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).

Food Storage Supplier

Hi Sisters,

I was recently very pleased to discover a good supplier of food storage items. We've been asked to share bargains when we find them, so I thought I'd pass this find on to all of you. See the link below:

Food lovers on Albert

This store is next to the Montile tile shop, and supplies bulk nuts, beans, lentils, bread mix, dried fruits, spices, oils, pasta, rice, drinking chocolate etc. Not all Australian made, but well priced.

I liked the fact that so many different non-perishables are displayed in a small storefront area (the bulk of the stock is kept out the back) so it was easy to quickly browse with my 3 kids in tow, and not feel that I had missed anything.

Prices are on the website, and you can email or phone an order through ahead of your visit. I bought basmati rice, chickpeas, red kidney beans, walnuts and marshmallows (hey - I did say my kids were with me didn't I?). The store keeper loaded my car for me, and was happy to let my girls use the store bathroom.

Next time I'll also buy some bread mix too. My favorite Leucke rye mix is $25/10Kg bag, so my typical loaf will cost me only $1.25. I'll probably get more basmati rice, as it has a lower glycaemic index than the other varieties. I paid $21/5kg which is cheaper than the supermarkets already, but noticed today that the Alberts website says $80/80kg. An unbelievable bulk bargain if not a misprint.

What happened this Sunday.

Our lesson this sunday was given by Rachael.  The topic was Testimony.
We discussed some important points relating to our testimonies.  They were:

• what is a testimony?
• why is it important to have one?
• how do we gain one?
• how do we keep it bright and strong?

A testimony is something we believe, know and have firm conviciton of.  It can give us hope and courage to face the challenges and trials we will face in life.
Gaining a testimony is not simple, it can take a lifetime to build.  However we can gain parts of our testimony along the way.  Begin with a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith.  If we know they are true, then everything else hangs on this knowledge, and we can gain a testimony of more parts of the Gospel as we grow and learn.
Remember that we can help strengthen each other's testimonies as we serve and care for each other, and as we share out testimonies.  Reading the scriptures, praying earnestly and being obedient to the commandments will help us keep our testimonies strong.

In Relief Society today we also had a visit from the missionaries, who shared their testimonies of the restoration and challenged us to pray for opportunities to be a light to those around us and to share the gospel with our friends and families.
Please remember this week to pray for the full time missionaries serving in and from our stake, and to pray for an increased desire to seek out missionary experiences in our own lives.  Our ward missionaries are only too happy to come and offer your family help in doing missionary work.  Ask them how today.

Enrichment Meeting

Well as we wind down to the end of the year we begin to have many events filling up our calendars.
Pleased remember to come along to our next Enrichment Meeting on Thursday 24th September, 7:00 p.m.
Our theme is 'My Body is a Temple'.
Come along and listen as sisters share their experiences of looking after their bodies during the various seasons and trials of life.
How can we make our bodies a temple? Come along and find out.

Please don't forget to invite your VT'ing sisters, and to car pool with those around you or who may not have transport. We'd love to see you all there.

Visiting Teaching Convention

Sisters apologies for the lateness of this post..... Lindy has been released!!

Thank you for attending our Visiting teaching Convention. It is always good to be reminded of the important part we can play in reaching out and touching another sister's heart, lifting a spirit and comforting a soul.

We had a wonderful time working together on our Quilt squares for our Visiting Teaching from the heart quilt. Thank you to all sisters who helped, especially those who shared their time and talents to help us non crafty folk (I mean me....) xoxo

A big thank you also to the service craft group who will be helping to assemble the quilt for Sister Enid.

The 'non crafty' table as we were dubbed. Not to say our efforts weren't fabulous too, we just used fabric pens, iron-on transfers and less sewing....

Miriam, Helen, Helen and Diana all contributing their many craft talents for Enid's quilt.

It's great to see our YSA getting involved.

Rebecca and Louella creating their masterpieces.

Working hard on the 'crafty' table and getting specialist help from Wendy.

Visiting Teaching Convention

Sisters, don't forget to come along and join us for our Visiting Teaching Convention, tomorrow (Friday 7th Aug) at 7 p.m at the Chapel.
We will be creating pieces for a quilt to be donated to sister Enid, in recognition of our love for her and her many years of service and dedication to the sisters in our ward.
Supper will be provided - Rach's special chocolate cake and hot chocolates to warm us up.

Bring along your smiles, your hearts and some quilting epuiptment if you have any i.e. needles, scissors, embroidery thread. If you don't, then just bring yourself!!

President Monson will be making a short appearance, so we'd love to see you there.
Please don't make me eat all the chocolate cake if you don't come!!

Love from Sister Rachael xo

What happened on Sunday

###NEWSFLASH###

We have a new Relief Society Presidency member:

Sister Lindy was released last week and we welcome Sister Piret as our new 2nd councilor.
Sister Lindy has been the main force behind our Blog, and has done a wonderful job with her compassionate service, enrichment and visiting teaching responsibilities. We have really benefited from her loving service. Thank you Lindy, with all our hearts.

Sister Piret is well known in our relief society and has been teaching our 3rd Sunday lessons for some time now. She greeted everyone today with a huge hug and an an even bigger smile, so we are off to a fabulous start (although she did admit to a few hours lost sleep during the week as she contemplated her new calling). Congratulations Piret!

###OUR LESSON###

Miriam's lesson was based on Elder Robert D Hales talk at April conference: Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually (link here)
If you missed it, take a look at the poster Sister Diana has put up in the Foyer, it is a fabulous summary, and includes some lovely quotes and scriptures.

We talked about two basic principles of provident living: (1) not making expeditures we can't afford and (2) when we actually can afford a particular item, look hard at the reasons why we desire it. Examine the choice in the light of our long term goals, and choose wisely.

I was impressed by the contributions made by the sisters in attendance. We talked about love languages, quality of life, the individuality of families and relationships and about how much we can benefit from involving our loved ones in financial discussions and plans.

We also talked about identifying our weaknesses, and some practical ways to overcome them. One way to disempower temptation is to invite the Lord to assist us in changing our hearts: we have to want righteousness more than unrighteousness in order to sustain change (see Mosiah 5:2; Alma 5:14).

Service in Action

Many of us know how talented sister Yvonne is. Recently she joined with Dawn to attend a Craft Fair at the DEC.

Dawn wrote:

'Attached is a photo of Yvonne and me at the Craft Fair in June at the Derwent Entertainment Centre as part ofthe ABC's exhibit of knitting blankets for the Giving Tree. Yvonne was a big drawcard with her fantastic creation. Lots of people stopped to ask how to knit the 'non-joining' blanket. She had hand-written copies of the pattern to give out... that's a real feat on its own!! '

It is wonderful to see the talents of our sisters being shared with the wider community. What a wonderful missionary example for others to see us involved in community projects such as the ABC Giving Tree and helping those in need, wherever and who ever they may be.

What happened on Sunday

1. We welcomed the Stake Relief Society Presidency who visited with us today.
2. It was also wonderful to welcome back Joy who joined the church in our ward a few years ago and then shortly after moved to Melbourne but is now back living here so we are thrilled to have her with us again.
3. We are also delighted to have Helen visiting with us for about 10 weeks so it's lovely to have her 'home' for a while and I'm sure we will be using her many talents while she is here! (that's right Helen, there's no rest for the wicked!!!!! - just kidding of course!)
4. Diana presented another very informative 5 minute music regarding the origins of gospel music and then played a version of the Battle of Jericho by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir - fabulous.
5. Piret led us in the lesson today entitled Redemption for the Dead in the Joseph Smith Manual (chapter 35). The story of Joseph's brother Alvin is a wonderful story (worth reading from manual) and so comforting for all whose loved ones have died. "The great Jehovah...knows the situation of both the living and the dead, and has made ample provision for their redemption."
6. We have been invited to participate in a Stake Relief Society Service Project during September and we are invited to provide specific items to make up kits for teenagers who need to be put in emergency foster care. The list will be given to the Primary and Young Women workers next week.

Priesthood in Relief Society????

Yes, here are the three prospective priesthood holders and future missionaries, who attend Relief Society with their mums on a regular basis - this top photo is Minol at the end of Relief Society, not upset because he didn't want his photo taken, we are sure, but devastated that Relief Society was over and he won't get to see all the wonderful sisters until next week!!!!

These other two, below, Levi and Eamon, seemed pretty non-chalant really about what was happening but it won't be long before they will be up investigating everything with Minol (although sadly, Minol may be in Nursery by then). We love having you boys, you bring a new dimension to Relief Society and it's great to have you all with us.

You are all gorgeous, and we don't mind how much noise you make, we'll just speak louder!!

Just think, we have a whole bishopric in the making here - all these relief society lessons will pay off in the end!!

Look out for a photo of Spencer who sometimes comes to Relief Society with his grandma but today he only wanted his mum, so the Young Womens got to enjoy him.

Better late than never!

We love to welcome new people to the Ward and

like to introduce them on the blog so that everyone can get to know them.

Well I was advised recently that we didn't actually ever acknowledge that Nikki is back in our Ward - so, welcome back Nik, we now you are here for a while this time! So it lovely having Nikki, Corey, Olivia and now Levi in our Ward.

We are also really excited to have Bethany and Joel in our Ward - although we could actually say welcome back to the Ward also, as both of them spent a considerable amount of time when they were younger in the old 'Derwent Ward' which is now part of Rosny Ward. Great to have you both with us. I think Bethany only got to sit with Joel one week before he was called into the Bishopric but we hope you feel comfortable to sit with any of your 'Ward' family. Welcome.

What happened on Sunday

1. It was lovely to have Cecily visting with us again and also to see some of the regulars who've been away back with us again.
2. THANK YOU to the sisters who came and helped do the 'extra' cleaning duties up at the chapel yesterday - and to all those sisters who told us they didn't know about it (even though it was announced in Relief Society and put on the blog!) we will make a special point of inviting you to help us clean next time - it's a few months away but keep posted!!!
3. 5 Minute Music with Diana was interesting - she is so creative and thinks of new ways every week to get us thinking and learning about the hymns. Great job.
4. Sadie led us in the lesson this week entitled "The Power of Forgiving" . It was a very moving lesson, some wonderful stories shared. Thanks Sadie.
5. We hope all the sisters in the Auxilliaries had a spiritually uplifting morning, we so love to hear the beautiful music coming from downstairs and we hope you know we love you and appreciate your service to the children and youth of our Ward.

What happened on Sunday

1. We welcomed Bethany's mum visiting with us this week as well as several others that I have forgotten the names of and didn't write down so I apologise.
2. We updated the sisters on Barbara and Enid - Barbara, still in hospital, Enid back at Lillian Martins.
3. We enjoyed having the young women in with us, and Maryanne led us with our lesson on one of the Young Women's values - Choice and Accoutability. We divided into small groups and discussed one of the options under that value (hope this is making sense).
4. We reminded every one about our responsibilities with regard to 'extra' chapel cleaning that we as a Relief Society need to do. Rachael asked us to meet at the chapel at 9 am on Saturday morning, and hopefully if lots of sisters come we will be finished all the work in about an hour. So spread the word, lets all pitch in and help make our chapel sparkle. (If you can't make it Saturday morning please contact Rachael if you can do something at another time during this week - I'm heading up on Friday so you can join me then if you like).

Book Club Information

(Is this what book club members houses look like?) Photo courtesy Flickr

Book Club members had a great time last night at Kristie's. Lots of discussion generated from the group reading the Power of One and they now have a list of books they will be reading for the next year!!!

Next month's gathering will be held on Thursday, 6th August - venue to be confirmed.

Thank you Jill for starting as our specialist for this enrichment activity, and thank you to Kristie for now being the specialist for this group.
Next month's book is "Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" by John Boyne. Happy reading.

Relief Society on Sunday

This week our lesson came from Elder Ballard's October 2008 General Conference talk, titled 'The Truth of God Shall Go Forth.'
The lesson focused on the faith of the early Saints in spreading the Gospel despite opposition from many sides. Elder Ballard used their example to help us find faith and courage to spread the Gospel today. He mentioned that although the challenges and obstacles we face are different, they are no less demanding. However, we can take hope and courage from the early Saints' example and follow in their legacy, thereby fulfilling Joseph Smith's prophetic declaration that the Gospel would spread throughout the earth.

"The Standard of truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independant, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehova shall say the work is done." (History of the Church, 4:540)

We should take courage that Heavenly Father is in control, this is His work and He will help us in our efforts to share the Gospel message with those around us.

The sisters were challenged to go home and review their family Mission Plans, and think of ways they can help this great work to move forward.

Enid

Enid is not longer in hospital - she is back at Lillian Martin.

Chapel Cleaning

The Relief Society is responsible for some extra cleaning duties that need to be completed by Saturday 11 July at the chapel.

If you are able to assist us in this please let a member of the presidency know - we would really appreciate it.

Please remember in your prayers

Enid (at the Royal) and Barbara (at Calvary) are both in hospital at the moment, and we know they would both appreciate your prayers on their behalf.

BOOK CLUB THIS WEEK

We are having our July Meeting at the home of Kristie Mitchell, this Thursday 2 July at 7:30pm. Please bring a plate of something to share and ideas for our next book selection. Anyone is welcome to come along, even if you haven't read the book, and the Book Club is a great activity to invite friends/neighbours to.

Thank you for fasting

Thank for to those who fasted with the Relief Society Presidency on Sunday - we appreciate your love and support - Alma 6:6.

President Marion G. Romney once said after quoting Moses 1:39, "..should not our whole purpose in this life, therefore, be made up of righteous service one to another? If not, how can we ever hope to be as he is?"

What happened on Sunday

1. Thanks to all the sisters who attended Relief Society on Sunday.
2. There is a Young Married Fireside at the Stake Centre the first Sunday in July, 7 pm.
3. Diana played a beautiful relaxing piece of music for 5 minute music - hope it maybe wafted down to Primary and through to Young Womens to uplift all.
4. The lesson was from Chapter 33 of the Joseph Smith Manual, The Spiritual Gifts of Healing, Tongues, Prophecy, and Discerning of Spirits. Here are some of the main points:-

(a) The sick may be healed through faith and the exercise of priesthood power, according to the Lord's will
(b) The purpose of the gift of tongues is to teach the gospel to others.
(c) Though only one man speaks as the prophet of the Church the spirit of prophecy enables all to testify of Jesus Christ.
(d) The gift of discerning of spirits allows the faithful to distinguish between the influence of good and evil spirits.

Special Fast this Sunday

The Relief Society Presidency will be fasting on Sunday for Connie, who is investigating the church at the moment. If you would like to join with us in fasting and praying for Connie please feel free to do so. For more information please speak to a member of the presidency.

Thank you.

What happened on Sunday

1. We seem to have lovely visitors coming every week which is so nice, but I've lost my piece of paper from Sunday so I can't remember everyone's names - sorry. Actually I think I can remember, we had Dianne visiting and Brodie (Jill's daughter) with us again. I hope I haven't missed anyone.

2. We also welcomed Bethany to our Ward, it is really exciting to have her and Joel in the Ward and we know everyone will make them feel comfortable.

3. Announcements - the Winterwonderland Ward Activity will be held on the 18th July and Dean is looking for lots of talented people to come forth to provide acts for the evening and hey, let's face it, he'll probably take even untalented people!!! So let's hope he is inundated with something!

4. No 5 minute music today - sorry Diana but we are looking forward to next week.

5. Sadie led us in the lesson today and chose to show us a CES fireside by Elder Holland that went along with the lesson from the Joseph Smith Manual. It went for 40 minutes which was why we couldn't fit in 5 minute music today. It's always great to listen to an apostle of the Lord.

Thanks Sadie.

6. There's quite a bit of sickness around at the moment, please check on your Visiting Teaching sisters and let a member of the presidency know if anyone needs some extra help. Thanks for all you do to care for the sisters you are responsible for.

Mel & Saro's special day

Does this couple look happy or not !

- these are the photos taken after Mel & Saro were sealed for time and all eternity in the Melbourne Australia Temple last Thursday. It was a beautiful day - Mel & Saro arrived at the temple gates at 7 am and waited 1/2 hour before the first temple workers arrived to open the gate - but what a blessing, it was Brother Mitz who was to be the sealer that day in the temple and so they were able to meet him before they were in the Sealing Room.

Aren't they just so cute!
So glad you were able to be sealed when some of us from the Ward could be there! It was a special occasion for us all.

I love to see the Temple

Melbourne Australia Temple

Rosny Relief Society Sisters outside Melbourne Temple

Sisters & Brothers from Rosny Ward with Melbourne Temple in the background

Our group outside the Temple doors

Ben & Kristy at the Temple

Bron in the Temple grounds

What a special experience it was for those of us who were able to attend the Melbourne Temple last week. After a very early start on Wednesday morning (some were up at 3 pm feeding babies before catching the 6 am flight!) and a LONG bus trip from the airport to the Temple everyone was able to enjoy at least 5 sessions over the two days. The feeling of love and unity amongst the group was really special and we were treated so well by all the wonderful temple workers. Of course the highlight of the trip was having the whole group being together in an endowment session as Mel received his endowment and then in the Sealing Room we were all blessed to witness the sealing of Mel and Saro.

What a blessing it is for us to have a temple that is within reach -

28 years ago it cost approximately $3,500.00 to make the trip to New Zealand,

this year each sister spent less than $200.00 to travel to the temple.

What happened on Sunday

1. More lovely visitors with us today in Relief Society - lovely to see Amy from Launceston in our Ward as well as Carmen & Kristy from Sydney and Brody, Fiona's sister with us also.
2. We missed having our Visiting Teaching message from Sister Barbara and we do hope she is feeling better soon.
3. The lesson today was led by Miriam (as Rachael was sick) who did a great job talking about Covenants. We read from the Gospel Principles manual as well as an old Relief Society manual that both had some clear information about covenants. We talked about the different covenants we make as members of the church.
4. It was also nice to have the Young Women with us for the beginning part of the lesson.

May Enrichment Meeting - "..care for the soul.."

Thanks to everyone who came to Enrichment last night. We hope you felt 'enriched' and rejuvenated by the time you went home.

Chris was busy scooping bath crystals and lip balm into little containers for everyone to have a sample to put into their de-stress bags.

A special thanks has to go to Claire and Jack who did a wonderful job with their presentation - we are grateful to have such talented people in our Ward.

Thanks to so many people who did something to help make the evening event happen

See you all again in a few months time!

PS For all those wondering what the wonderful smell was in the bath crystals it was a pure essential oil, Lemon Myrtle. - Thanks Lynda for kindly donating it to us.

Stake Relief Society Service Activity last Saturday

Last Saturday morning saw some of us out at the Stake Centre bright and early having a yummy breakfast before preparing gift packages for those who lost everything in the Victorian bushfires earlier this year.
What a fantastic job the Stake Relief Society did, there was something for everyone to do, for all skill levels and to see the table full of beautifully wrapped gifts of a cook book, journal and photo album for families to begin keeping a record of their lives again was great to see.

Thanks Stake Relief Society for giving us the opportunity to provide service for those who are less fortunate than ourselves - it was a lovely, simple but worthwhile service activity.

Loved the brief spiritual message at the beginning and the end of the event by the two new counsellors - sad that Sister Fran wasn't there for us to say farewell to (but it sounded like she was having a great time elsewhere!), and good old Sister Betty was hard at work as usual, leaving the kitchen clean and sparkling and making sure we all had plenty to eat.

We are grateful for all the work that the Stake Relief Society Presidency do - we will miss having Sister Fran come to visit us and fortunately we won't miss Sister Betty because she will be back in our Ward more often now! Now it means we will miss Sister Evelynne at times but will also get to have Sister Katie visit with us sometimes (and that's a bonus because she gets to see her sister Claire as well!) and of course the beautiful Louella who brings such a peaceful and sweet spirit with her - we are blessed.

Check out the Mormon Channel

Kristie sent me this link to the new radio station that the church has started. There's also a link to it on the church website so have a look sometime - it's got some great things on it.

http://radio.lds.org/mc/eng/

Thanks Kristie

What happened on Sunday

1. Another lot of lovely sisters visited with us today - so nice to have you with us, as well as the new Stake Relief Society presidency. Thanks for sharing a spiritual message with us all.
2. 5 Minute Music - as a group of sisters we all sang the beautiful hymn "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" - it sounded fantastic, almost as good as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir version we heard the week before ..... ok, I'm kidding, but nevertheless it was inspiring.
3. Our lesson today was from the talk by President Monson entitled "Joy in the Journey" Chernoa's spiritual preparation showed and we were all able to share and learn from this beautiful talk that had so much for us all to learn from. Please take the time to read this talk - it will bless your life. Here's a quote from the lesson:-
"Both abundance and lack (of abundance) exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend...when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present - love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us (happiness) - the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth."
4. SEE YOU AT ENRICHMENT MEETING ON THURSDAY NIGHT.

ENRICHMENT MEETING NEXT WEEK

Enrichment Meeting

Thursday 28 May

6.30 pm

Rosny Chapel

"Chicken Soup for the Soul"

"..care for the soul and for the life of the soul."

(D & C 101:37)

What happened on Sunday

Sorry everyone about missing last week - I know your week just wasn't the same as you didn't know 'what happened on Sunday'!!

But I'm back on track so here's what happened today at church:-

1. We welcomed Katarina from Hobart Ward, Margaret visiting again from Hawaii, and Sister Walsh. We hope you enjoyed meeting with us today.

2. Announcements:-
(a) Stake Relief Society Enrichment Activity - on this Saturday, at the Stake Centre - 8 - 9.30 am. Bring along any donations for the victims of the Victorian Bushfires that relate to record keeping - eg blank books for journals, photo albums etc. Please see a member of the Relief Society presidency if you require more information.

(b) Stake Musical Fireside - next Sunday evening at the Stake Centre at 7 pm

(c) AND THE BIG ONE for all the sisters in our Ward is our Enrichment Meeting
on Thursday 28th May, 6.30 pm at Rosny Chapel - "Chicken Soup for the Soul" - come and have a light tea before learning more about looking after our emotional health and wellbeing with Jack and Claire and then we will all be making our own 'de-stress' bag to take home. Please come along, invite those you visit teach, bring a friend and fellowship together. We are looking forward to seeing you all there.

3. 5 Minute Music - Sister Diana played a beautiful rendition by the Tabernacle Choir of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" that was one of the hymns they sung at the last general conference. It was beautiful. It is sad it is no longer in our hymn book but thanks to Diana we will all be singing it next week in Relief Society (as several sisters voted it as their favourite hymn when we all had to write down our favourite hymn several weeks ago).

4. Piret led us in the lesson today entitled "Responding to Persecution with Faith and Courage". We talked about persecution that we may have received in our lives and how we deal with it and the great example that Joseph Smith is to us. "Fear not, but be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might."

5. Our prayers and thoughts are with Sister Wendy as she is back is hospital with complications from her surgery.

Lesson comments: Fasting with Power

Lindy's lesson on Sunday was pretty profound, and generated some insightful discussion among the sisters. The article she referred to can be found in the April 2009 Ensign, and also online at the following link: Fasting with Power

Lindy introduced us to the idea of fasting as a principle of power.

Proper and consistent fasting
can help us to call down
the powers of heaven.

"What if there were a way to overcome our habits, addictions, and burdens? What if there were a way to gain sufficient confidence in the Lord that you could call down the powers of heaven? What if there were principles you could teach your loved ones that, if applied, would allow them to overcome personal weaknesses and draw closer to God?
As we properly understand and live the law of the fast, these desired blessings can be ours."

Lindy talked us through some key features of an effective fast, and we discussed ways to develop the faith and spiritual strength necessary to receive the blessings of fasting.

Sister Dawn bore her testimony by sharing a childhood experience: her ward in NZ fasted repeatedly for a building missionary who had been severely injured. Even the children wanted to fast because they knew there was an urgent need for divine assistance, and they wanted to help. Dawn said that she knew fasting worked because of the miraculous recovery that the missionary made.

One of the points discussed was how a 24 hour no-food-and-water fast is not appropriate in individuals who are pregnant, breastfeeding or who have certain medical conditions. I appreciated comments from Sister Kristy who told us how (during her first pregnancy) she missed the spirituality of fasting, and sought her Bishop's advice. He also could not do 24 hour traditional fasts due to a medical condition, but told her that they could both still reap the spiritual blessings of fasting by choosing something they would normally have and doing without it.

One of the loveliest parts of our lesson was the scripture Isaiah 58:6-11. Some truly beautiful promises there to each of us, whatever our circumstances.

What happened on Sunday?

1. Maryanne, our Young Women's President, conducted the opening of Relief Society today. It's lovely having the young women meet with us every fast Sunday and reciting the young womens theme together. It was great having visitors also with us.
2. Announcements today:-
(a) Stake Relief Society Activity, Saturday 23rd May - 8 am at the Stake Centre
(b) Ward Relief Society Enrichment Meeting on Thursday 28th May - 6.30 pm Rosny Chapel
(c) Several Young Women Activities - please see a member of the YW Presidency for more information.
3. Sister Barbara shared some extracts from the VT message for the month - please organise time this month to visit your sisters.
4. Our lesson was about Fasting today - the lesson was taken from an article in the April Ensign (P.64) entitled "Fasting with Power". A beautiful article - take the time to read it, you will be uplifted and inspired if you do.

Fasting tomorrow for Wendy

This request has come from the Bishop.


Could we please all remember Wendy M. in our prayers and as we fast tomorrow as she has developed complications from her recent surgery.


Please pass on to any members of the Ward you have contact with today.


Thank you.

New Sisters in our Ward

Kristin, Lecia and Chernoa

Just had to post a photo (with their permission of course!) of the new sisters in our Ward, it's really exciting having new, friendly faces in our midst and we look forward to getting to know each sister more as the days, weeks and years fly by.
WELCOME

Bread Making Information

photo courtesy of flickr

Guy (or was it Karenne!) from Glenorchy Ward recently sent an email with some very interesting information regarding making bread with ground wheat flour that is going to help many of us as we grind and use the wheat we bought recently. Here's what he had to say:-

I was getting fairly hard deformed loaves out of the bread maker before this whilst using the homeground flour. I put hot water in the bread maker, instead of cold and added 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to the liquid ingredients. With this you can use 2/3rds home ground flour or better and 1/3 white flour and it comes out a nicely formed loaf and quite moist and soft compared to the way it used to be.

Regards Guy

Thanks so much Guy, it's just fantastic when people share their knowledge with others - can't wait to try it.

What happened on Sunday?

1. It was lovely to welcome another member to our Ward family this week - Kristin who has moved in with her husband Andrew to Primrose Sands. They were most recently in Glenorchy Ward so introduce yourself to them - they are both really lovely.
2. We were also really excited to have Lecia with us, who hasn't been with us for a long time, it was just wonderful to have her in Relief Society and we hope she felt welcome.
3. We also have a visitor from the USA but I have forgotten her name but we hope she is having a great week touring Tasmania! (Of course she will, it's a fantastic place to see).
4. We missed some of our familiar faces (you know who you are) and hope to see you next week and hope all is well.
5. We had to sing Happy Birthday to Sister Enid and even though we are pretty hopeless with keeping up with everyone's birthdays we just couldn't forget her recent 90th and a quick round of Happy Happy Birthday was definitely in order.
6. A reminder to ALL SISTERS that Enrichment Meeting is on Thursday 28th May - we hope to see EVERYONE there, young and old.
7. There is also a Stake Relief Society activity on Saturday 23rd May, 8 - 9 am - a service activity for those who lost everything in the recent Victorian Bushfires. Such a lovely idea, they are asking for donations of photo albums, journals (I've forgotten what else!) but things to do with family history and keeping a record for those families who have lost so much. Sorry to be a little vague with the details but please see a member of the Relief Society Presidency (OK, well Rachael or Miriam) who will be up to speed with what we can donate! It's at the Stake Centre. If you need a lift please let a member of the Relief Society Presidency know and we'll organise something.
8. For 5 minute music Diana handed out small pieces of paper to all the sisters to write down their favourite hymn which she will use at some stage (I can't wait until she uses mine, I just love it and haven't heard it for ages!)
9. Sister Kristie led us in the lesson from Elder Uchtdorf's Conference talk from October last year regarding hope. She introduced the lesson by us watching a brief story Elder Uchtdorf shared regarding his family in WW2. A very moving story. Please take the time to read his talk again - it will lift your spirits and give you the strength to keep going. We were all given a little handout at the end of the lesson with this beautiful quote from the talk:-

"To all who suffer - to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely
- I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in.
Never surrender.
Never allow despair to overcome your spirit.
Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel,
for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow,
and gladdens every heart."

Gourmet Girls/Guy!!

Our expert pasta maker, Adam, ably assisted by Maryanne
Three gourmet girls enjoying their gourmet pizzas

one version of a gourmet pizza

Friday evening saw the Gourmet Girls meet and

thanks to one Gourmet Guy who demonstrated how to make fabulous homemade pasta

and the super Gourmet Girl who made yummy gourmet pizzas for us all to enjoy

the evening was a great success.

Thanks for all your efforts and hard work Maryanne and Adam!

HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY ENID

We all want to wish Enid a really

happy 90th birthday

- what a goer our Enid is,

comes to everything that she can,

participates in the 3 hour block meetings on a Sunday,

always got a smile for everyone.

We hope you have a lovely day on Monday - sounds like you have been celebrating already. This photo was taken on Saturday at a celebration at the Shoreline - doesn't she look fabulous!

(Thanks Diana for sending us the photo to put on the blog)

What an amazing milestone to reach!

What happened on Sunday

1. We had some visitors with us today - we welcomed Bron's friend from Sydney, Carmen, who was lovely and friendly, Cecily who almost isn't a visitor any more and besides is coming to live here (sooner rather than later we hope), and Emma and her sister who are also regular visitors. We hope they all felt welcome. Little Levi got a welcome also as it was only his 2nd time in Relief Society and missed his friend Eamon today! Minol is looking quite the big boy now! These boys don't know how lucky they are to be able to come to Relief Society and we hope they don't grow up too quickly because we will miss them when they go to Nursery! Julia slept through Relief Society today so we didn't get to see much of her but it is so nice having the little ones with us - they are all so precious and bring their own special spirits to our meeting.
2. Announcements today:-
a. Fireside with Elder Callister this Wednesday night at the Stake Centre - 7 pm. All welcome, please feel free to bring a friend.
b. Stake Relief Society Activity on the 23 May - more details coming soon.
c. Ward Relief Society Enrichment Meeting - 28 May "Chicken Soup for the Soul". Chicken Soup and bread rolls will be served at 6.30 pm, meeting commencing at 7.00 pm. We have Claire and Jack coming to talk about looking after our emotional health and wellbeing and then we will all be putting together a de-stress bag for each sister to take home so please invite those you visit teach and come along and be re-juvenated and refreshed.
3. For five-minute music today Diana played "Praise to the Man" sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir - it was an inspiring and uplifted version that bought a beautiful feeling into the room.
4. Barbara led us in the lesson today - "Living with Others in Peace and Harmony". What a great job she did, obviously lots of preparation had been put and the spirit was there with us. Here's one of the many great paragraphs from the lesson - we hope you get to read it all yourselves at some stage. "If you will put away from your midst all evil speaking, backbiting, and ungenerous thoughts and feelings: humble yourselves, and cultivate every principle of virtue and love, then will the blessings of Jehovah rest upon you, and you will yet see good and glorious days; peace will be within your gates, and properity in your borders."
5. We hope Primary and Young Womens went well today and you all went home feeling ready to face another week positively and with hope.

Service Craft Enrichment Activity Group

Easter Tuesday saw sister gathering once again at Sister Yvonne's home, having decorated hats for the Easter season, as a bit of fun for the day.

After enjoying lunch together and a quick group photo for some, the sisters then busily began dividing casseroles and soups into containers to go in Yvonne's freezer ready for when a sister or family has a need for a meal.

Can't wait to see what they are going to do next month!

An Apostle's Easter Thoughts on Christ

Please take a moment to once again watch some of Elder Holland's talk given on Sunday morning of General Conference and help us always to remember the love the Savior has for each of us and all He has done for us:-

click here

Book Club Report

Our small Book Club (hint hint we need more sisters!) met recently at Bron's house to discuss Mitch Albom's book 'The Five People You Meet in Heaven.' Amid lots of lovely munchies we discussed some great gospel truths we found in the book, what we liked and what we found difficult about the story. Even Tony and Josh wanted to get involved!

We are excited for our next meeting on Friday May 8th. We will be reading Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, 'North and South', which is set in Britain during the Industrial Revolution. This is a wonderful venue for bringing along non-member friends who share a love of reading and good books.

If you have any questions about the Book Club, please see Sister Jill Cluff. Happy reading!

What a feast!

Wasn't General Conference weekend just amazing. The singing was magnificent, the talks inspiring and uplifting and I feel like I was just to be better, do better and get more life more in tune with the Savior.

Too many talks to mention but I can't wait to read (and hopefully watch again) Elder Hale's talk regarding being a provident provider and provident living, Elder Holland's talk about the Atonement, the prophet's closing remarks at the Sunday afternoon session, plus all his remarks and Elder Bednar's talk about the temple.

What talk did you learn the most from?

Gourmet Girls

Photo courtesy of Flickr

Gourmet Girls

will be held on the 4th Friday evening of this month,

the 25th April,

at Maryanne's home.

This month will be a demonstration of homemade pasta,

so spread the word, come along, bring a friend

and discover once you have eaten homemade pasta

you will never go back to the bought stuff again!!!

Contact Mary-anne for more details.

General Conference

I found this great quote that I thought was really relevant for us preparing for Conference this coming weekend. Hope it helps you.

President Howard W. Hunter (past prophet) said:-

"As I have pondered the messages of the conference, I have asked myself this question: How can I help others partake of the goodness and blessings of our Heavenly Father? The answer lies in following the direction received from those we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators, and others of the General Authorities. Let us study their words, spoken under the spirit of inspiration, and refer to them often. The Lord has revealed his will to the Saints in this conference."

What happened on Sunday

1. It's lovely to have beautiful little children and young mums with us in Relief Society - it gives a good balance.
2. General Conference rebroadcast this weekend, 1 - 3 pm and 4 - 6 pm Saturday and 11 - 1 pm and 2 - 4 pm Sunday.
3. Sister Barbara shared with us the Visiting Teaching message for the month and asked us all to memorise and ask our sisters to memorise the scripture D&C 88:119 "..Establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God."
4. We were also blessed today to have the young women join with us for the whole time - our lesson was directed by Sister Miriam who talked about the Young Women's value of 'Divine Nature'. If you get a chance to read 2 Peter 1:4 - 8 it's a lovely scripture that Miriam unpacked and helped us all to understand about divine nature.
5. Thanks to the sisters who helped out in Nursery today. We missed you in Relief Society but know you were serving well.

The Massive Month of May

May is going to be big!!!!

A month of pampering for us all.

Not only it is Mothers Day in May,

but we will be having a Stake Relief Society Enrichment Activity

and a Ward Relief Society Enrichment Meeting!

So keep the calendar free of other activities and look out for a fabulous uplifting and inspiring month for us as sisters in the Gospel!

(OK, if you really want to know the truth I failed to look on the Stake Calendar and allocated an Enrichment Meeting for May before realising (on Thursday evening at the Stake Calendaring Meeting) that the Stake Relief Society had calendered an activity for that month!!! So instead of panicking and stressing I decided to see it as a positive - and hey doesn't the above sound so good!)

PS And I just realised that May was the month the Blog started - so this May is going to be the best month ever!!! Let's party!

Sorry about the drought!

My apologies for not posting for a little while - we are still all here for you and praying for you!

Food Life Boat

Miriam has found a link regarding the article that Piret bought to Relief Society last weekend regarding food storage.

Its www.foodlifeboat.com.au - hope you find it useful.

Gourmet Girls

Gourmet Girls are happening this week - keep checking the blog - it might be Thursday instead of Friday - we're not sure yet but any enquiries please call Mary-Anne.

Bring a recipe you've always wanted to try but haven't as yet, so everyone gets to try something new.

Gourmet Girls is a great one for all the YSA girls to get involved in and have a bit of fun. Hope to see you all there. Email Mary-ann for any information.

Book Club Information

'The Five People You Meet In Heaven' is the title of the book that will be discussed at the next book club gathering .

As you know the bookclub will generally be meeting on the 1st Thursday of the month. HOWEVER, just for April due to a family birthday on the Thursday, the bookclub will be meeting at Jill's home on Friday 4th April.

Everyone is welcome to come along, even if you haven't read the book and you just want to bring your knitting and listen to everyone talking, you are most welcome to do so.

Any questions or enquiries, please see Jill.

What happened on Sunday

1. We welcomed Karenne from Glenorchy Ward, Louella (Stake Relief Society President), Margaret from Western Australia and Janelle (Rachael's friend) who were all visiting with us today.
2. General Conference will be broadcast on Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday at the Stake Centre. Please check the Stake Website for times.
3. 5 Minute music was presented by Piret today. She talked about choir singing in Estonia and the Estonian Choir Festival that is held yearly (I think). Due to technichal difficulties we were unable to see a short video clip Piret was hoping to show but we look forward to seeing it another day.
4. Our lesson was directed by Kristie today entitled "Celestial Marriage" from Elder Russell M Nelson's talk at General Conference last October. We were all given a copy of the Proclamation to the Family and asked to discuss with our neighbour all the areas of the proclamation that are relevant to marriage (nearly every sentence was relevant). This is a beautiful talk and we encourage you all to read it again (or watch it again) and learn the relevance of the principles taught for your own life.

The lesson format for this year

Thought because there have been a few changes and a few new faces in our Ward recently we would just update you with the lesson format for the year so that all sisters (those who are presently able to attend relief society and those who are serving in the auxilliaries at the moment but may be in relief society at some future time and those who don't attend church at the moment) will know how the lessons run each week.

1. On the first Sunday of the month a member of the Presidency takes the lesson.

2. On the second Sunday of the month Sadie teaches our lesson from Teachings of Presidents of the Church (Joseph Smith). It's great to have Sadie and Warren back from Cairns to be in our Ward again. Sorry we can't show you a picture of Sadie as she is a little internet shy (ok, a lot internet shy!) So check out her gorgeous face on Sunday.

3. On the third Sunday of the month Piret teaches a lesson from the above manual.


4. On the fourth Sunday of the month Kristie leads the discussion for our Teachings for our Times lesson from a recent Ensign article from one of the apostles.
We are really grateful to all our teachers for their time and effort in preparing lessons for the sisters and for the way they present the topics in an interesting and varied way. Thank you.

What happened on Sunday

1. It was lovely to see Gail (Rach's mum) visiting as well as Lyn (we hardly need to welcome her any more as she is such a regular - and looking so gorgeous and sparkly at the moment!)
2. Not a lot of announcements today. However Miriam has found a massive food storage bargain with large tins of apples and apricots (about 3 kg I think) going for $3 and $4 down at Cygnet. Speak to Miriam if you are interested.
3. Also Piret gave Rachel copies of an article out of the Australian newspaper that was very interesting about preparing for a flu pandemic and the type of foods that would be appropriate to store for 10 weeks (almost the counsel we have been given to have 12 weeks -or three months supply). Well worth reading, please see Rach if you would like a copy. Anna also had some spare copies of the excellent article out of the current Ensign regarding food storage so if anyone needs a copy for those they visit teach or a friend please see Anna in the library.
4. For 5 minute music Diana spoke about the origin of hymn singing - very interesting, I had never even thought of when people first starting singing hymns in church!
5. Piret led us in the lesson today entitled Missionary Service: A Holy Calling, a Glorious Work. Here's a quote from the lesson "Do not be discouraged on account of the greatness of the work; only be humble and faithful...therefore inasmuch as you are to be instrumental in this great work, He will endow you with power, wisdom, might and intelligence, and every qualification necessary.."
6. We missed lots of beautiful faces in Relief Society today. We pray for you all and hope that you know we love you and if we can help you in any way please let us know. Hope to see you next week.

What happened on Sunday

Photo courtesy of Flickr

Hi Sisters,

I have no clue what happened at church on Sunday as I was up north. I'm sure it was very quiet without the youth at church but they were being very faithful and diligent attending church, workshops, a satellite fireside, then a fireside and testimony meeting (there was of course also food!) on the Sabbath. I was able to attend their fireside and testimony meeting on the Sunday evening of Youth Convention (I can't believe I missed the Kenneth Cope satellite link-up session they had a hour or so beforehand!)

Just had to let you all know that we have some wonderful youth in our Ward, some who bore sweet testimonies, and the feeling of unity and love that was amongst the youth of both Stakes has to make us all so grateful to live in beautiful Tasmania and feel confident of the growth of the church because of the calibar of these young people. And the weather was perfect all weekend!!

This is the only photo I could find quickly that has a picture of one of our youth, Nathan enjoying the pool activity on Monday (this photo is courtesy of Lisa King's blog, hope you don't mind me putting it on our RS blog Lisa)

Thank goodness many on the mainland don't realise what a goldmine it is to live in Tassie - we're all glad it's the best kept secret (keep those rumours going guys of us being two-headed and in-bred here in Tassie!!)