On January 10, seven United Church Women met in the church hall for the first meeting of the new year. We repeated the UCW purpose together; then past president Reta Robertson led the meeting on behalf of president Shirley Dobson and welcomed everyone.
Joyce Freeman led the Devotional, from the book There is a Season by Betty Radford Turcott. She opened with a prayer, and the Scripture was from Ecclesiastes 3: 1–8. There is a time for everything; time is in our hands. The Lord is a stronghold in times of trouble; take time to draw near to God. Joyce closed with a prayer.
The agenda and minutes of the November meeting, and the short business meeting in December, were approved. There was no old business, so we went to correspondence, of which there were several items. We received a newsletter from “Keeping in Touch” and an update from the president; an email from our missionary, Carmen Sàlacsacan; news from the Centre for Christian Studies; and information from Our Daily Bread with a story about the courageous recovery of a woman who had been in a bad car accident. Naramata sent a newsletter, and there was news from the First United Church Community Ministry Society.
Reports were next, and treasurer Colleen Mierau handed out her written report. Hilda Drinkwater (for Dorothy Pears) gave an oral report on Sunshine work, and updated us on what she had done for archives, and Phyllis Gray reported about publicity. For outreach, Phyllis also reported about receiving Campbell’s Soup labels and used stamps. Thank you to all who keep saving these items for us, as they go to help with Christian work elsewhere.
The United Church will be hosting Soup’s On in the Anglican Church hall on Friday, January 20 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
We paused for refreshment and fellowship, then reconvened and began with new business. We will be giving Valentine’s cards to residents at the long-term care “Garden Oasis” at the hospital for their use. A committee was formed to meet with the Anglican ladies to plan for the World Day of Prayer, to be held in the United Church on March 3 at 7 p.m. Watch for a reminder in the “Coming Events” listing in The Journal.
The next item of new business was the Bean Supper. We discussed at length whether we are able to do this again this year. Our group is smaller, and the attendance at the supper has dropped. We would have to depend on our friends at the Anglican Church, and our friends in the community who have so generously helped us before, to help us again.
We would like to continue to do this, as it is the longest-running ongoing event in Ashcroft, and a time of togetherness. If anyone thinks they can help us with time and some food items, would you please let one of us know by calling any one of us before our February 7 meeting? We could possibly hold the dinner in April instead of March, and have only one sitting (5 to 7 p.m.). Thank you!
Our next meeting is on Tuesday, February 7 at 2 p.m. Offers were made for the Devotional and for refreshment duties, and we closed with the United Church Women prayer.