This week we are all preparing for the Annual Fashion Show and Tea. As part of our meeting, we are using this devotional. It is timely and so appropriate as we prepare our fashions from recycled materials!
Consider the Lilies of the Field, Matthew 6:25-33
By Lois Parker Edstrom
OBJECTS SUGGESTED: A clothing catalog or advertising pages from the newspaper that feature clothing.
Many of you live where you are able to visit a shopping mall or a large department store. If you’ve had that experience you probably noticed racks and racks of clothing – all kinds of pants, shirts, blouses, skirts, and sweaters.
Those of you who live in the country may look through catalogs and find pages and pages of clothing.
It is fun to look at all the choices – the beautiful colors and different styles; to think about how those clothes would look on you. You may have a favorite color. You may like a little sparkle and glitter on your tee shirt. You may wish to have just the right brand of sneakers or a hat that has the name of your favorite sports team on the front of it.
Jesus teaches us about many things and it might surprise you to find that he even spoke about clothing. This is what he said: “Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.”
Jesus asks us to think about wild flowers we see growing in the fields. They are beautiful just the way they are, in the colors and arrangements God gave them. Jesus says that even Solomon, who was a very rich king, was not dressed as well as the lovely wild flowers found in the fields.
You are beautiful just the way you are––the way God made you. It is fun to get a new dress or a new shirt. It is fun to dress up for special occasions in fine clothes. This is all good, but Jesus reminds us not to let clothes become too important to us––not to worry about what we wear and how we look.
This time of the year we give thanks for our many blessings: our friends and family, our food, our homes, the beauty of nature, and yes, our clothing. We remember that all of our blessings come from God and give thanks.
Scripture quotations from the World English Bible
Copyright 2008, Richard Niell Donovan
How to Talk to Youth About Bias
We invite parents, leaders, clergy and adult supporters of GFS to a free workshop on Saturday, September 12, from 10AM to Noon, to become better skilled as youth leaders. We are presenting it in partnership with the Anti-Defamation League.
Please watch this video of Margaret Nolde, President of the board of GFS-Los Angeles diocese, explaining our purpose for offering this program.
This award winning program helps participants:
• recognize bias and the harm it inflicts on individuals and society
• build understanding of the value and benefits of diversity
• improve intergroup relations
• confront racism, anti-Semitism and all other forms of bigotry
Registration required
We must have a minimum of 25 participants and no more than 50. Please register by September 8.
REGISTRATION
Please complete this short survey to help inform the workshop leader.
GFS responds to COVID-19 impact on girls
GFS LA holding a Zoom series gathering our members from around the diocese.
GFS responds to COVID-19 impact on girls
GFS-LA has gone on many outings together – camp, beach parties and rally days. Now we are staying at home due to COVID-19, but to respond to the current needs of our girls, we have a new online event – Fly Away with GFS!
Our skilled GFS-LA leaders are holding a 3 weekend Zoom series to help girls acknowledge, evaluate and address their social, emotional, spiritual and physical needs during the stay-at-home orders. Each meeting involves activities such as dancing, spiritual devotion, teaching and a chance for girls to share ideas and talk.
Girls got involved right away, chatting on the sidebar, waving to each other, sharing feelings and joining in the dancing. This is an evolving activity as we all get used to a different format. Next meeting is May 23, grab your ticket contact [email protected]!
News from Phildelphia – A tour of the City of Brotherly Love
After the tour, we went to a lunch place, ate Philly Cheesesteaks and we cooled of at a Starbucks for a while. Finally we made our way to buy souvenirs and the Betsy Ross museum. Philadelphia is very old and it has a lot of history to it. When we went through neighborhoods the houses looked very old fashioned. The place I enjoyed the most was the Liberty bell because it was pretty. We also saw some old technology called busy bodies. It was a three way mirror so people on the second floor could see who was at the door without the visitor seeing them.
Clover Brantner
News from Philadelphia – Nya Thomas
Building Alheri Village – Yewande Austin
Yewande Aistin
Today we met Yewande Austin and she talked a lot about helping young people from terrorists and human trafficking in Nigeria. She is teaching people how to farm and how to make their own reusable pads. She is also trying to build a village for people who come back from human trafficking and those who live in tents. She also talked about how she held summer camps for girls who want to learn how to speak their minds. Her talk was very inspirational because she uses some of her own money to fund the children, and even though she knows building her village might fail, she keeps trying.
Nya Thomas
July 4, 2019
News from Philadelphia – A Life Ignited
Aiyana Harris
July 3, 2019
News from Philadelphia – Junior Delegate
Aiyana Harris
July 1, 2019
News from Philadelphia – Opening Ceremonies
Mikaela Sesler
July 1, 2019
Girls’ Friendly Society Marks 140 Years!
For 140 years the Girls’ Friendly Society has been helping girls and young women to make their way in an often uncertain society. This year we celebrate 140 years of providing education and shelter for women. Although our focus has changed over the years from training to formation, our dedication to helping create a nurturing environment with a Christian emphasis has not. Join us this May as we celebrate our anniversary at St. John’s Pro Cathedral in Los Angeles. Click here to see a slideshow of the event!
Folding Palm Crosses
It is a GFS tradition to make palm crosses for the church for use on Palm Sunday. Gather your girls for a meeting the day before Palm Sunday and learn this fun craft. There are many how to videos and instructions online.
Below are two versions of the cross to try. Each requires patience and precision. Don’t be surprised that there will be a lot of frustration at first. However, once the girls learn the trick of folding a palm cross, you won’t be able to stop them. I call the ability to fold a palm cross the secret handshake of GFS.
Finish up your Saturday afternoon meeting with an additional craft or a game.
The Lillies of the Field
This week we are all preparing for the Annual Fashion Show and Tea. As part of our meeting, we are using this devotional. It is timely and so appropriate as we prepare our fashions from recycled materials!
Consider the Lilies of the Field, Matthew 6:25-33
OBJECTS SUGGESTED: A clothing catalog or advertising pages from the newspaper that feature clothing.
Many of you live where you are able to visit a shopping mall or a large department store. If you’ve had that experience you probably noticed racks and racks of clothing – all kinds of pants, shirts, blouses, skirts, and sweaters.
Those of you who live in the country may look through catalogs and find pages and pages of clothing.
It is fun to look at all the choices – the beautiful colors and different styles; to think about how those clothes would look on you. You may have a favorite color. You may like a little sparkle and glitter on your tee shirt. You may wish to have just the right brand of sneakers or a hat that has the name of your favorite sports team on the front of it.
Jesus teaches us about many things and it might surprise you to find that he even spoke about clothing. This is what he said: “Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.”
Jesus asks us to think about wild flowers we see growing in the fields. They are beautiful just the way they are, in the colors and arrangements God gave them. Jesus says that even Solomon, who was a very rich king, was not dressed as well as the lovely wild flowers found in the fields.
You are beautiful just the way you are––the way God made you. It is fun to get a new dress or a new shirt. It is fun to dress up for special occasions in fine clothes. This is all good, but Jesus reminds us not to let clothes become too important to us––not to worry about what we wear and how we look.
This time of the year we give thanks for our many blessings: our friends and family, our food, our homes, the beauty of nature, and yes, our clothing. We remember that all of our blessings come from God and give thanks.
Scripture quotations from the World English Bible
Copyright 2008, Richard Niell Donovan