There is no escaping the reality that women within our church will experience the loss of their spouse at some point in their lives. The Bible instructs us to take care of widows, but how do we practically live that out? Melissa Swain lost her pastor husband Chris unexpectedly in 2021 and joins the podcast to tell her story. Melissa shares how specific help, inclusion, and an admission of the hard has helped her and her children navigate in their new world.
SHOW NOTES“I understand the statistic that 50% of widows leave their church. Their person that they walk in with, sit with, go to classes with, do all the things with is not there anymore. So that makes it really difficult to continue to be involved in the same context with the same people around you, but you’re not the same anymore.”
-Melissa Swain
“A lot of times, it is easy to feel forgotten because most people assume, ‘Oh, after the first year, you’re fine. Everything’s good. You’ve done all the first things.’ And that’s kind of the mentality of a lot of people surrounding widowhood. You’ve done the firsts. Everything else will be easy. The second Father’s day was harder than the first one. Everything new that my kids do is a first. Sometimes it’s really easy to be in a room and feel like no one knows how hard it is to be there just to be there.”
-Melissa Swain
LINKS FROM THE SHOWWrite it on Their Hearts
CONNECTConnect with Melissa
Instagram // Website
Connect with Christine
Facebook // Instagram // Books
Visit How to Thrive as a Pastor’s Wife to access Christine’s resources for ministry wives like you!
Connect with NAMB
Facebook // Instagram
How to Practice Hospitality (an interview with Amber Williams)
Discouragement in Ministry (an interview with Kathy Litton)
Ministry Wives with Christine Hoover - An Introduction to the Podcast
The First Two Chapters of How to Thrive as a Pastor's Wife
Glenna Marshall and Irene Sun on Transitions in Ministry
Marcella Hernandez on Discouragement in Ministry
Mandy Post on Church Planting and Serving Overseas Long-Term
Christina Im on Raising PKs
Rachel Welcher on Church Hurt and Church Conflict
Gregg and Kelly Matte on Rest, Renewal, Sabbaths, and Sabbaticals
Natarsha Roberson on Church Planting and Boundaries
Kyle and Christine Hoover on The Glass House Podcast: Emotional Health in Ministry
Lauren Chandler on Finding Your Sweet Spot of Service (And Saying No to Other Things)
Caron Loveless on Hard-Won Lessons Learned After Her Pastor-Husband's Affair
Nana Dolce on How to Develop and Teach a Bible Study Lesson
Ben and Lynley Mandrell: An Honest Conversation on Pastoral Ministry After Leaving
Megan Hill on the Pastor's Wife and Social Media
Greg Ogden on How to Make Disciples
Kaye Geiger on Relationships with Other Staff and Elder Wives at Your Church
Hannah Surh on Working Full-Time Outside the Home and Church While Serving as a Pastor's Wife
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