Spring is finally here, and our 2017 – 2018 year for Women of Hope is drawing to a close. A very BIG THANK YOU to all who participated in and supported our activities to help our church, our community and our mission project. We feel very blessed to not only have such an active group of ladies working together, but an entire congregation pitching in to help with our projects!
The Easter Bake Sale was a wonderful success again this year, and we were able to raise $1,069, which is a new record! Thanks to Terri Stade and Kay Cooke, pictures were taken and are on the church website. Many thanks to everyone who helped with the sale – baking/making unique novelty items, packing, transport, selling, buying, set up/clean up. Proceeds will be used to help purchase additional gas cards for the Twin Lakes Police Department to be given to those in need, a couple of projects for our church that are still in the planning stages, and our donation to A Place of Refuge.
Before we break from meetings for the Summer, we do have some other things to look forward to this Spring! Our annual dinner meeting will be on Monday, May 21 at 6:00pm, here at the church. It will be a potluck, same as last year, with Richter's chicken. As always, we will find out who our amazing Secret Sisters have been for the past year, and will pick new ones. We will also be provided with new Prayer Sisters. Forms for Secret Sisters/Prayer Sisters and a sign-up sheet for the dinner are in the Narthex. All ladies are welcome to participate, but please sign up and let us know what you will be bringing. Please return the forms to either Gail, Tami, Dawn or Doris. A Secret Sister form will also be emailed, so you can fill it out online and send back to me if you would like to do that instead.
In May we will present all ladies of the congregation attending the Mothers' Day service with carnations, and will have our annual “shower” for the women and children at A Place of Refuge in Milwaukee. A Place of Refuge is our mission project again this year, and we hope to be able to collect and deliver many wonderful items, plus a check to them in June. All members of the congregation are welcome to shop for adorable baby clothes and toys, as well as practical things such as diapers and toiletries. Watch for the display in the Narthex and please see me if you have a question on what to bring.
A couple of projects will be going on after our May meeting, so we will continue with special activities over the summer months. We will be doing shut-in visits on June 23. If you are interested in joining us, please see Doris. We will meet for lunch at the Red Barn in Twin Lakes following the visits. Once again, we will be providing cookies to sell at the Brat sales at Richter's. This has been a huge success over the past three years and helps defray expenses for brats and supplies. Sign-up sheets for baking are in the Narthex for the May 19 event. At our May meeting we will discuss a special food drive for “kid friendly” lunch items since the school subsidized lunch program ends when the school year ends. We will also continue collecting items for the Blessings Bags for the homeless, and making additional bags – everyone is welcome to take bags to give to those in need.
Once again, God bless everyone for your support and dedication. Have a wonderful Summer!
Gail Feick, President
Women of Hope
