60-minute testimony meeting
Today was our first Sunday with 2-hour church. I went to church at 9:00 a.m. and got home before noon, even though I spent a long time chatting with people after the meetings. It was nice!
Sacrament meeting went by quickly. I didn't miss those extra ten minutes. Our bishop has been practicing for going without them for the past couple of weeks. There were 6 males and 5 females who bore their testimonies, which is about as close to balanced as we get in our ward. One of the males was the bishop, who conducted the meeting. It bodes well as a start to the new year.
About three years ago I noticed that it seemed like more men bore their testimony than women in our ward. I expressed on the ward sisters' Facebook group a desire to hear from more women, for myself and for my sons and daughters. Since we have a fair number of young families, and one parent is sometimes called away for work, I offered to hold children or take them out in the hall if that would help anyone out. Since then, I wanted to find out whether my impression of a deficit in female testimony bearing was reality, and I have been tracking the numbers every fast Sunday I am in my home ward.
In 2016, with nine of twelve months reported, the numbers of testimonies borne by males/females were 67/43. Interestingly, when I counted the number of persons who bore their testimonies, the numbers were 34/32. There was a handful of males who bore their testimonies more frequently than anyone else. Men were more likely to repeat frequently than women.
In 2017, with eleven of twelve months reported, the numbers of testimonies borne by males/females were 68/39. The number of persons who bore their testimonies was 31/27.
In 2018, with ten of twelve months reported, the numbers of testimonies borne by males//females were 77/45. The number of persons who bore their testimonies was 45/30.
At one point in 2017, I wondered how these ratios compared with our ward's demographic. For eleven of the twelve months ending in May 2017, 92 testimonies were shared by men and 47 by women. At that time, our ward membership included 210 men/boys and 190 women/girls.
Our ward council has worked on providing more meaningful and visible ways for the young women to serve at church. Our young women provide the sacrament meeting count for the ward clerk to enter every week. They also now lead the opening hymn in sacrament meeting and serve as greeters at the chapel doors. It's experience that builds confidence. I wonder whether, as these changes persist and others take hold, we will see more visible participation by sisters in sharing their testimonies during fast and testimony meeting.
Sacrament meeting went by quickly. I didn't miss those extra ten minutes. Our bishop has been practicing for going without them for the past couple of weeks. There were 6 males and 5 females who bore their testimonies, which is about as close to balanced as we get in our ward. One of the males was the bishop, who conducted the meeting. It bodes well as a start to the new year.
About three years ago I noticed that it seemed like more men bore their testimony than women in our ward. I expressed on the ward sisters' Facebook group a desire to hear from more women, for myself and for my sons and daughters. Since we have a fair number of young families, and one parent is sometimes called away for work, I offered to hold children or take them out in the hall if that would help anyone out. Since then, I wanted to find out whether my impression of a deficit in female testimony bearing was reality, and I have been tracking the numbers every fast Sunday I am in my home ward.
In 2016, with nine of twelve months reported, the numbers of testimonies borne by males/females were 67/43. Interestingly, when I counted the number of persons who bore their testimonies, the numbers were 34/32. There was a handful of males who bore their testimonies more frequently than anyone else. Men were more likely to repeat frequently than women.
In 2017, with eleven of twelve months reported, the numbers of testimonies borne by males/females were 68/39. The number of persons who bore their testimonies was 31/27.
In 2018, with ten of twelve months reported, the numbers of testimonies borne by males//females were 77/45. The number of persons who bore their testimonies was 45/30.
At one point in 2017, I wondered how these ratios compared with our ward's demographic. For eleven of the twelve months ending in May 2017, 92 testimonies were shared by men and 47 by women. At that time, our ward membership included 210 men/boys and 190 women/girls.
Our ward council has worked on providing more meaningful and visible ways for the young women to serve at church. Our young women provide the sacrament meeting count for the ward clerk to enter every week. They also now lead the opening hymn in sacrament meeting and serve as greeters at the chapel doors. It's experience that builds confidence. I wonder whether, as these changes persist and others take hold, we will see more visible participation by sisters in sharing their testimonies during fast and testimony meeting.
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