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By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

HELENA – A luncheon will be held free of charge for widows in Helena and the surrounding communities by Cornerstone Church at 2694 Highway 58 in Helena on Saturday, Jan. 13.

The banquet luncheon, which carries the name “Honoring the Widows of the Community” will be held at noon on Jan. 13 and attending widows will be served free of charge. Marlene Craft of Widow’s Link will serve as the guest speaker at the event.

The luncheon seeks to serve as a kickoff banquet for the ministry, Women of Worth, which is being organized by Marilyn Schultz. Following the death of her husband, Schultz began searching for a ministry for widows, but found very little serving in that capacity. With that fact in mind, her pastor, Tim Trimble of Cornerstone Church, recommended and encouraged her to begin one that will work to meet the needs of widows in the local and surrounding communities. Schultz is now serving as the ministry coordinator for the group.

“There is a group of people in our community who comprise the fastest growing sector in America,” Schultz said. “They are on a journey that most do not understand.  Their world has been turned upside down. This person is the widow, who may live right down the street.  You may know some since the rise in numbers after Covid and there may be widows within your family. Yet trying to understand what they are going through is challenging.”

The loss of a spouse is often cited as the top most stressful event that can happen in someone’s lifetime, and multiple studies and statistical studies have shown that husbands are often the spouse to first pass away. Its commonly said that the male spouse will be the first to pass away anywhere from 64-80 percent of the time depending on the study. Each and every day in the United States, approximately 2,800 women become widows.

“Imagine waking up one day without your spouse—your friends and family supported you in the beginning, but they have their own lives to lead and the calls diminish greatly,” Schultz said. “There are so many thoughts running through the mind of a widow, that she is unable to sort through them all.  The future appears bleak.”

Working through and dealing with those thoughts and feelings is the very reason Women of Worth was created. The ministry, which is not designed or intended to act as a grief support group, seeks to instead serve as a place for widows to meet and gather in a safe, supportive and encouraging environment. It does so with the mission of reassuring widows that there is an exciting new season of life that awaits them once they are ready.

Those wishing to attend are encouraged to please RSVP with Schultz at 205-908-7123.