based in the Carolinas. She has worked at CNN's Washington, D.C., bureau, and at newsrooms in Alabama, Kansas and Missouri.
Hoopes-Matthews is married to Jim Matthews and has three stepchildren. She and her husband live in Camden and are members of First Baptist Church in Camden, where they serve as Sunday school teachers.
"We just felt the need to have something like this for women to meet other women and build relationships with them," Welch said. "We hope that they learn how to intentionally reach out to other women to meet their needs ... and gain a sense of camaraderie in the community.
"We're really expecting a great turnout, and we're hoping it's a good thing for the community."
Women of all ages are invited. St. George Baptist Church is at 2590 Shillings Bridge Road in Orangeburg.
For more information or tickets, call 803-534-9712 or visit O-CBA.com. Tickets will also be available at the O-CBA, on St. Matthews Road across from Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12.
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