We Can't Afford a Billboard

March 6, 2011

Dear Members & Friends,
I was driving home from the eastern part of Massachusetts recently when I passed two billboards for the Annual Catholic Appeal. I thought to myself, “oh yeah...must write that appeal letter for the Women’s Alliance.” So here, it is. We can’t afford a billboard but what we do is equally as important. Consider this letter our billboard. Post it on your fridge, or put it on your desk, whatever it takes to remind you to send in your donations.

This year’s Mite Box will go to support our denomination to send a delegate, preferably a woman, to the annual meeting of the National Council of Churches of Christ, USA. http://www.ncccusa.org/ For about 10 years I was a youth delegate to the NCC. It was a wonderful experience for me to meet other young people from all over the country and learn about the different churches that are a part of the NCC.  Our involvement in the NCC is very important, as Chris Laitner expressed at our annual convention last summer. 

Soon we’ll be gathering in Cincinatti, Ohio for the annual church convention and the Alliance’s annual meeting and luncheon.  At that time we’ll hold elections, vote on a couple of amendments to our by-laws and welcome new officers to our Executive Committee.  This is my final year as president of the Alliance and I want to say thank you to everyone for this opportunity. It’s been wonderful to serve in this capacity and I look forward to turning over the reigns to the incoming president.

Our fund-raising efforts also help support the SCYL, our summer camps, Swedenborgian House of Studies, and Mite Box. Please send in your donation today.  Checks can be made to:

North American Alliance of New Church Women

Sincerely yours,
Nancy F. Little
President

Thank you from San Diego Swedenborgian Church

 [I just located this in my Womens Alliance folder. - N.L.]

4144 Campus Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 296-5662
RevCarla@
SwedenborgianChurchSanDiego.org


The Swedenborgian Church of San Diego

July 30th, 2009

To: National  Women’s  Alliance
Chair: Nancy Little

Dear  Nancy  and  members,

On behalf of the San Diego Swedenborgian Church  congregation  and  our minister Rev Carla Friedrich, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the National Women’s Alliance for your recent decision selecting Proyecto Hispanaya (and our outreach to Mexico) as the destination for the 2010 “MITE BOX” Fund.

Your generosity, encouragement and care for new mission work, forging new ground in which to spread the healing and empowering message of the writings, building new congregations and helping families and children in the real world in meaningful ways are very inspiring and greatly appreciated.

May God’s blessings be with you,


Sincerely,

Barbara Taylor
President of the Board of Directors
San Diego Swedenborgian Church

Promoting Spiritual Growth through the Arts, Education, Fellowship, and Useful Service
   

Thank you from Western Canada Conference

Western Canada Conference
Church of the New Jerusalem
Sharon Williams, Secretary
1409 Big Springs Way
Airdrie, Alberta T4A 1K3

November 2, 2010


Gloria Toot, Treasurer Women’s Alliance
Nancy Little, President – Women’s Alliance


Dear Gloria and Nancy

On behalf of Western Canada Conference I would like to thank you and the Women’s Alliance of New Church Women for the financial support you send Paulhaven Children’s camp this year. We appreciate the confidence you have in us that we are supplying a much needed outlet for the youth in our church and those connected with the church.

Below is a picture of the 2010 campers. [The photo didn't copy so you'll just have to imagine a bunch of happy campers. - N.L.]

Sincerely,

Sharon Williams, Secretary W.C.C.

Annual Appeal Letter

Dear Members and Friends of the Women’s Alliance,
Spring is on its way! There are buds on my lilac bush and the daffodils are poking out of the ground. It’s been an unusual winter here in New England. We hardly have any snow on the ground and we’ve had milder temperatures than normal.

What does Spring mean for the Women’s Alliance? In addition to thinking about our upcoming annual meeting and luncheon at Convention this summer, it means it’s time to raise funds for the many programs that we support.

This year the Mite Box funds will go to the San Diego church to assist them in their outreach efforts in Mexico. They have been working with Proyecto Hispanaya in Tijuana. Proyecto Hispanaya consists of a Clinic and Learning Center providing health education and psychological support to school aged children and families. If you want to learn more about Proyecto Hispanaya, visit their blog at http://proyecto-hispanaya.blogspot.com/

Our fund-raising efforts also help support the SCYL. I really enjoy keeping up with the Leaguers on their blog, Facebook, and Clear Blue Sky. Looking at their photos from the Columbus Day weekend retreat at Blairhaven or winter retreat at Almont brings back fond memories of watching the sunset over Kingston Bay, hikes to Myles Standish monument, long van rides through snowstorms in New York State, and stopping at Niagra Falls.  Relive your teen years in the youth league too by visiting the SCYL blog at http://youthleague.blogspot.com/

We also support our camps.  For many of us the arrival of Spring also means thinking about summer camp! Whether your summer camp is Fryeburg New Church Assembly,  Almont Summer School or Paulhaven, we all look forward to camp like giddy children. 

Please help us to continue to support the youth league, summer camps, Swedenborgian House of Studies, and Mite Box by sending in your donation today.  Use the enclosed form to send in your membership dues and donation.
Checks can be made to:
North American Alliance of New Church Women.

Sincerely yours,

NANCY LITTLE
President

Name:_________________________________________________________________

Address:______________________________City:______________________________

State:_________________ Zip Code:_____________

Email Address:___________________________________________________________

Member Church/Society Affiliation: ____________________________________________

PLEASE SPECIFY HOW YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR DONATION DISTRIBUTED:
Amount Donated: _______ Dues ($5.00):______ General Fund: ______Mite Box:_______

MAIL THIS FORM TO:

Gloria Toot, Treasurer
10280 Gentlewind Drive
Montgomery, OH 45242-5813

Women’s Retreat at Almont Retreat Center

[Contributed by Rev. Jennifer Tafel, Lansing MI]

November 2009

A new idea for retreats at Almont was presented to the Michigan Association by B.J. Neuenfeldt: women’s, men’s and family gatherings (“like we used to do when our adult children were young”).  There was unanimous support for the idea and the plans began.  We all received flyers advertising the women’s retreat right away!

The first retreat was a Women’s Retreat: Bring your friends for fun (NO religious or spiritual theme!).  We came to Almont with no exceptions…well, maybe to have some fun.  It was a time to gather with friends at a place we love and want to show off to our dear friends.

Being one of the first arrivals was exciting because I could see the smiling faces and board games gathering in Pfister Lounge (the living room of the main building at Almont).  As night began to fall the laughter began to rise.  I think the most difficult thing for some of Almonters was being at a gathering with NO AGENDA!  What were we to do?  The majority of us were teachers and leaders (of some variety) and we had to let it go and let in the Holy Spirit to guide the fun. 

We broke out board games: Scrabble and Apples to Apples.  These were high-energy games (mostly because of the people playing them).  After lighting a cozy fire in the fireplace the real excitement began as bees starting pouring forth from the chimney (from the wood we were told later).  It was a fun evening with games, laughter and good friends.  We went to bed looking forward to great times the next day.

We ate breakfast and several people decided to go for a walk around the lake on the property. It was a beautiful autumn day and we enjoyed each others’ company for the walk.  The real fun began when a rousing round of the Barbie Game broke out before lunch.  It was to be played “light-hearted” since that is what these women tell their children and beaus as they are introduced to the game.  Well, I broke that rule because it brought up a lot of internal stuff as I was raised by a self-proclaimed feminist.  My apologies to all.  I think I will take the suggestion of one of the people there and make a spiritual-journey game for Barbie. 

We enjoyed lunch and then ended the time there by watching “The Shift” by Wayne Dyer.  The movie is about making the shift from “the afternoon of our lives to the evening of our lives.  What was true in the morning does not apply to the evening.”  Then we all packed up and headed home…after agreeing that we need to do this again some time!

Our Mission and a bit of History

In one of my classes this semester, Principles of Management, or LIS 404, or simply 404 (we librarians speak in numbers on occasion), we've been talking about planning and strategic management. More specifically, we've been talking about an organization's mission or vision. Back in the '90s it seemed that every organization, non-profit and for-profit was formulating a mission statement. Caused me to roll my eyes and groan, especially when it comes to a for-profit businees whose mission is to, well, make money! I think that formulating a mission or vision statement forces a for-profit business to think about their objectives and goals (besides the money part of it), and provides the organization with a goal. Why are we doing this? Non-profits do this too, but they're usually founded with a goal in mind in the first place.

Where am I going with this?

Back in the beginnings of this organization, in 1903, a notice was placed in the Messenger, "calling attention to the proposed organization, and asking for suggestions and cooperation from all associations of NewChurch women." (Rice, 2) On November 17th of that year, a letter was sent to every New-Church society in the United States, "It is proposed to ask the Women's Associations of the various New Church Societies to become members of this National Alliance in order that they may met as an organized body at the yearly meeting of the Convention for the comparison methods of church work, care of the sick and needy, entertainment and hospitality." (Rice, 2)

In 1904 the By-laws were presented and voted on. Article II of the by-laws reads:
"A yearly conference up on the work of women's organizations of the New Church: the promotion of intelligent methods of work within the Church for the recognition of the field for New Church influence outside of the Church organization." (Rice, 6) A bit different from how it reads today,
"The purpose of the Alliance shall be to promote the life of charity among the women of the church through spiritual development, practical service and fellowship with women in the world at large. "(Rice, vii)

Rice, Ethel V. A History of the Alliance of New-Church Women. National Alliance of New Church Women. 1992.

So, that's our mission or goal. How do we do this?

Proyecto Hispanaya Mission

[Rev. Carla Friedrich of the San Diego, CA church has sent me a lot of information about Proyecto Hispanaya. The 2010 Mite Box will go to San Diego for their efforts to assist Proyecto Hispanaya. The photo is of the Mexican ministers involved in this project. ]

The Proyecto Hispanaya Mission:
We are a group of people with a humanitarian philosophy and a common purpose in
donating our time and experience to Proyecto Hispanaya, A.C. (Hispanaya Project, non-profit).
We offer people who do not have the economic resources various services such as: medical
health, family counseling, moral and spiritual counseling, and vocational training.

We began offering services in the medical field such as general health services, drug abuse prevention and treatment, and OB/GYN services by Dr. Josefina Camacho Valdés, who is also a certified homeopathic doctor, and surgeon. Reflexology treatment and therapeutic massages are offered by Manuel Martinez Zarzosa, who is certified in reflexology.

As part of our family counseling services we offer prevention and treatment for domestic violence, individual, and group counseling. Psychological counseling is conducted by Rubén
Cado Palacios, Clinical Psychologist and Department Coordinator for the organization, and
Jesus Zarzosa, Educational Psychologist and Criminologist. The moral and spiritual guidance is coordinated and offered through Rev. Hugo Cambrany Diaz.

Computer repair and maintenance is part of the vocational training that is offered and Tony
Fernandez, who is a certified computer technician will be the instructor and coordinator of this
department.

The music lessons are coordinated by Sabino Martinez Zarzosa, CPA and current president of our association. Sabino was the founder of Camerata de la Universidad Autonomade Baja California (Chamber Orchestra of the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California) and is a member of the Ensamble Musical y Voces "Laudate Domine" (musical ensemble and voices
"Laudate Domine") where he plays the violin and viola.