Debbie Watson has been the First lady of Bethel A.M.E. in Spokane since 2020. She leads Crown Ministries, which recently hosted a fellowship luncheon for the women of Bethel. Crown Ministries prioritizes overcoming domestic violence and uplifting women. Watson shares more about its purpose.
“We have swept domestic violence under the rug for a long time in many of the churches, because there’s been this taboo that if we talk about it, it brings shame in the community. But we have to talk about it to begin healing and helping women get through it; not just being there when they’re in the hospital from being abused. I also do teachings about sex trafficking awareness, molestation, and divorce recovery. We have to branch out; we have to help our community. That is what the church’s purpose is.”
An important part of building community, Watson asserts, is taking time to come together and getting to know each other. Two years ago, she wanted to create a space to get to know the women in the congregation and vice versa. “I did a ‘come have lunch with First Lady’ event and basically was bringing the women of Bethel together…so it’s my way of saying to the women here that I love them. I appreciate what they do. I see what they do behind the scenes. And it’s just coming together and fellowshipping.”
When asked about the power of community in relation to the church, First Lady Watson says, “The bridge is church. The people are the church, right? And the bridge is us. The Word of God tells us we are to be helpers, one to another, right? Not everything in the church is inside the building.”