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.

Proyecto Hispanaya - a mission

Teaching life skills - Proyecto Hispanaya San Diego, CA mission.

[From Rev. Carla Friedrich of the San Diego Church - the 2010 Mite Box]


Here is a bit of information on our existing/ current outreach to Mexico so far. Blessings and thank you for all you're doing.

PH (Proyecto Hispanaya) consists of a Clinic and Learning Center providing health education and psychological support to school aged children and families (family planing and anti-violence education, drug and alcohol prevention and education, etc also Swedenborgian Studies in the Ralph Junge Center, the future library and classroom ...) PH is registered in Mexico as a non-profit VS a traditional "church" though devotion is a part of their daily practice.

First, WE ARE NOT ALONE in our efforts. We join a Consortium of other new church organizations (General Church & The Lord's New Church) and other generous individuals who help in various ways to support the efforts of the new church group there in Tijuana (and hopefully beyond) Just like us, they struggle to grow and reach others with the treasure of life-giving and life-healing teachings we have been gifted.

The effort of that group is on-going for over 20 years. Swedenborgian Church of San Diego (Convention) has entered the picture in small increments and involvement has grown over the last three years as awareness grows. Our outreach to Mexico is often truncated and extremely limited due to time restraints, limited funds stalling construction, and health concerns of the director.

[Proyecto Hispanaya, AC] includes worshiping together, some new church lessons/ instruction. As an ordained minister, I am able to officiate rites and pr0vide the sacraments of the Lord's Holy Supper. I also try to provide pastoral care and encouragement.

The San Diego Church continues to companion with the new church group in Tijuana.

[Director of Proyecto Hispanaya] Jesus Zarzosa and family worship with us when his health and time permits. Our congregation involvement grows as our relationship with that group grows and in ways which are most meaningful to the congregation and useful to the Mexico group.

Recently the musical group we partnered with helped provided the necessary funds for an IRON GATE, a necessary and finishing touch on the Clinic. We pray often for our sister group and the good which the Non-Profit does in Tijuana working with children and families and try to support them practically by fundraising concerts and collecting. More than a year ago, the SwedenorgianCommunityOnline.org prayed for them as we tried marshal energies in the form of letters, phone calls and influence to free a member of that group from a federal prison when he had been "rounded up" in a routine sweep after a shoot out between the Mexican Police and the Mafia there. This could have turned out very badly but had a happy ending for which they praise God and the power of Prayer in community.

Proyecto Hispanaya, AC does strive to remain an independent new church enterprise - within their specific cultural context.

Mite Box 2009

The New Church of the Southwest Desert was the recipient of the 2009 Mite Box award. Rev. Sky Paradise (L), Suzanne, Barb Boxwell - Mite Box Chair, and Linda pose for the camera.

Sky says, "Hello everyone...My sincere thanks to all the women of the alliance for the generous gift you have bestowed on the New Church of the Southwest Desert this year. We are most honored to be able to use these funds for our children's room and library.
Blessings
Sky Paradise"

Thank You Letter from Kei Torita

[This is a thank you letter from Kei Torita in Japan. We neglected to read it at our annual meeting.]

Dear Nancy, Jeannette, and Women's Alliance people,

Thank you very much for your letter and gift. This year your gift came early and thank you for that too.

Jeannette, in your letter of March, I read that you and the alliance people prayed for my friends who had experience the earthquake in the Northern part of Japan last year. Thanks to your prayers, they were all right.

I used to write letters pretty often to a woman who lived inthe Southern part of Japan. She felt insecure and needed my support very much. She is now getting well and married to a blindman about whom I wrote to you last time. I have been tape recording New Church books for him. Now I am reading Swedenborg's Thought by a Japanese author. This book will take a long time but I am glad that he is enjoying listening to those tapes. He sends me back his comments by tape. He is a good acupuncturist. I am translating Helen Keller's Introduction to the True Christian Religion and the first half of it was published in the small periodical of JSA (Japan Swedenborg Association) in April. The latter half will be published in the fall.

I am visiting an elderly lady at a nursing home in the hills every once in a while and I am visiting this week too.

I was asked for conducting a cermony before building a house. And I did it for a New Church lady just a few days ago. In Japan usually a Shintoism priest does that according to that religion and he prays for safety of the whole building procedure. This was my first experience of doing this kind of ceremony but I was glad that the lady was pleased. Also, it was a good opportunity for ministry to those attending the ceremony.

Thank you again for your letter and gift. I am encouraged and helped by both. I hope you have a good convention and Women's Alliance meeting in Olympia, Washington. God bless you all.

Sincerely, Kei Torita

Pre-Convention Conference Call

Pat (our secretary), Jeannette (our out-going treasurer), Barb (Mite Box chair), Jenn (Communications chair) & I (President) met via conference call on Saturday morning. It's always funny trying to get used to talking to more than one person at a time and trying to figure out voices. Conference calls a great though. We get a lot accomplished and you can have a meeting in the comfort of your home (and maybe even in your pajamas! ;-))

We discussed:

• A program for our annual meeting and luncheon. This is something that was done many years ago and got phased out. We're trying to revive it.
  
• How to integrate "newbies" into our meeting.
• Changing the fiscal to a calendar year to be voted on next year.
• Ideas for Mite Box 2010.
• A funeral for Round Robin.
• A Google website for Executive Committee members to share documents.
  

It was a good meeting and we're all looking forward to being in Seattle. Except for Jeannette who can't attend! We'll miss her!

Blanket is Finished!

Do you remember my long saga about the blanket for my neice, Chloe? Well, it's finished! I finished it a few days after the semester ended. I gave it to her on Saturday. She really likes it!

Convention in Seattle!

Are you thinking about attending Convention in Seattle? I am! I've never been to Seattle and I'm really looking forward to being there for a few days. The University of Washington campus is beautiful!

Visit the Swedenborgian Church website for information about Convention. You can download a PDF of FAQs about Convention this year. Our luncheon is scheduled for Friday.

The Executive Committee will be meeting via conference call on June 13th at 9AM.

The Annual Appeal Letter

The Great Knitting Accident of 2008

by Nancy Little

In November of 2005 I started to knit a blanket that was intended to be a baby blanket for my not-yet-born niece, Chloe. Today as I write this, Chloe turned 3. Is that blanket finished yet? NO! In mid-December I took out the blanket and decided I was going to finish it. I told myself that if I just kept working on it I'd finish it by Christmas. Just knit a row or two every day, that's all it would take, then I'd be done with it.

The very next day, I had what I refer to as “The Great Knitting Accident of 2008”: a mistake so bad I hadn't a clue how or the skills to fix it myself. If there were such a thing as a knitting 911, I would have called them right away. I was in way over my head. I was in deep doo-doo. The nearest knitter I knew of that could get me out of this jam lives an hour and a half away. I was on the verge of tears. I might have actually been crying. I was threatening to pull it all out. My husband (a very patient man and the son of an avid knitter), was pleading with me not to pull it all out. I put it aside for a week and meditated on the blanket.

What do I do now? I was wondering. And then, at some strange hour of the night (this is often when I get answers), it came to me, “Pull it all out. Start over. Crochet a blanket. You are a crocheter, not a knitter.” So the next morning, I pulled it all out. Three years (give or take months of not working on the blanket) were pulled out and wound on my new yarn winder (thanks to Trevor). I've started over, crocheting, using the very same yarn and maybe it'll be finished by Chloe's 4th birthday. I'm also enjoying working on the blanket much better this time around.

Going through this whole process of pulling out the blanket and starting over got me thinking about how, so often in life we just keep plugging away using the same method, and not getting the results we want or expected. Yet we're just convinced that we “have to do it this way”. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Last summer at our annual convention in Bridgewater MA, I had an opportunity to talk at length with Rev. Jenn Tafel, who was awarded last year's Mite Box; and Rev. Sky Paradise, the recipient of the 2008/2009 Mite Box; about their experiences with starting new churches. It was so great to sit down and chat with both of them. I've known Rev. Jenn since she was 5 or 6 and I was a baby-sitter at convention at Wellesley College in 1980. I'll let you do the math. I met Rev. Sky at Fryeburg New Church Assembly in 2006 when she was still a student at SHS and came to FNCA to fulfill her camp experience requirement.

At convention, I learned that Rev. Sky had a very similar experience to my “pull it all out” knitting experience. She first went to El Paso, TX with plans to start a church there. After six months of effort using a certain method of church planting, she was not getting the results she expected. After a “near meltdown” and lots of praying she “pulled it all out” and went to New Mexico. Things are working out wonderfully in New Mexico. She had almost 40 people at her first service in April. The community has contributed greatly to growing her church. Rev. Sky takes very little credit for most of this and says that it is the Lord at work. The Swedenborgian Church of the Southwest is the 2009 recipient of the Mite Box. When you have a chance, visit their website: http://www.southwestswedenborgians.com/

Have you had that kind of experience too? Sometimes there's a huge sense of relief when you realize that you don't have to continue doing it like this. This past year I lost my job; let go of all of my financial goals; did some “soul-searching” and decided that this was an ideal opportunity to take some time off and revisit the idea of grad school. As I write this, in a little more than a month I'll begin courses in a Masters in Library Science at Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Is starting grad school in my mid-40s scary to me? A little. But I LOVE a challenge and I'm confident that it will lead me on a wonderful journey. Am I willing to “pull it all out” if it's not working? You bet!

In past years, the Women's Alliance has mailed this fundraising letter to hundreds of women and got very little response. Last year at convention, the Executive Committee decided to print the fundraising letter in the Messenger and eliminate the mailing, thus saving hundreds of dollars in postage and printing costs. So, we too, as an organization, are “pulling it all out” and are starting over.

When you make a contribution to the Women's Alliance the money goes directly to support new churches, such as those in Lansing, Michigan and Silver City, New Mexico. We also support the youth league; our summer camps; Kei Torita in Japan; and the Swedenborgian House of Studies. The Woman's Alliance has a long history of donating to our church programs. Will you please help us continue this long tradition and send in your donation today?


Checks should be made out to: North American Alliance of Swedenborgian Women and mailed to our treasurer

Jeannette Hille
4240 Larch Place N.
Plymouth, MN 55442

Name:______________________________

Address:_____________________________

Email Address:________________________

Member Church/Society Affiliation: ___________________

Total Amount Donated: Dues ($5.00):______ General Fund: _____ Mite Box:______



Nancy Little is the President of the National Alliance of New Church Women. She lives in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts with her husband, Trevor Woofenden. When she's not crocheting so much that her hand hurts, she's catching up with friends on Facebook, updating her blog as well as the Alliance blog (www.womensalliance.blogspot.com), and generally enjoying her time off until grad school starts in late January.

Fall Meeting of the Executive Committee

A few of us met today via phone conference. Jenn, Barb, Pat and myself were present.

Here are some highlights from our meeting:

• All agreed that it was a great idea to meet via phone conference.
  
• The Mite Box was briefly discussed. As Mite Box chair, Barb put a notice in the Messenger about Mite Box donations. Ideas for the 2010 Mite Box should go to Barb. Ideas, anyone?
• An appeal for missing minutes from past years will be in the next Messenger. If anyone has minutes from past years please forward them to Pat Sommer, secretary. She has minutes from Barb Tourangeau but none from any years prior.
  
• Having a central location for Alliance documents was discussed.
  
• The annual appeal letter will be printed in the Messenger only. We will aim for the February issue.
  
• Discussion about next year's annual meeting at Convention. Ideas for a program at the annual meeting were discussed.
  
• Website was discussed. Could we have a page on Convention's website or have our own?

We'll meet again via phone conference in February or March.

Thanks again everyone!

The Mighty Mite Box

When I was reading the History of the Alliance of New Church Women given to me by Katie Brown, nee Shelley, I learned of the long-standing tradition of the mite box within this organization. I was curious about the history of the mite box in general so I turned to (where else?) Wikipedia, of course! Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the mite box:

"The term mite box (also alms box or poor box) refers to a box that is used to save coins for charitable purposes. Contemporary mite boxes are usually made of cardboard and given out to church congregations during the Lenten season. The mite boxes are collected by the church and donations are given to the poor. Mite boxes are popular with children because they can fill them with small change and it teaches them the principle of giving to the poor. The Mite box giving promotes the spirit of contributing based on the intent to help others and not on the monetary amount.

The term mite, according to the dictionary, is defined as one of the following:

• 1. a very small contribution or amount of money, such as a widow's mite.

• 2. a very small object, creature, or particle.

• 3. a coin of very small value, especially an obsolete British coin worth half a farthing."

So that gave me an idea... what if I used something that I already have in my house as a mite box! I looked around and saw my little "piggy" bank sitting on my dresser. It's full right now but I'll find something to empty it into and start over. How many of you have a coin purse that is bursting with coins that you never use? I'm guilty of that. As of today, I'll start emptying my change purse into Ms. Piggy and when it comes time to make a donation to the Alliance Mite box I'm planning to count my change (and hopefully it'll be a lot!) and write a check. I'll probably round up to the nearest $5. If we all did that we could make a substantial contribution to the Mite box this year. At Convention this summer in Bridgewater, MA we collected over $800 towards the 2009 Mite box! As I've mentioned before, the money we collect this year will go to the newest Swedenborgian Church in New Mexico where Rev. Dr. Sky Paradise is the pastor. Click on the link to find out what's happening in New Mexico. In the October Messenger I read that 17 new members joined the church! That's remarkable!

Stealing a line from one of my favorite blogs, The Librarian's Guide to Etiquette,
Ask the readers: Do you have a Mite box of your own?

WA Report in October Messenger

Julie Viges (L) of Lansing, Michigan with Rev. Jenn Tafel (center), pastor of the newly established Swedenborgian Church in Lansing, Michigan receiving the Mite Box Award for 2008 presented by Mite Box chair Barb Boxwell (R) at the annual meeting of the Alliance at the national convention in Bridgewater, MA.

The 105th annual meeting of the Women's Alliance was held on July 3, 2008 at Bridgewater State College at the annual convention of the Swedenborgian Church.
The following officers were elected for the 2008-2009 year:

President: Nancy Little (MA)
Vice President: Beth Harvie (Mid Atlantic)
Secretary: Pat Sommer (OH)
Treasurer: Jeanette Hille (MN)
Mite Box Chair: Barb Boxwell (MI)
Round Robin Chair: Polly Baxter (OH/MI)
Publications Chair: Rev. Jennifer Tafel (MI)
Religious Chair: Rev. Lana Sandahl
Nominating Chair: Rev. Leah Goodwin (MA) (2012)

Nominating Committee:
Nancy Freestone (2009)
Denyse Daurat (2010)
Missy Sommer (2011)
Leah Goodwin (2012)
Jeannette Hille (2013)

A brief business meeting proceeded the luncheon.

• Members of the Alliance voted to eliminate the office of 2nd Vice President.

• As the recipient of the 2008 Mite Box Award , Rev. Jennifer Tafel, pastor of the newly established Lansing, Michigan church, was presented with a check for $1,304.85.

• It was announced that the 2009 Mite Box will be awarded to the New Church of the Southwest Desert in New Mexico where Rev. Dr. Sky Paradise is the pastor. Over $800 was collected during convention towards the 2009 Mite Box.

• Polly Baxter, chair of the Round Robin Committee, reported that there were no “flights” this year. Polly suggested that we take advantage of technology and use email in place of round robin letters. The Executive Committee will discuss this more in the coming year. She can be reached at polbax@baxtonia.com

• Rev. Renee Machiniak reminded us that she still has plenty of Alliance pins with the Swedenborgian cross for sale. She suggested that they make nice gifts for new members. Rev. Renee can be contacted at revrenee@aol.com

• A new blog was established womensalliance.blogspot.com If other officers or committee chairs would like to post to the blog, contact the President, Nancy Little at littlenancyf@yahoo.com

The 106th annual meeting of the Alliance will be held in 2009 in Seattle, WA.

Additional donations to the Mite Box can be sent to:
Jeanette Hille, Treasurer
4240 Larch Place North
Plymouth, MN 55442

Respectfully,
Nancy Little
President

History

Katie Shelley, our out-going president, handed me her copy of "A History of the Alliance of New-Church Women" compiled by Ethel Rice in the 1991, along with the binder that she kept for the Alliance. Katie told me the book was a quick read, she read it on an airplane on her way home from Convention one year. I read through it, skimming parts that were repetitive, but for the most part really enjoyed reading it. At one point there were 6 vice-presidents!
I especially enjoyed learning about the creation of the Alliance in 1903-1904. Seeing lots of familiar names was fun too, particularly names that are associated with the Fryeburg New Church Assembly (where I am the registrar), for example: Murdoch, Dole, Woofenden (my in-laws), Sturgis, Mack to name a few.
The Alliance has a long history of raising funds to support church programs and individuals. It was interesting to see how those varied over the years. We're still supporting our camps, although there are fewer now than there were even 20 or 30 years ago. In 1980 the Alliance was contributing to 7 camps, and now we're contributing to 2 camps. This is only because the other 5 (and I have to admit I can't name them all but I'm sure someone out there could) are no longer in existence.
The Mite Box has a long history also. The earliest mention of "collection boxes" was in 1924. I enjoyed learning about the different missions and projects the Mite Box donations has supported over the years. It's very exciting to think that we're supporting new churches! This year the Mite Box went to the newly established Lansing, MI church where Rev. Jenn Tafel is the pastor. In 2009 the Mite Box will go to the New Church of the Southwest Desert where Rev. Dr. Sky Paradise is the pastor. I had an opportunity to talk at length with both Rev. Jenn and Rev. Sky while I was at convention so I got to hear from them how much work is involved in starting up a church. They are both working with little or no money so our donations to the Mite Box are crucial to their efforts.
When Rev. Hunter Roberts is successful in planting a new church in Western Massachusetts, I hope we'll be able to support her efforts also. Isn't is inspiring that all of these churches are being started by women? We've certainly come a long way!
I'd love to see our history book continued. The book ends with 1990. If anyone has access to notes from annual meetings from 1990 onward that would help immensely! We also need a volunteer to compile the history. At sometime in the future, I'd love to see all of this on a web-site! For the time being, I'll be satisfied with this blog. I hope you are too!

Would other members like to post to this blog?

If other members of the Women's Alliance would like to post to this blog please let me know and I can add you to the list of authors.

I think it would be wonderful to hear of the activities of your local alliances, trips to Gathering Leaves in the UK or any other relevant news you might have to share.

Blogging is very easy. Anyone can do it!

Convention 2008

When I walked into the room at Bridgewater State College, where the lovely luncheon of the Women's Alliance was to be held, I was simply looking forward to having a nice meal and getting caught up with some old friends. I chose to sit at a table with Rev. Jenn Tafel (I was once Jenn's babysitter at Convention 1980 at Wellesley College), Missy Sommer (who I know from Almont), Pat Sommer (Missy's mother), Mareta Tafel (Jenn's mother), Rev. Hunter Roberts and a few others.

Shortly after I arrived, Barb Boxwell (who I know from past Conventions and a few summers at Almont), approached me and asked if I would be willing to be president of the Alliance. I asked her if I could think about it for a few minutes and get back to her. I consulted with Rev. Jenn Tafel, who was president a few years back and was assured that I was certainly capable of handling the responsibilities. I knew that when I was planning to attend Convention in Bridgewater, MA after a 14 year hiatus that I wasn't going to be able to leave there without something like being nominated and elected to an office was going to happen. Well, it did! The wonderful women elected me their president.

I am excited about working with a group of wonderful women who care so much about the Alliance and our church.

I've added a link to Rev. Dr. Sky Paradise's website for her church in Silverton, NM. The mite box money that was collected at Convention this year (over $800) will go to her efforts in the Southwest Desert. Mite Box donations will continue to be collected over the course of the year. I hope that we can continue to support the church's mission efforts in the US, Canada and abroad.

Please send me your comments and/or suggestions. I had a great time at Convention '08 and am looking forward to Convention '09 in Seattle!