This past Thursday evening, we brought a piece of the Emerald Isle to our high desert as we enjoyed our  Ladies Growth Point Service. While the men gathered in the Student Life Center, the ladies met in the Main Auditorium for a fun night of growth and fellowship.

As ladies entered the auditorium, little leprechauns passed out an Irish Blessing (aren’t they cute!?), and we enjoyed laughing and talking around an all-green candy buffet, which was a huge hit!

The night began with a reader’s theater presentation on the life of Patrick of Ireland, who actually took the gospel to the Irish people. Bridget Pittman, whose parents are missionaries to Ireland, followed the reader’s theater with the song, Be Thou My Vision, which she beautifully sang in Gaelic.

After finding other ladies wearing green or with connections to Ireland, we settled to watch one of our ladies play a game of Kiss Me! I’m Irish! Sharon had to kiss objects as they came out and guess what she had kissed! She was a great sport and brought a ton of laughter as she kissed: a leprechaun, a rabbit, a turtle, a snake…and then, finally, her husband!

We tossed “coins” into our “pot of gold” and finished the preliminary part of our service with perhaps our favorite game of the evening. When an object was called out, ladies raced to the platform to show their particular object. At the end, we voted on the most embarrassing, sentimental, delicious, and odd items!

Our speaker for the evening was Deirdre Finn. Deirdre works on our ministry staff, but she is originally from Ireland! She quoted John 3:16 for us in Irish, and then brought a wonderful devotion on the topic of love, loyalty, and friendship—all values that are encased in  the Irish claddagh ring. We were challenged to love the Lord more because of her lesson from God’s Word.

I’m so thankful for the ladies of Lancaster Baptist Church and for the wonderful time we shared together on Thursday night!