The Women’s Fellowship Group meets monthly on the fourth Tuesday of the month and usually at a member’s home. A pot luck event is usually held in the spring and at Christmas time. In December, members chose to make a donation to the local food bank in lieu of a purchased gift exchange. In 2015 the group bid a fond farewell to long time member Alice Newman as she and Winston relocated to Lethbridge, AB.
Meetings are informal and the agenda is usually a wide-ranging discussion topic or theme which is chosen as interests, current events or topics arise. A report by Sharon Ferguson-Hood about her visits to Bhutan and Nepal initiated an interest in hosting a fundraiser to support the Three Sisters’ Trekking Company in Pokhara, Nepal where they run an orphanage for young girls. They also run a school to train young women to be guides and porters. The very successful and enjoyable Nepal Fundraiser Social was held on Saturday November 7, 2015 and reached out beyond the congregation into the community at large. The format of the event included: refreshments and hors d’oeuvres; a silent auction with a variety of items from Nepal (including Mandela artwork), home-baked/-grown/-made goods donated by Mary Grant, Ellen Burgess, Gloria Arneson, Margaret Mehler, and Vera Billy; the sale of Nepali bears (knit by Mary Grant); music and song by Maurice Taylor and Ward Arnold; and a power-point presentation on Nepal. Appreciation is extended to the entire congregation for their assistance and support of this event that raised close to $2,500.00 for the Three Sisters’ Trekking Company.
This is a congenial group with a primary focus on fun and fellowship! In 2016, members look forward once again to candid and lively discussions and sharing interesting points of view. New members are always welcome -- please contact the church office if you would like to come out to a meeting.
Submitted by Donna Dobson
Heads-up: The United Church Observer price of Group Plan subscriptions - purchased through the Church but paid for by subscribers - will increase from $20 per year to $25 (GS/HST included) effective January 2016.
To reward the loyalty of our subscribers, the increase will be waived for one renewal year if we can increase the total number of Observer subscriptions by 25 percent. I believe we increased the total number by 50 percent last year?
Each issue still costs less that a small coffee and doughnut at Robins Doughnuts.
Did you read the article "The snowiest church" in the January issue - page 47, and the article by Mardi Tindal on page 45 "Compassion is a muscle that gets stronger with use" (a quotation from Mahatma Gandhi)?
Submitted by Mary Blacklaws, Observer Rep
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