Ida Webster - A Woman of Faith - Valerie Peyton Kingsbury

Since my post about the shoes and the mention of the Ida Webster Fund I have been thinking a lot about this woman of faith whose legacy lives on. There really isn’t much about her in the material here at the church. She was a Deaconess and was called to ministry at First in 1921. She served the congregation until 1927. In the only written documentation found in “Two Centuries of Christian Witness in Truro, Nova Scotia”, there are a few brief lines about the congregations decision to engage a Deaconess, along with words from the session stating that much was expected of the Deaconess and that the most sanguine hopes had been realized.

Ida Webster – A Woman of Faith

So who was she? What was the focus of her ministry? What was her passion? I can’t answer any of these for certain but what I do know is that she was a woman of faith whose life and ministry left a mark upon the world in which she lived.

To be called to the Diaconate is to be engaged in a ministry of teaching, service and pastoral care. I imagine that this was, in fact, the focus of her ministry.

And in light of the Fund that has been named in her honour, I imagine that she was passionate about social justice and outreach; that she was concerned about the poverty that existed in her community;

and that she tried to empower others to reach out in love as a response to the call of the gospel.

I see Ida Webster as an example of what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus. While I do not know for certain the complexity or fullness of her story, I do know that her legacy is part of my ministry.

I know that

all who hear the gospel are called to feed the hungry, heal the sick, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned. Whenever we do this for the least of these our brothers and sisters we do it for Jesus.

I find that I am empowered by the story of one I do not know and I give thanks for countless others, like her, who work to make a difference in the world.

May we go and do likewise.

Blessings
Valerie