Does your church care for widows?

My Step with God
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Hi friends,

Today, one of the passages in the liturgical reading is 1 Timothy 5:9-16.

To sum it up, if a woman has faithfully served her church, is beyond the age of marriage, and is in economic need, Paul says the church is responsible for caring for her.

As we read in verse 16, “Let the church…assist those who are real widows.”

First, a confession: as I read this passage, I thought, well, this is irrelevant to my life! I’m not a widow, and I don’t know any widows!

But by God’s grace, I caught myself. We’re all tempted to ask the “What’s in it for me?” question.

But in this case, the answer is the opposite of what I might have thought: it’s a chance to serve those who have served well.

Still, there are at least two ways this passage challenges me.

First, I lack a deep connection to my church’s older men and women who might one day need my care.

How do we bridge the generational gap so that this is not an abstract idea but one that brings to mind the names, faces, and relationships that have lasted for years?

Second, this is not a way of life to be applied as individuals but as a church community. Paul speaks of a “list” of widows who receive support. Caring for an older widow requires the resources and support of the community.

It is very individualistic as I think about my own family and the stories I hear of people caring for their aging parents. People live far apart from each other, move around fairly often, and may or may not have invested in their local church.

On the other hand, some churches welcome volunteering to maintain their programs but may not have programs to care for their aging volunteers. We are keeping a well-oiled machine running that may or may not be the same as a tight-knit community.

While our culture may value independence and efficiency, the church is called to be a family—where the needs of each member, especially those who have faithfully served, are honored and met with compassion.

How can each of us, and our churches, grow toward this vision of family? I ask, not knowing the answers!

But if you know of good resources or have experienced this, I would like to learn from your wisdom.

It’s easy to opt out of the difficult verses. What does it look like to make them a priority?

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I wanted to share one way I have experienced this. One of the churches I have attended kept a list of “widows”. Each small group in the church was then encouraged to support at least one widow on the list either financially or through acts of service. At Christmas, members of each small group contributed donations to make a generous financial gift possible. Service took the form of cleaning the yard, home repairs, driving to medical appointments, car maintenance, buying groceries, visiting them in senior centers, etc.

What I noticed about this statement is that the support offered was conditional on a widow’s faithful service. At first this seemed restrictive but I later realized it may be to avoid abuse of the system. The church is encouraged to help widows, but Paul’s advice also emphasizes the need for wisdom and discernment, prioritizing those who are truly in need and meet certain qualifications based on need, spiritual integrity and family responsibility. Due diligence is required before a widow is added to the list. The church was not to be unnecessarily burdened.

In my own experience, I have found that when members of a small group come together in service, we grow closer as we serve together, and as a result not only the widows, but we too are helped.

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