First, Compassionate Service Hour:
Those who are able are encouraged to come an hour early to the monthly (regular) Enrichment meetings. This hour will be spent working on service projects led by Sister Deveney Herb.
Now, the Enrichment Groups:
As of right now, there are four groups: Cooking, Sewing, Crafting, and Personal Wellness.
The purpose of the April's Enrichment night to was to inform everyone about the different groups, and allow them to "sign-up" to be a part of any (or all) they would like to join. If you missed Enrichment night in April, don't worry! You can still be a part of any (or all) group(s).
The groups are meant to be separate from "official" Relief Society activities. Each group is run solely by the members of the group (as opposed to being led by the Relief Society Presidency). This includes deciding when, where, and how often to meet. It also means the group must cover all of its own expenses (no money from the Relief Society budget will go towards any of these groups).
In an effort to help get the groups up and running, the Relief Society Presidency has decided to spearhead the first meetings of the cooking, sewing, and crafting groups. The first cooking group meeting will be in May, taught by Sister Baguley. The first sewing group meeting will be taught in June by Sister Scofield. In July Sister Kingsley will lead the first crafting group meeting.
This doesn't mean that the groups have to follow this meeting schedule. The members of each group should decide together what meeting schedule is best for them (monthly, weekly, etc).
After the afore mentioned first meetings of each group, the group members are expected to plan all successive group meetings on their own.
Enrichment Group meetings are not "mandatory". Even if you "join" a group, you don't have to go to every meeting. Similarly, you are welcome to attend meetings from groups you didn't originally join. That being said, we encourage as many sisters as possible, of ALL levels of experience to attend the various group meetings (This is especially true for the sewing group, which the Stake Relief Society Presidency has asked us to make a priority). We need sisters to teach, and sisters to be taught! So please, don't decide not to come because you are already an expert on the subject. Likewise, please don't decide not to come because you don't think you know enough about the subject. We are all in this together! :)
More information about each group:
Cooking:
Group members are encouraged to take turns sharing different recipes, cooking techniques, canning tips, etc at each meeting. Group members should donate a small amount to whoever is teaching at each meeting to cover the cost of food, since the group activities aren't funded by the Relief Society budget. Recipes should be recorded and shared. Photos are great, too!
Sewing:
The Stake has encouraged us to place special emphasis on learning how to sew. Those who are experienced seamstresses are asked to please help teach those who do not know how to sew. Those who have their own sewing machine should bring it to the meetings (unless otherwise informed). We hope everyone can learn basic hand sewing, mending, hemming, pattern reading, machine sewing, project completion, etc. Group members are expected to supply all their own materials. Photos of projects and activities are encouraged.
Crafting:
This includes everything under the sun! From scrapbooking to knitting to woodcarving. Group members can participate in a planned craft for the whole group, or use the time to work on personal projects with good company. Like the sewing group, members should bring all their own materials. And of course, be sure to take photos and keep some crafts for "show and tell"!
Personal Wellness:
This group is all about becoming fit and well in all aspects of life: physical, mental, spiritual, etc.
Of course, exercising and eating healthy will be a major theme. This group is encouraged to meet at least weekly to do some form of exercise together. Supplemental meetings for other topics of personal wellness would be excellent as well. Group members should support and encourage one another in meeting goals and developing healthy habits. Individuals in this group may want to create personal progress charts to help keep track of her progress and activities. And yes, photos are a must as well! :)
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Enrichment Group resources and tips:
Below are some ideas to help in organizing your groups. They are by all means not required, simply recommended. Use these suggestions a much or as little as your group sees fit.
1. Use a template to plan the details for the next meeting ahead of time. It might be a good idea to make it the first item of business at each meeting to plan the next meeting. Some key information might include:
Enrichment Group Name: (ex. Cooking)
Today's Date:
Next Activity Date: (ex. 5/16/13)
Other Notes:
The "Group Member in Charge of Next Activity" would be responsible for conducting the next planned meeting, and making sure that the another meeting gets planned during that meeting (for example, if Sister Scofield is listed at the "Group Member in Charge of Next Activity" for the May 16th Cooking meeting, then she would conduct that meeting, as well lead everyone in planning for the following meeting on, say, June 20th).
The "Group Member in Charge of Documenting" would take photos, recipes, notes, etc. from the activity and send them to the Relief Society Presidency to add to the blog.
The "Group Member in Charge of Advertising" would make sure that everyone knows about the upcoming meeting by informing the Relief Society Presidency (to announce on Sunday, add to the blog, newsletter, etc).
Assign responsibilities however you like, but remember to rotate them so that different group members share an equal part and no one feels too heavily burdened.
Here is a printer-friendly version of the Group Meeting Planner template:
(Click Here)
2. A great tool to use when planning what day and time to meet can be found at www.doodle.com. The "Group Member in Charge of Next Activity" can suggest days and times for the next meeting, and individuals can "vote" for the date/time combinations that work best with their schedule. The tool will help decide which of the suggested meeting times will work best for most group members.
Doodle is great because it is very simple and easy to use, yet also has many great features. Here is an example of an excel spreadsheet you can download after using Doodle to plan your next meeting:
(Click Here)
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We hope you are just as excited about seeing these new Enrichment Groups and Compassionate Service Hour started up as we are!
Love,
The Relief Society Presidency
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