Breakfast with Santa

Hi Sisters!

This is just a little reminder for the upcoming ward activity. Breakfast with Santa will begin promptly at 8 a.m. Santa is a very busy man and has other obligations, so if you come late he will be gone. If you signed up for Breakfast items, please remember to bring them. If you don't remember or have any questions please call Michelle Cox.

We look forward to celebrating the holiday season with you on Saturday morning, 8 a.m. sharp!

RS Presidency

National Bible Week

Dear Sisters,


So you can plan ahead:

Elder Smith, our Area 70, has asked us to be aware of and support National Bible Week, November 23 to November 29. He has asked us to announce this to the congregations in our stake and encourage the following:

1) Families in your units can have Family Home Evening lesson on November 23rd about the Bible.
2) Seminary students to do some readings from the Bible during their early morning classes. As the students are studying the Book of Mormon, perhaps it would be a good idea to take 5 minutes and read the scriptures in the Bible linked to the Book of Mormon.



Thank you for your faithfulness & diligence in prayerfully implementing this in your families.


Love,
The RS Presidency

Soup and Service

Hello Ladies!!!!


This Wednesday,
November 18th, at 6:30 pm,
we will be meeting in the Cultural Hall for
Soup and Service.

If the sign ups did not reach you, please feel free to

bring soup or bread to share.

If you're unable to bring anything, please join us anyway!


"What are we doing?" you ask.

First, we will be gathering for some great comfort food...Soup and Bread!! Then, we will be participating in a Service Swap.


"What's a Service Swap?" you ask.

We will be playing a game and winning acts of service provided by us! (The fun part comes when someone snatches your service won and hands you another...Kinda like a White Elephant exchange.)


This should be a lot of fun!

We're looking forward to seeing you all there!

November Presidency Message

Sisters,

It has been three years since I have seen fall. We have been living in tropical places where it is wet and warm and green all year long. The colors on the trees are just as exciting to me as they are to my girls who don't remember or have never seen the beauty that comes with the changing seasons. We point out the colors while walking to the bus or driving in the car and are in awe at the changes that have occurred. We stop and take notice of bushes and trees that we didn't see before or just casually passed by because they were unremarkable. Changes in the seasons are incredible and beautiful. These changes are inevitable, as are the ones in our own lives.

As our situations change, we are met with the opportunity to evaluate our perceptions. Being able to recognize the unremarkable aspects of our lives as blessings can help us improve our attitudes towards our trials. I can complain about my kids not eating the dinner I prepare, or I can rejoice that I have food to put on the table for them. I can drag myself sleepily through a busy day because a child kept me up all night and continually be grateful that I have her in my family. I can shiver and resist putting away my sandals while I am marvelling at the beauty that comes with the cooler weather.

I believe that there is a blessing to be found in every situation. We have been told to learn as much as we can in this life since we can only take our intelligence with us. The changes that come about in our lives often stem from our trials. If we can look for the beauty and goodness in the unremarkable aspects of life, we can gain the strength to not only survive our trials, but thrive in the knowledge we gain by the experience. And remember that you are never alone in your trials as a daughter of God and a sister in Zion.

Love,

Katherine

November Relief Society Calendar

Here are dates of some exciting happenings in November:

Nov. 12 - Leadership Auxiliary Training, 6pm, Valley Forge. Call Julie Geissinger for details.

Nov. 15 - Fast Sunday

Nov. 18 - RS Soup and Service Dinner, 6:30pm, Child Care Provided. Call Mandy Gonzales to sign up or for details.

Nov. 21 - Stake Temple Day

Nov. 26 - Thanksgiving

Dec. 3 - Lunch Bunch, noon, location TBD.

Some scheduled Relief Society meetings have changed days:

Lunch Bunch- 1st Thurdsay of the month at noon

Prepping for the Holidays- 2nd Tuesday of the month at 9:30am

Monthly midweek RS meeting (formerly called Enrichment)- 3rd Wednesday of the month around 7pm

Super Saturday

Super Saturday!
October 10th, 2009
10:00am to 2:30pm
In the church gym

Hello Everyone,

Is almost here! I am so looking forward to spending the day sewing and crafting with all of you. Don't forget there are a couple of free projects - so whether you are signed up for projects or not please join us with to do something of your own or just to chat. We will have some yummy breakfast casseroles warm & waiting for when you arrive and if you would like to bring any breakfast foods or snacks to share that would be great, too! We are also looking for more sewing machines if you have one please, please bring it with you, the more we have the more we will be able to finish.

Thanks in advance & see you soon,

Laurie Evans

Sunday Lessons

Good morning, sisters!

Sorry this has taken so long to get out. I'm still figuring out how to send email from yahoo. I think I've got it now!

We had two wonderful lessons the last two weeks. Thank you, Lori Dunford and Sue Varley for teaching, and Diane Sweeney and Tanya Vogt for summarizing the lessons!

Love,
Sis. Geissinger

Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009
Our lesson this week was from the Joseph Smith manual, chapter 41, “Becoming Saviors on Mount Zion”. The early saints were so anxious to do baptisms for the dead for their ancestors that they were allowed to perform the baptisms in the river before the Nauvoo temple was built. Malachi 4:5-6 says “I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

When we do temple work for the dead we become saviors on Mount Zion by performing sacred ordinances for them that they cannot perform for themselves. Our hearts are turned to them and their hearts are turned to us. Going to the temple not only blesses our ancestors, but blesses us as we are able to devote time to communicate with the Lord and feel His peace and guidance. Thanks to Lori Dunford for teaching this wonderful lesson.

-Diane Sweeney (summary)

Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009
Our lesson this week was taken from the Joseph Smith manual, chapter 42, “Family: The Sweetest Union for Time and for Eternity”. What a blessing it is to live in a time when these priesthood blessings are restored and to have the privilege and opportunity to be sealed to our family for all eternity. Joseph Smith stated in D & C 132 “Verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; … it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.

“Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory”

Not everyone has a chance in this lifetime to get married. Maybe your situation has you longing for this great blessing. Please know that the Lord is aware of your heart and your desires. He will provide a way.

All though we often focus on the ordinance itself, I felt the most powerful part of the lesson given were the following questions:

Am I the type of wife my husband would want to spend eternity with?

Am I the type of sister my family would want to spend eternity with?

Am I the type of daughter my parents would want to spend eternity with?

Am I the type of mother my children would want to spend eternity with?

Am I the type of friend and sister in the gospel that my fellow sisters would rejoice in seeing in the eternities?

Only you can answer these questions. May these thought provoking questions prompt us to make those changes in our lives, so that we may answer a resounding yes to those questions that apply to us. Thank you Sister Sue Varley for teaching a spiritually rich lesson that pierced the hearts of many. I know it did mine.

Your friend, Sister Tanya Vogt (summary)

Lunch Bunch

Hello Ladies!

Lunch bunch will be held this

Thursday the 24th at noon

at Katherine Evans' house.

If you need more information or directions

check your email or

call Mandy Gonzales, Laurie Evans

or a member of the presidency .

Bring something yummy to share.

See you there!

ps: kids are welcome

Ward Activity Sept. 18

Ward Non Campout Campout - Sisters, please don't forget that this Friday, Sept. 18th is the Ward Campout at Tobyhanna State Park. Bring your own tinfoil dinners. If you are interested in the bakeoff, bring your fixings for your one of a kind, special, hand me down, pioneer, secret recipe cobbler and your own dutch oven. The coals will be ready for you! Games will be played, a campfire available, and I think I heard Michelle mention Marshmallow! Should you have any questions, please contact Michelle.

Reminder - We are no longer camping overnight.

Should we have inclement weather, we will meet at the Church for fun and games - so pray for nice weather!

Potluck Dinner

Saturday, September 26th at 8pm is the general Relief Society broadcast, which will be available for viewing at the church.

Please come at 6pm with your favorite dish to share for a potluck dinner. Bring whatever you'd like and we'll see if it is a dinner of salads and caseroles, or a dinner of all desserts. You decide!

See you there!

Back to School Enrichment Night

Please join us this evening, September 16th, at 6:30 at the church for a back to school night. We'll be returning to the classroom to study three important subjects:

Music

Health/PE

Home Economics

Don't forget to bring a healthy after school snack to share and a large exercise ball (if you have one.) Hope to see you there!

Don't be tardy on your first day back!!

Hello Sisters!

Thank you, Katherine for setting up our blog. This is officially my first blog. I hope it will be a useful place to exchange information.

I am grateful for all you do, both behind the scenes and out front. Thank you.

Love,

Julie Geissinger