Widows, Widowers Honored at General Council Gathering
The complimentary breakfast event, hosted and sponsored by Widows Link ministry, brought together men and women who shared two distinct experiences — ministry as well as the loss of their ministry partner.
At each place setting, a Chaplaincy coin with 2 Corinthians 4:8 referenced on it, was placed as an encouraging keepsake for guests.
The event itself, which left attendees with a deep sense of appreciation, was the brainchild of Marlene Craft, director of Widows Link and a U.S. missionary chaplain to widows.
Ruthie Oberg, Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, served as master of ceremonies with General Superintendent Doug Clay, whose mother became a widow when he was a young boy, greeting guests, and assuring them of their continuing value to the Church and in ministry.
SIGNIFICANCE
For those in attendance, the free breakfast, although tasty, was clearly secondary to the community and the encouragement it provided.
“We are a community,” says DeeDee Lindelien, pastoral director for the Minnesota District and whose husband passed in March 2023. “Linking up with other people who are likeminded in a setting like this helps us navigate this thing called grief . . . I’ve been so blessed, we’re a part of the network, meaning the wonderful Assemblies of God, that says we’re important to them as ministers and spouses; we’re remembered and that means a lot.”
Martha Flores, who attends and now works with the children at Family Christian Assembly in Penitas, Texas, lost her husband in 2019.
“It’s painful,” Flores says about the passing of her spouse. “People say they understand, but only when you go through something like this can you really understand. But here, you don’t feel alone in this setting.”
Flores also noted that through the meal and General Council, she’s been inspired to go back home and look into starting a ministry to widows.
Terry Raburn, Peninsular Florida district superintendent, whose wife passed in 2020, was transparent, as he stated how her loss left him without answers.
“Going through it (becoming a widower), gives you understanding that you can’t get from books or listening to others,” he explained. “It’s just part of you and now it’s gone . . . I woke up some mornings and just had no reason to get out of bed, that had never happened to me before . . ., but the Lord was faithful and is.”
Raburn said the breakfast was important as it brought together people who needed each other.
“[The breakfast] means recognition of help and support to those in one of the darkest moments of their lives . . . it makes the valley a little bit lighter and that’s significant,” he said. “[Being widowed] is a membership that none of us applied for, but this is support that all of us need and are grateful for.”
“It means a lot,” said Shirley Fisher, pastor of Rockdale (Texas) First AG, whose husband died in February 2012. “I know a lot of widows who feel forgotten, but this breakfast here has been phenomenal — anytime you can honor the widows, it’s very special.”
Fisher said that she’s become aware that too often, when the surviving spouse is not a credentialed minister, their spouse’s name is removed from ministry lists and they are forgotten.
“Doing stuff like this sheds a light on the widows who kind of get left behind,” she said.
Craft, who concluded the breakfast with a brief message, echoed Oberg in telling attendees that they were treasures in the Assemblies of God and that God still had a purpose for their lives.
“The Lord has been investing in you all of your lives,” she stated. “Now, what are you going to do with His investment?”
MAKING IT HAPPEN
“This was such a great success,” Craft said following the breakfast. “We’re now looking at the possibility of doing this every General Council.”
But the journey to the breakfast this year was one of faith and persistence.
Craft says God worked the miraculous, enabling her to raise the necessary funds through the support of several ministries, businesses, districts, and individuals to provide for the free meal for all widows, widowers, and, where needed, caregivers.
Speakers for the event included Raburn, U.S. Missionary Rodeo Chaplain Linda Scholtz, U.S. Chaplain to the Widowed Cindy McKinley, and concluded with Craft.
In a special presentation, Lynn Bowman, who was the driving force behind ministry to widows and the General Council breakfasts some 30 years ago, was posthumously honored. Bowman’s husband, David, was present to receive the plaque and expressed his deep appreciation.
Craft encouraged widows and widowers to connect to Widows Link for additional helps and information, including the Jan. 19-24, 2026, Widows Link cruise and the Second Annual Pastor’s Widow Retreat, March 12-15, 2026, in Odenville, Alabama.
LEAD PHOTO: Marlene Craft addresses attendees.