The LWMLC Symphony Orchestra
Without each of you there would be no orchestra. It all began in the 1800s when “women of The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod felt compelled by God to go beyond hearth and home and form auxiliary societies in individual congregations.” (from Soaring Together, a history of the formation of Lutheran Women’s Missionary League–Canada, Inc.) These local groups eventually came together and held their first national meeting in 1930. Lutheran Women’s Missionary League came into being July 7 and 8, 1942. Time passed and Lutheran Church–Canada was formed, then, in 1993, LWML–Canada.
But this isn’t really about the past. The historical context is meant to help us see that LWML and LWMLC didn’t begin with a national organization, with boards and committees who prepared resources for women’s use in their congregations. It began at home with individual women coming together to serve their Lord and support the mission of the church.
Recently, with last summer’s convention theme, “Sing to the Lord a New Song” in mind, a member of the communication committee suggested that as an organization we are much like a symphony orchestra. Without all the individual instruments and the time and effort individual musicians put in, we wouldn’t have an orchestra. So, it is with our great organization. Each woman in it is essential to producing the music coming from the scores written by our great and gracious God.
But a bunch of individual musicians does not necessarily make an orchestra. To begin there needs to be organization into sections – strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion. Local societies, zones and districts come to mind as the organizational structure we use to be effective.
To some extent all analogies break down but there are similarities. We might equate the four orchestral sections to our four districts. Or to the four areas of Christian Growth, Member Development, Christian Mission and Communication.
Orchestras usually have someone serving as head of each section. The equivalent in LWMLC could be the vice-presidents as they head up committees and districts. The concert master, usually the person who plays first violin, leads the tuning of the instruments. The conductor enters and the concert begins. This doesn’t easily fit our structure but perhaps we might assign this role to our pastoral counsellors.
The conductor is our president. Without her guidance our musicians might choose their own tempos, even their own melodies, creating a cacophony of sound instead of a beautiful melody. The president brings us all together, guiding us in the playing of God’s music – music that shares the Good News, God’s love service in His name with the world. May our mission and the missions we support bring glory to His Name.
Brought to you by the LWMLC Inc. Communication Committee
“Serving in His Strength” is a blog
published by the Member Development Committee of
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League–Canada, Inc.
Lutheranwomen.ca
2025