"And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi,
Let me now go to the field,
and glean ears of corn after him
In whose sight I shall find grace.
And she said unto her, Go, my daughter."
Ruth 2:2 KJV
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‘M’
is for Mission Statement . . .
I had been working on three totally different ideas for my “M” post when a fourth idea came to me during Meeting for Worship while
visiting another Meeting recently when a member of that
Meeting got up and spoke. This Friend talked about the need of having a Mission Statement. I got a scrap of
paper out of my pocket and made a couple of quick notes for later as it hit me
that this might be a better option for my “M”
blog post. So here goes . . .
Most, if not all, businesses and organizations
have a mission or purpose statement. That is a statement that lets others (the public)
know who they are and what their purpose is in a nutshell, or brief statement,
if you will. The mission/purpose statement will appear on printed materials,
websites and the like. A mission or purpose statement can, and should be used,
by a business or organization to keep themselves in check – something that they
can refer to, as needed, to make sure they ARE doing what they say they will.
As the Clerk of Friends Committee on
Scouting I’ve been asked several times over the years what our mission
statement is. During our Annual Meeting in March of 2012 we reviewed and
updated our committees’ Bylaws
and while doing so renamed it Operations and Procedures. This
included updating our Purpose Statement, which now reads:
Friends
Committee on Scouting serves to encourage and promote the faith, history, and
testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) through religious
education programs for Quaker Scouts/Guides and other similar youth
organizations. It does this through the development and promotion of:
· Quaker Religious Awards for young
Friends involved with Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts USA, Camp Fire USA,
and other applicable American youth organizations, as the Committee may
determine.
· The Quaker Religion in Life Award
for young Friends involved with Girl Guides of Canada and Scouts Canada.
· Quaker resource material for
faith-related badges for youth members of other Scout and Guide organizations
throughout the world.
FCS
also seeks to:
· Inform Friends about Quaker
Scouting/Guiding.
· Represent the Religious Society of
Friends (Quakers) to the various national and international Scout/Guide
organizations throughout the world.
· Serve as a networking opportunity
for Friends involved in Quaker Scouting/Guiding Recognize adult volunteers with
the various national Scout/Guide organizations throughout the world with the
“Friends Emblem”.
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| A little closer look . . . |
First from my Meeting, Mooresville Friends Mission Statement, as found on our monthly newsletter:
“Our
Mission: As members of the Religious
Society of Friends, we believe that Jesus Christ can speak to the conditions of
all people. Mooresville Friends Church seeks
to become a place of renewal, healing, comfort, and love in the community. We exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, by reaching
out and sharing the love of Christ with the wider community, equipping
Christians to minister as members of God’s Kingdom, and encouraging Christians
to live a victorious, spirit-filled life.”
Second from my Yearly Meeting, Western
Yearly Meeting of the Friends Church Purpose Statement:
“Seeking
the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Western Yearly Meeting equips Friends Meetings
in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by exercising mutual care and extending
cooperative ministries. Through various expressions of our Christian faith, we
strive to inspire ministry and the release of gifts of leadership.”
And Third from Western Yearly
Meeting Outreach Board, of which I am a member, I found the following
mission/purposes listed in the 2016 Resource & Minute Book:
“This
Board has two main duties. The first is to promote outreach projects throughout
the yearly meeting. The second is to be good stewards of the assets we receive
from our trust fund distributions.”
The Friend who spoke in Meeting for
Worship went further than having a Mission/Purpose Statement for the corporate group
and talked about having a Personal
Mission Statement. An interesting thought to ponder.
We all have a mission in our lives,
a purpose if you will, but I’m wondering how many of us, Friends or not, have
ever sat down and really thought about what our mission or purpose in life is.
How many of us have sat down, like a business or organization and put that
mission or purpose down in writing? Sad to say that I’ve not done that . . .
something to consider doing.
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| A Squirrel! |
This last Wednesday when we returned to the Meeting House after lunch to continue sewing and quilting I looked up and saw something on the top of the Meeting House. What was it? We had recently had the roof replace, could the high winds have knocked some shingles loose? Looking a bit longer I realized that it was a squirrel! OK, not uncommon for squirrels to be up on the roof, but this one didn't appear to be moving. Was he/she stuck? Scarred? I had plenty of time to go into the Friendship House across the parking lot to grab my camera and take quite a few pictures. An hour or so later when I looked out the window this little squirrel was gone. But as I got ready to publish this post I was looking for pictures, and these came to my mind as they seemed to fit. As I said above, we all have a mission in our lives . . . so did/does this squirrel! If nothing more than to make us pause for a bit Wednesday to wonder 'What is that up there?' and then to wonder 'Is he/she stuck/scared?'
Think about
it. What is your mission or purpose in life? Is it to make others pause for a bit and wonder 'What's up?' OR 'Am I stuck/scared?' God knows what it is, but do you?
Writing this has reminded me of a
song that we taught the students in Weekday Religious Education classes (third
and fourth graders) “God Has a Plan”:
“God
has a plan for you and me:
Only
He knows what we can be
Follow
His teachings and learn to trust
God
has a plan for us.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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2012 'Monkey
Wench' block
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‘M’
is for Monkey Wrench . . . same
name – different look. Monkey Wrench is another one of those quilt blocks that
isn’t just one block – that is our quilting group at Mooresville Friends
Meeting has made Monkey Wrench quilt blocks twice but they have totally
different looks to them.
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| 2016 'Monkey Wrench' block |
Monkey Wrench is one of the quilt
blocks that is said to have been used in quilts used along the Underground
Railroad here in the United States. Either alone or in a quilt with blocks of
many patterns, it was a sign to the slaves to gather the tools they would need
for their journey to freedom. Tools that could be used to build shelters, help
determine direction, used as weapons to defend themselves (such as a Monkey
Wrench), etc.
Who would have thought that I could talk about squirrels and monkeys in the same blog post and have it make some sense????
Who would have thought that I could talk about squirrels and monkeys in the same blog post and have it make some sense????
