DATE REMINDER

This coming saturday 5th Dec: RS Testimony Meeting and scrumptious breakfast.

           - 7:30 AM at sister Jill's house - Clifton Beach.
           - bring a folding chair if possible.
          - remember to offer a ride to those near you, or who may not have transport.
         
Contact sister Piret if you have any questions.

Dec 12th - ward Christmas activity, see noticeboard for details.

Last Sunday

This past sunday sister Adelaide gave her first lesson from the previous General Conference.  It came from Elder Oaks' talk: 'Unselfish Service'.

Sister Adelaide did a wonderful job teaching for the first time.  Congratulations.

We discussed the following in the lesson:
As members of the Church we try to follow the example set by our Saviour, who said,
"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" Matt 16:24-25).

We have many opportunities in the church to give service to others.  Some examples include:

- missionary service
- temple and family history work
- callings, including Visiting Teaching
- in our families and amongst friends

Elder Oaks said:
'We rejoice that so many Latterday Saint couples are among the unselfish group who are willing to surrender their personal priorities and serve the Lord by bearing and rearing the children our Heavenly Father sends to their care.....(for) those who care for disabled family members and aged parents.  None of this service asks, what's in it for me?  All of it requires setting aside personal convenience for unselfish service.  All of it stands in contrast to the fame, fortune, and other immediate gratification that are the worldly ways of so many in our day.'
'Latterday Saints are uniquely committed to sacrifice.  In partaking of the sacrament each week, we witness our committment to serve the Lord and our fellowmen.  In sacred temple ceremonies we covenant to sacrifice and consecrate our time and talents for the welfare of others.'

We discussed in class the feelings we have when we take the time to help and serve others.  We all agree that we feel better about ourselves when we give of our time and talents to others.  This is because we are trying to become as the Saviour, we are following His example.  When we do these things, we qualify to have the Holy Ghost with us.

Lets all try to serve others unselfishly this coming month and into the new year.

A Change is in the air...

Sisters we have a few new faces to welcome into our Relief Society callings, and some sisters to thanks for their devoted service.

Sisters Barbara and Josefine have been released as our Visiting Teaching Supervisor and Assistant.  We thank them for the help they have been in organising and following up with our Visiting Teaching assignments.  Without their time and talents this program would not run smoothly.

Sister Josefine has been called to serve as an assistant secretary and as such will be responsible for delivering the flower and missionary meal rosters, meeting and activity notices and invitations during RS time, and keeping our notice boeard up to date.  Please see sister Josefine if you need help with these.

We have three new teachers to welcome.  Sisters Adelaide, Alison and Anne C. have been called as teachers in RS.  We are very grateful to have these positions filled.
Sister Sadie will continue teaching our 2nd sunday classes, sister Alison will teach our 3rd sunday classes, sister Adelaide will teach our 4th sunday classes and sister Anne C. will be our relief teacher and substitute teaching each sunday lesson as needed.

Sisters Dawn and Zanny have been called as our new Visiting Teaching Supervisor and Assistant.  Sister Dawn will be in charge of coordinating the Visiting Teaching list with Rachael, and sister Zanny will be receiving reports from each of you regarding your monthly visits.
Please make sure you remember to tell sister Zanny your report for each month so she does not have to chase you.  This would be greatly appreciated.

If you have any concerns or needs to pass on regarding your visiting teaching, please see sister Dawn or Rachael.  We value the information we receive from you. As a Presidency we cannot visit everyone so you are our eyes and ears.

Thank you sisters for accepting your new callings, we look forward to serving with you all.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Hi Sisters,
here are a few dates for you to remember in the coming weeks......

15th Nov. Seminary and Institute Graduation - Stake Centre. 7pm
17th Nov. Kenneth Cope Fireside - Stake Centre.  7pm

21st Nov. Stake RS Fireside - Stake Centre. 7pm/  Please come and bring a friend!
5th Dec. Ward RS Christmas Meeting.  7.30 AM!!!!!
             Testimony Meeting and scrumptious Christmas Brekky!!

12th Dec. Ward Christmas Activity.

Please remember those who are interested in being involved in the Stake RS service activity making baby quilts to donate to the RHH neonatal unit, we will be gathering them soon.  They can be any fabric and measure 90x90cm.

New Book Club List

The list of books being read by the bookclub are outlined below.
For any information regarding the bookclub and its meeting times, please contact sister Kristie.

November: The Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague--Geraldine Brooks
December: The Good Earth--Pearl Buck

January: The Book Thief--Markus Zusak
February: The Devil's Arithmetic--Jane Yolen

What happened on Sunday

Hi again,

Just some quick links for you today: Our lesson was about Temples, and came from 2 talks given at the April 2009 General Conference:
Elder Richard G. Scott and Elder David A. Bednar
Click on the names above for the full articles.

Thankyou to everyone who helped with this lesson, I really appreciated it.

What happened on Sunday

Today we enjoyed a visit from our stake Relief Society President Louella and her councilor Katie.
They led us in a special lesson based on a talk by sister Elaine S. Dalton (she is the Young Women General President).
To read the original talk, click the link below:
A Return to Virtue Ensign, Nov 2008, 78–80
Katie began the lesson by talking about the Temple. She wrote the word Temple on the board and drew a frame around it to emphasize that the temple is central to what we do (and can become) in the Gospel, and stated that temple worthiness and blessings are the reason behind sister Dalton's call to return to virtue.
There were too many good points discussed to mention them all here. I especially liked the quote from president Monson and also the reminder that the word "virtue" comes from the latin word for strength.

Don't forget that next week there won't be any meetings at the Rosny chapel, as we will all be at the stake centre for the General Conference Broadcast. The Relief Society session will be broadcast the following week (Oct 18th at 7pm).