Kingdom Matters
No One Ever Loved Me Like
Lorrie Wasyliw of Langley, B.C.,
never dreamed she would be the
executive director of a crisis shelter for women. But once she studied
Preach the word; be prepared in
season and out of season;
correct, rebuke and
encourage – with
great patience
and careful
instruction.
– 2 Timothy 4: 2
support staff at monarch place minister to both women
and children who are fleeing violent and abusive situations.
ThE FEllowshiP oF EvanGEliCal BaPTis T ChurChEs
for women, children and families.
In 1997 she established WINGS
(Women in Need Gaining Strength)
as a non-profit charitable society. The
Baptist Foundation of British Columbia
donated a house in December 1998.
The result is Monarch Place (
reflecting God as our Monarch), an
emergency transition house in New
Westminster that serves women fleeing violence from across Canada and
the United States. It has served 2,500
women, ages 16-84, from various ethnic and faith backgrounds.
Right from the beginning, Wasyliw
knew the ministry would grow, adding
a crisis call-in line, support groups and
a second house.
“Women experiencing abuse and
violence seldom have been truly loved
by anyone and are often blamed rather
the issue and realized how vulnerable
women and children are when they
flee abuse, she felt she had to “step
into the gap.”
www.dEsiGnPiCs.Com
In the mid-1990s, Wasyliw led
women’s ministries in British Columbia
and the Yukon for The Fellowship of
Evangelical Baptist Churches (FEBC).
As she investigated how women might
impact local social justice issues, she
made some appalling discoveries: one
in three Canadian women experiences
at least one incident of violence but
only one in seven reports this to police. At least one Canadian woman is
murdered by a partner or ex-partner
each week.
As a pastor’s wife, Wasyliw had also
known many women and friends in critical situations, and she felt God wanted
her to respond by providing resources
