Stake Enrichment

We had a great day May 9, 2009. Our theme was "This is Our Time - To Love, to Learn and To Serve." We welcomed all new sisters to Relief Society (graduating Laurels, new converts, etc)by singing Circle of Friendship. We had 3 great talks about our theme from 3 of the Ward Relief Society presidents from around our stake. We had 4 wonderful mini-classes to choose from: Our Cup Runneth Over which was about filling our own cup so that we can fill others; Visiting Teaching; Preparednss; and Love in our Families. We also had a service project going on in the cultural hall with Elder and Sister Witt. We put supplies in some of the 491 school bags that the sisters in our stake made. Then we adjourned to the chapel to hear our key note speaker, Kaye Whitney. We were surprised by a few comments from Elder Gay of the Seventy who happened to be passing through! We finished up with a marvelous lunch and a massive dessert table filled with a huge variety of goodies to choose from. Thank you to everyone who helped in any way and to all those who attended!

Enrichment Lesson on Saving and Investing

This comes to us from Mountain View Branch.


** I would ask Renee Carr, who is in our branch, to speak. She has been an accountant for 20+ years and is knowledgeable in the area of saving and budgeting.

** I would obtain a copy of the church brochure "All is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances". This can be found on www.providentliving.org along with other valuable information on saving. There is also an excellent booklet available through the distribution center that is called "One for the Money: Guide to Family Finance" by Elder Marvin J. Ashton.

** I would enlarge the budget worksheet that is on the back of the "All is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances" and make enough copies so that all the sisters could take a copy home with them.

** This might be a good idea for refreshments....Several years ago, we had a sister that was in charge of planning an "economical meal" for an enrichment night. She planned out a yummy, simple menu that cost around $1 per sister. After the meal was served she made alist on the chalkboard of all the ingredients that went into the meal and where she got them to show how economical the meal was. She then shared some good ideas on how to save money in the kitchen. A lot of the sisters in attendance were absolutely shocked and excited for the new ideas!

Preparedness Enrichment Night Ideas

This idea comes from Mountain View Branch.

**I would have a flyer/invitation that has a Noah’s Ark theme and design an invitation with that in mind. ( The one provided wouldn’t scan well...sorry!) It has the question on it “What would your family eat tonight if the power went out? If your answer is McDonald’s or Taco Bell then this event is for you!”

** The person in our branch that I would ask to be a key note speaker is Marva Walthall. She stays current with changes in food storage prices and recommended amounts that should be stored, etc. She is also knowledgeable about alternative methods to cook and functioning during emergency situations such as power outages.

** It would also be a good idea to invite a member of the local fire department or other similar agency to come speak about emergency response. We did this and it was really good to know how our local emergency responders would react during emergencies. They talked about some ways that we could be of assistance to them during disasters, as well as to ourselves until they can respond to our needs.

** A fun activity for this type of Enrichment Night is a "72-hour kit contest". Everyone that wants to participate brings their kits and displays all the contents in their kits on a table that is labeled with their name. Then you have your key note speaker (or another predetermined judge) evaluate the kits and give prizes (something preparedness orientated such as a flashlight, whistle, etc.) to the top 72 hour kits. This is also a good way to teach the rest of the sisters that didn't bring or have a 72 hour kit what needs to be done.

** You may want to ask sisters that have wheat grinders (especially hand crank ones) to bring them that night and then bring some wheat to be ground. Set up a table where sisters can come try grinding wheat into flour and get acquainted with that process and the different brands of grinders. Have several wheat recipes on the table to inspire them to try baking with whole wheat at home.

** For the refreshments, ask some sisters to bring something made out of their food storage items. We had some wonderful granola, taco mix made from wheat, breakfast cereal made out of sprouted wheat, raisins, coconut and other yummy tasters at our activity. The sisters also provided the recipe for what they brought.

** I would highly recommend referring to www.providentliving.org while planning an activity about preparedness. There is a lot of useful information there, including a link to the Home Storage Center Order Form.

Idea for an Enrichment Meeting on Spiritual Preparedness

This enrichment would consist of a dinner followed by a lesson titled "Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady" by President Henry B.Eyring. This would be followed by addressing four subjects, it could either be in talks by 4 different sisters or 4 mini classes. The topics are: Feast Upon the Word of God, Pray Always and Restrain From Sin, Tithing, and Prepare to go to the Temple. This could be wrapped up by words from a member of the Bishopric or another priesthood leader.

There would be invitations inviting the sisters to come dressed in Sunday best. The background of the invitation would be the Salt Lake Temple. The invitation could be over layed with velum and held together with a ribbon.

Enrichment in our Stake

Sisters,
I am so excited to get this blog started. Now we have a place to post and share our ideas. We can also ask questions and get advice. I hope you will all post the ideas you are using in your enrichment meetings and groups. This is a great way for us to build up the Lord's kingdom in this area. So...let's get started!!