Announcements and Lesson - 11 January 2015

Announcements:

We are very sad to announce the death of two members of the ward over this last week - Sister Evelyn Dawdry passed away unexpectedly last Sunday and Brother Hugh Turner after a long illness on Monday.  Our love and thoughts are with their spouses and families.

The provisional dates for the funeral for Hugh is January 29th, and Evelyn on February 2nd but we will confirm these as more details become available.

Bishop came into RS today to thank the Sisters for their kindnesses and continual acts of service, not just to the families of Evelyn and Hugh but to all those who are suffering in different ways at the moment.  He thanked the sisters for acting in ways as the Saviour would.

We have one of our less-active sisters currently in hospital in a very serious condition.  Sister Glenda Harrigan (nee Cocker) suffered a brain aneurysm and has been left with severe brain damage and an uncertain prognosis.  The family have asked if any sisters who knew Glenda would like to visit they would very much appreciate this.  She is on Shotley ward, visiting hours are 2.30-6.30pm.  As Glenda is unresponsive visits need to be kept quite short.

We also have several sisters who will be having surgery in the near future so sisters may be needed to assist with providing meals and assistance.  More details will be given next Sunday.

This Wednesday evening 7.30pm at the Ipswich Chapel is the General Priesthood Meeting.

Friday 16th January is our Stake Temple Evening.

Lesson:

Today we had the first lesson from the Teachings of President Ezra Taft Benson: The Great Commandment - Love the Lord which was taught by Beth Baxter.

Beth started by sharing the following video to set the scene of what we would learn today:

 
Many of us remember President Benson and his leadership of the Church and it is well recorded of how much he loved the Lord and served Him with all his heart.   The manual shared a formula that Pres Benson lived to and counselled the members to do likewise:

The great test of life is obedience to God.
The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it.
The great commandment of life is to love the Lord.

If we think over our lives and the actions we take - is this how we act? 

So how are we if we love the Lord?  What is that love like?  Pres Benson described this perfectly:  "To love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength is all-consuming and all-encompassing.  It is no lukewarm endeavour.  It is total commitment of our very being - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually - to a love of the Lord."

He went on to say that if we truly love the Lord we would place Him foremost in our lives.  We thought about some of the things that sometimes in reality we place in front of Him - maybe work pressures, or fitting in with friends, not managing our time well, 'spending our strength' on things that are not important, desiring material goods, caring too much about how we look or in following the Celebrity culture.   However when we act the way President Benson is teaching, he says "When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives.  Out love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.  We should put God ahead of everyone else in our lives."  This was something that Pres Benson not only taught but lived on a daily basis.

We discussed the example of Joseph and his experience with Potiphar's wife from the Old Testament and how we can learn from his clear declaration 'How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God.'  

We shared feelings about how hard life can be sometimes with so much to fit into our lives, but were able to share testimony that although we are being asked by the Lord to love Him and to live as He would wish us to, the blessings for doing so are much more than we ever give. 

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives that they can.  He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace.  Whoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life."

Sisters we truly can learn to love the Lord the way President Benson taught, to love Him with all our heart, to put Him at the foremost of our lives and the blessings that come will be immense, our lives will be so much better, happier and full of the spirit.  Is there something you can do to enable this to happen in your life?

Announcements & Lesson - 28 December 2014

Announcements:

- Happy New Year -

 

We have our Ward New Years Eve party this week on Wednesday starting from 9pm.  This has a 1920's theme with optional fancy dress.

We have been asked to bring sweet and savoury refreshments.  There will also be a great range of music and a photo booth.

On Tuesday 30th December we have a Youth Temple Trip - please ensure if your youth are attending that their youth leaders / Bishopric are aware of this.  Any queries please speak to Ros Lafevre or Rui Sousa.


Lesson:

Sisters we didn't have any notes taken from todays lesson in Ipswich Ward however the same lesson was taught throughout the Stake so for today please refer to the Stake Relief Society blog (link below) for the lesson notes:

Ipswich Stake RS Blog

Announcements & Lesson - 21 December 2014

Announcements:

This evening we have our Ward 'Music and the Spoken Word' from 6.30pm - 8.00pm.  Please have your Primary children there on time as they are singing at the start of the service.

Our Christmas Day Service will be held from 10.00am - 11.00am, all are welcome to attend.

On Boxing Day we have the baptism of Ana Fila at 6.30pm.  Please come along and support this family, the service will be in Portuguese.

Tuesday 30th December, our youth have a Temple Trip.  If your youth are planning to attend please ensure the Bishop / Youth leaders are made aware as soon as possible.

We are sad to announce the death of Brother Brian Clarke, one of the pioneer members of the Cambridge Ward this week.  His funeral will be held at the Cambridge Chapel on Christmas Eve at 11am.  All who would like to pay their respects to Bro Clarke are welcomed to attend.

Lesson:

Cristina Torres gave our lesson today based on Chapter 26 of Teachings of Joseph Fielding Smith - 'Preparing for the Coming of our Lord'.

She began by asking us how we felt about the 'end of the world'...it was a general consensus that although the events that need to happen before the Lord can come again may cause fear, we can look forward to His return.  President Smith once told a group of Latter-day Saints that he was praying for the end of the world...he taught: "Do you not want the end of the world to come?...When Christ comes there will be an end to the world...There will be no war, any turmoil, envying, lying, there will be no wickedness.  Men will learn to love the Lord and keep His commandments and if they don't they will not stay there...That's what I am praying for."

But it very much becomes OUR duty to make sure both ourselves and our familes are ready for that day.

We watched the following video clip: Be Not Troubled

The Saviour taught the parable of the Wheat and the Tares which teaches us of the Last Days in which we live.  "According to the story a sower planted good seed in his field but while he slept the enemy came and sowed tares in the field.  When the blades began to show, the servants desired to go and pluck up the tares but the Lord commanded them to let both grow together until the harvest was ripe...At the end of the harvest they were to go forth and gather the wheat and bind the tares to be burned." Sisters - the tares and wheat as they grew looked alike, the servants would not have been able to see the difference but the Lord can.  The Lord knows our hearts, He knows how we live in our homes and in our personal lives, and it is our duty to ensure we are living righteous lives in preparation to once meet Him again.

We too must ensure our families are living righteous lives so they too will be ready to meet Him when He comes again.  We do this by our example.  By teaching them very clearly what is right and what is wrong, and by living that way ourselves.

As we listened to President Smith's account of how the Millennium will be at the end of the lesson, our hearts were touched by his words - what would we not do to ensure both us and our families and friends can be a part of this:

"The righteous will rejoice when he comes, because then peace will come to the earth, righteousness to the people and that same spirit of peace and joy and happiness...shall again be established among the people...and Christ shall reign as Lord of lords and King of kings for a thousand years.  We are looking forward to that time.

"For one thousand years shall this happy time of peace prevail and in due time all the inhabitants of the earth shall be brought into the fold of the church.

"The gospel will be taught far more intensely and with greater power during the Millennium until all inhabitants of the earth shall embrace it.

"Instead of being a time of rest, the Millennium is to be a time for all to labour.  Idleness will not be found, better methods will be employed, not so much time will be consumed in the daily pursuits and more time will be given to the things of the Kingdom.  The saints will be kept busy in the temples which shall be built in all parts of the land.  In fact, so busy will they be that the temples will be occupied most of the time."

What a wonderful time we have to look forward to.  May we decide now to make the changes we need to ensure we are a part of that day.

Announcements and Lesson - 14 December 2014

Announcements:

Sunday 21st December 6.30pm - 8.00pm we have our Ward Music and the Spoken Word (with carols and readings) and is a great opportunity to bring along friends and family to celebrate the Christmas season together.

Christmas Day - we have a Christmas service from 10-11am.  All are welcome to attend.

Tuesday 30th December - the Youth are having a temple trip to perform baptisms - more details to follow.

Also sisters, the Stake Relief Society have now started a blog for all Sisters in the Stake.  This is a chance for us to unite as a Stake and to learn and love one another. It will over the coming months include messages from the Stake RS Presidency, news of events and service projects we can work on together.   The web address is as follows, if you wish to receive an email each time an update is added please go to the blog and add your email address:

http://ipswichstakereliefsociety.blogspot.co.uk/


Lesson:

Today's lesson was given by Sister Graca Serra, Chapter 25 of The Teachings of President Smith 'The Birth of Jesus Christ: Good Tidings of Great Joy.

President Smith said 'Christmas is a time for families...I now pray that as this Christmas season, we may centre our faith in the Son of God and gain for ourselves that peace which passeth understanding.'

Graca asked what Christmas traditions we have as families?  One many of us have done is to dress up and perform the nativity.  President Smith stated that our Christmas traditions should centre on the story of the Saviour's birth as there is no story quite so beautiful.

A discussion was held about the challenges that Christ had to face growing up on the earth and how He chose to deal with these.  Jesus although born the Son of God, like us had to learn line upon line - he chose to study and learn, and he chose to do those things that brought him closer to His Father.  Could this be a lesson in how we handle the challenges in our own lives and how we progress to be more like Him?

The question was posed: what was the main reason Christ came to the earth?   President Smith explained it this way 'the true reason for the coming of Jesus Christ into the world...was first to redeem all men from the physical or mortal death, which Adam brought into the world, and second, to redeem all men from spiritual death or banishment from the presence of the Lord on conditions of their repentance and remission of sins and endurance to the end of the mortal probation.'

When the Saviour has given so much to us Sisters, what are we doing in our lives to show our heartfelt gratitude to Him?  Are we attending church devotedly each week?  Are we willing to spread the joy of this wonderful message?  Are we willing to do the difficult things He asks of us?

Think about these questions as you watch this short video clip 'Good tidings of Great Joy'  HERE

President Smith asked of us: 'How can anyone read this touching story of the

birth of Jesus Christ without wishing to forsake his sins?  At this season of the year it is well for one and all - the king in his palace, the peasant in his humble cottage, the rich and the poor alike - to bow the knee and pay honour to Him who was without sin, whose like was spent in sacrifice and sorrow for the benefits of his fellow man, whose blood was shed as a sacrifice for sin...

'...What of this wonderful story?  Have we permitted it to permeate and influence our lives?  Have we accepted it in its full meaning without reservations?  Do we believe that this babe was in very deed the only begotten Son of God in the flesh?  Do we have abiding faith in His mission and are we willing to obediently follow Him?'

Sisters, this Christmas season, how will you celebrate the birth of Christ?  How will you show the Saviour your gratitude for all He has done?  May we all lay before Him the gift of a broken heart and contrite spirit.

Announcements and Lesson - 7 December 2014

Announcements:

There will be no sports evening this Friday.

Our Ward Christmas Party is this coming Saturday starting at 6pm.  It will include lots of stalls where children can come and along and get creative so a great time to invite friends.  Each family has been asked to bring along a small gift (costing no more than £5) which will be given to FIND who distribute presents and food parcels to those in the area most in need.  Please do not wrap them up and if possible bring them in a gift bag. We have also been asked to bring food for the party.  All families with surnames A - L have been asked to bring a plate of sweet foods and surnames M - Z to bring a plate of savoury foods (please bring finger food only).

FIND have asked if any members would be willing to go to the food bank this week and help with wrapping the presents which have so far been donated.  The times they are open for wrapping are:

Monday 8 Dec - 1.15pm to 4pm
Tuesday 9 Dec - 10.30am to 4pm
Wednesday 10 Dec - 10.30am to 3pm
Thursday 11 Dec - 10am to 2pm
Friday 12 Dec - 10.30am - 4pm

If you would like to go along for an hour or so and need details of where to go etc please speak to Sara McCullum or Gloria Watson.  Please wrap up warm as it can get a bit chilly in the food bank.

18th December we have our Stake Temple Evening.

21st December is our Ward Christmas Music and the Spoken Word- again a great example to share the Christmas spirit with our friends and families.

Also this is a great time to remember the missionaries serving from our ward. Elder Donker is not in need of anything yet but we are asked to please prepare a letter which will be collected together and sent to him.  Also please write letters ready to be sent to the Bob & Margaret Benmore - if you would like to include a small gift for them they would love Cadbury's or Galaxy chocolate!!

Lesson:

Hans Donker gave a presentation to the RS and P'hood today as directed by the Area Presidency:

He is the Gift - Christmas Initiative 2014

The Christmas season brings a variety of thoughts and emotions to God's children throughout the world.  People grow increasingly weary of the stress and commercialization associated with Christmas.  Many sense the true meaning of the Christmas season has been lost.  Around the world, the Christmas season causes the honest in heart to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ.

Under the direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, the He is the Gift initiative focuses on the love of God for His children made manifest in the first gift of Christmas - the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Christmas is a time of reflection on what we can become because of God's sacred gift.  As we discover the gift, we learn of the immeasurable love of God and our absolute need for a Saviour.  As we embrace the gift, we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ, and desire to become more like Him.  As we share the gift we follow in the Master's footsteps who invited all to hear his message."  Elder Russell M Nelson.

As members of the Lord's Church, we can share the gift inviting family and friends to learn more of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

The initiative launched on 28th November and will include:

• He is the Gift video
• Extensive internet and social media messaging and advertising throughout the world.
• Promotion at the Hyde Park visitor's centre
• Christmas pass a long cards
• Christmas.mormon.org website

HERE IS THE LINK TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Please take time to ponder and act on this invitation from Elder David A Bednar:

"I invite each of us to flood the earth with the messages of righteousness and truth found in the He is the Gift initiative.  Visit Christmas.mormon.org to find inspiring content to help discover, embrace and share the gift of God's love for us, made manifest in His Only Begotten Son. By using the hashtag #Sharethegift, we can sweep the earth with timeless - and timely - messages of the Saviour Jesus Christ."  Elder David A Bednar.





We spent a few moments in Relief Society afterwards considering the gifts we could offer the Saviour.  Cristina shared with her the following ideas:

Gift One - We can give Him the gift of doing for others what He would do for them. (Matthew 25:37-40)

Gift Two - We can give Him the gift of praying always, thereby remembering him in all things. (3rd Nephi 18:19-20)

Gift Three - We can give Him the gift of sharing the gospel and be a good example to help bring others to Him. (John 21:15-17 / Matthew 5: 14-16)

Gift Four - When we make mistakes, repent quickly and improve! (Alma 34:32-33)

Gift Five - We can give Him the gift of keeping His commandments. (John 14:15, 21)

Gift Six - Let Christ lift you up when the world weighs you down. (Moroni 9:25 / John 14:27)

Announcements & Lesson - 30 November 2014

Announcements:

Over the next few weeks we have some wonderful Christmas events which will offer some lovely opportunities to invite friends and family to enjoy the season with us.  Next Sunday there will be some flyers available to share with friends.

This Saturday evening we have a Stake Christmas Festival which will include a presentation that is being travelling around the LDS chapels in England.  It is called 'The Christmas Truce' and a trailer can be viewed HERE    We are all asked to bring a cake / cookies and also an empty jar.

Saturday 13th December will be our Ward Christmas Party - more details to follow.

Sunday 21st December will be the Ward 'Music and the Spoken Word' with readings and carols.  Again more details will follow.

We have received a special request this month from our Stake Presidency with regards to Fast Sunday next week, as below:

"We invite all members of the Ipswich Stake to dedicate next week's fast to Esther Greene of the Witham Ward.  Esther is a 15 year old woman who has recently been diagnosed with a cancerous tumour.  This is the third time that she has had cancer and this rare tumour occurred as a result of the radiotherapy she had during previous treatment.  It is a Spindle Cell Sarcoma and the proposed treatment is surgery.  The Greene family have asked us to pray that the treatment plan devised by the clinicians will be inspired and ultimately be successful.  Esther is a very special young woman who is full of faith: as we unify our prayers and fasting we know the Lord will bless the Greene family."

Also we have heard that Sister Lisa Stopcyznski recently passed away - Many of you may remember Lisa who lived in the Woodbridge area and was only in her early 40's.  We ask for prayers for her children.

The RS activity that was planned for Wednesday December 10th has been postponed due to the various Christmas activities and will be rescheduled in the New Year.

Lesson:

Today's Joint RS / P'Hood lesson was given by Bishop Pentreath and Sister Sara McCullum.  At the Saturday evening session of Stake Conference Elder Leimer informed us a new initiative was being introduced with regards to Self Reliance and more information would follow shortly. Today's presentation was the beginning of this.

President Monson said: "Self reliance is an essential element in our spiritual as well as our temporal wellbeing...Salvation can be obtained on no other principle".

With this in mind the First Presidency have introduced 12 new Principles of Self Reliance as follows:

1. Exercise Faith in Jesus Christ
2. Use Time Wisely
3. Be Obedient
4. Manage Money
5. Work: Take responsibility
6. Solve Problems
7. Become One, Work Together
8. Communicate: Petition and Listen
9. Perservere
10. Show Integrity
11. Seek Learning and Education
12. Stay on Task, Receive Ordinances

Bishop and Sara facilitated a presentation on Principle 6 as follows:

Ponder - Why do you feel Heavenly Father allows us to face problems and challenges?

Video Presentation - 'Sheep & Pig' which can be viewed HERE followed by a discussion on what Sheep did to help Pig solve his problem.

Read - Ether 2:18-19, 23, 3:1, 4 and discussed what the Brother of Jared did to solve his problem.

We discussed that we all have problems but the Lord has provided a way for us to face these challenges:

Step One - IDENTIFY - What is the real problem?
Step Two - STUDY OPTIONS - What are possible solutions?  Which one is best?
Step Three - DECIDE AND ACT - Pray for guidance.  Then act with faith.  Good results?  If not, try steps 1-3 again.

We then discussed with our neighbours a problem we may face ourselves and how this process might work. 

The challenge was to identify a problem within our families and over the next week begin working on the Lords process of solving problems.

We then split into 11 groups and each had a chance to work through another of the 12 Principles of Self Reliance.

Throughout 2015 the Ward will be working more with these 12 principles and other parts of the Self Reliance Initiative led by The First Presidency by concentrating on one of these each month. 

The question was posed - Do you believe in the Prophet of God?  And that he informs us of what the Lord needs us to hear and do?  We thought about this as this letter was read from the First Presidency to us:

Dear Brothers & Sisters,

The Lord has declared. 'It is my purpose to provide for my saints' (D&C 104:15).  This revelation is a promise from the Lord that He will provide temporal blessings and open the door of self-reliance, which is the ability for us to provide the necessities of life for ourselves and our family members.

This booklet, My Foundation, has been prepared to help members of the Church learn and put into practice principles of faith, education, hard work and trust in the Lord.  Accepting and living these principles will better enable you to receive the temporal blessings promised by the Lord.

We invite you to diligently study and apply these principles and teach them to your family members.  As you do so, your life will be blessed.  You will learn how to act on your path towards greater self-reliance.  You will be blessed with greater hope, peace and progress.

Please be assured that you are a child of our Father in Heaven.  He loves you and will never forsake you.  He knows you and is ready to extend to you the spiritual and temporal blessings of self-reliance.

Sincerely
The First Presidency

Both Sara (as a member of the Stake Self Reliance Committee) and Bishop have attended training meetings on this new initiative and bore testimony of the truth of these principles and the importance of making these part of our lives and teaching them to our children.

We were invited to review the booklet which can be found in the first link on THIS LINK on LDS.org or within the Self Reliance tab in Gospel Library on  devices (Booklet entitled: My Foundation).

Annoucements & Lesson - 23 November 2014

Announcements:

A reminder that next Sunday is the Primary Sacrament Presentation which is a wonderful time to invite friends and family.  Those with children involved please take some time this week to help them with their assignments.

Next Sunday at 6pm there is a Youth fireside with a guest speaker

On 6th December we have a very special Christmas presentation coming to the Ipswich chapel called The Christmas Truce.  This is being shown in chapels around the country throughout December - a trailer of the event can be seen HERE

Our next RS Activity will be on the 10th December and will be replacing the Cream Tea activity which was cancelled in September. 

The Ward Christmas Party is on 13th December - more details to follow.

FIND the charity who run the towns Food Bank are in need of some help this December in delivering Christmas parcels to some of the neediest families in the town.  We have had a long history now of assisting this charity and if anyone can assist for a couple of hours, please let Sara McCullum know who can put you in touch with them.

Jo Stockill has been assigned to aid the sisters in their trips to the temple.  If any sister is driving to the temple and has spaces, or has no transport but would like to go, please speak with Jo and she will attempt to co-ordinate the two.

Kim Spencer who is the food storage specialist for the Ipswich RS let us know today that next year we will be working on preparing for small emergencies each month, so in a practical way we will be able to build up our storage and also evaluate just what stage we are at and how we can improve. As the state in Buffalo, New York has shown this week, emergencies can come with very little notice - how long would we be able to survive?

Lesson:

Today the lesson was given by Sister Annie Green based on the talk from General Conference by President Henry B Eyring: Continuing Revelation.

The full talk can be viewed / read HERE

Annie started by reminding us how important revelation is for every one of us - indeed the restoration of the church relied on revelation, as the Lord and His Son appeared to Joseph Smith.  

In our lives we all have people we love and care about who we see struggle and we desperately want to assist.  But often we just do not know what we can possibly do to lift those burdens. As President Eyring said 'We all know that human judgement and logical thinking will not be enough to get answers that matter most in life.  We need revelation from God.'  Revelation is so very important, it enables us to hear the voice of the Lord through His Spirit, prompting us, comforting us, directing us, and enabling us to serve one another and begin to lift each other's burdens.  It teaches us truth and allows us to move forward confident in following the Lords words.

President Eyring shared 'Revelations continues in the Church. The prophet receiving it for the Church, the president for his stake, his mission or his quorum, the bishop for his ward, the father for his family, the individual for himself.'

He went on to share a wonderful influence a parent can be when following revelation for their children.  When he would come home late his mother would always be awake, and call gently to him as he passed her door:

'I would go in and sit on the edge of the bed.  The room would be dark.  If you had listened you would have thought it was only friendly talk about life.  But to this day, what she said comes back to my mind with the same power I feel when I read the transcript of my patriarchal blessing.  I don't know what she was asking for in prayer as she waited for me those nights.  I suppose it would have been in part for my safety.  But i am sure that she prayed as a patriarch does before he gives a blessing.  He prays that his words will come to the recipient as the words of God, not his.  My mother's prayers for that blessing were answered on my head.  She is in the spirit world and has been for more than 40 years.  I am sure that she has been exceedingly glad that i was blessed, as she asked, to hear in her counsel the commands of God,  And i have tried to go and do as she hoped I would.'

Do you know the influence YOU can have on those around us as we pray for and follow that revelation?

We then split into four groups where we discussed our own experiences with revelation - what kinds of revelation have we experienced?  Where did those moments happen?  When did they happen?  And what can we do to keep the conduit with the Lord clear so we can more easily receive those promptings? 

It soon became clear, revelation comes to us all.  Often in very small ways, but times where we can see the answers came from the Lord.  What a blessing that is.

What can you do to make sure you are always ready and waiting to hear those promptings?