I missed the beginning of RS so I will share from where I came in. We did have a new sister in our midst. I found out her name is Megan Flamm (not positive on spelling). She and her husband with I believe three children are moving here from Oregon and are building a home in our ward. Welcome Megan!
The sisters met as a council today to discuss the recent announcement of "ministering" and specifically the concept of young women joining in the efforts. It was pointed out that there is a stigma that Relief Society are "old women" and that we can be a very intimidating group for incoming young women. Hopefully we can help change that expectation!
There were many comments that were shared and I apologize in advance for not being able to share them all. I will try and summarize a couple of main points.
First of all, the change in reporting is exciting for many because it reduces the feeling for the sisters that they are merely an assignment. Ministering elevates our sights from duty to serving as the Savior did. Sister Susan Fuhriman Farley pointed out that the Savior spent his whole life in service but he was never assigned. Although we may still have assignments, hopefully our understanding of how to serve will grow and develop as we seek to truly serve as He did.
During the discussion, I felt like "ministering" is another name for "genuine friendship". When we genuinely care about someone, we know them, are aware of their needs, and are always anxious to help them. This type of friendship takes time to develop. Hopefully we can all be patient with each other, YW and RS sisters combined, as we each try to reach out in our own ways. And, genuine friendship can even blossom from an assignment as time and care and experiences are shared together over time.
Sister Donise Sarager Price mentioned that her favorite companionships have been with sisters in another stage of life. Then you are not in competition but can learn from each other and you have someone that has been there, done that that can coach you along in your efforts.
Sister Becky King shared an example of a lonely time in her life when she would wander the aisles of a store and a couple of young women saw her a couple of times and they became friends and would even go out for ice cream together. The friendship was a blessing to both.
A sister in another ward who has been unable to have children of her own has reached out to several young women and has taken them under her wing to share her talents with them. The friendships were a blessing to both.
An elderly sister who was also a neighbor of Sister Rachael Bonnell Inmanas she was growing up reached out to her at a critical moment in her life. She was 18 and engaged to the wrong guy (i.e. not Brother Inman). This sister invited her over to lunch and shared her life experience of having married the wrong guy and encouraged Sister Inman to be sure. This counsel was the same as she had received from her parents but it sounded different coming from the voice of experience. This was a life-changing blessing for Sister Inman.
Sister Mary Call was a young married mother of one child who developed a friendship with a sister 20 plus years her senior. The friendship was a blessing to both.
The thing that was obvious in all of these examples was that lives were blessed by caring service regardless of age and different life stages. In fact, different life stages were part of the blessing. And most of these examples did not involve VT assignments. We do not need to wait for an assignment to minister.
We can start now to get to know the other sisters in our ward, including our young women, so our ministering will be a natural outcome of our genuine friendships.
Some of the ideas that were shared on helping us get to know our young women were to notice them and to be aware of them. Say "hi" to them. Sit by them and help them feel included when they come to relief society opening exercises or activities. Get to know them and their interests. Sister Dana Sue Kast Janulis is a pencil pal with an 8 year old and their first interaction involves a getting to know you questionnaire. The thought was shared that maybe we can do something similar with our young women. Sister Leslie Winward Wright cautioned us to remember their lives are busy and full too and not to over schedule them. We can try and have getting to know you activities when they are already planning on being at a church activity. Rachael Moore Thompson reminded us it's important to meet them where they are at. Young women are just like us! Some are social, some are shy, they too can feel awkward coming to class and not knowing who to sit by etc.
Bottom line: We all need each other and we are all blessed when we share who we are and the talents we have with each other! Thank you Sister Rachael Bonnell Inman for leading us in this discussion to help us as we begin this new stage of service together.
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