[babydawn]

What does everyone think of the new Enrichment Program? Do you like it or the old one better? What things would you like to see and what things have you done that you really enjoyed?

[Mim23]

I used to be on the Enrichment committee. I was just released in fact. I have seen some wards do some really fun things like book clubs, and scrapbooking clubs. Good social and fun stuff. I think the sisters need that. My ward actually went backwards. They stopped the official playgroup. And they believe that every activity needs to teach in some way. I can see both sides, but I wish that they would encourage the social a bit more in my ward, because when sisters are friends it is easier to know when someone is in need of help.

I think that it is a good change, but I do miss the spiritual message at the beginning. What do you do in your ward?

[babydawn]

I am the Enrichment leader in our ward, which is part of why I asked the question. I think what we are trying to pull off is good, but it is taking a bit more work than I had hoped. We surveyed all of the sisters in the ward and asked what they would like to learn or do at the activities. We then split them into 9 different groups, and called someone to head each group up. The groups we have are Gardening, Preparedness, Crocheting, Book Club, Crafts, Food, Temple Group, Genealogy, and Physical Fitness. There is also supposed to be four meetings per year, which I have taken to mean through the meetings I have had with leaders, that these four meetings are supposed to be more on the spiritual side. The only problem for me is I no longer have an Enrichment Board to plan the quarterly meetings. It is just the me and the counselor. I have always taken the letter from the First Presidency to mean that the change has been put in place so we can meet the needs and interests of the sisters in our own wards. I have also taken it to mean that they want us to build strong friendships through Enrichment, which is difficult if there is no time for socializing. I guess every Enrichment leader has to do what they feel is the most needed. I hope that your ward catches the vision of it. I hope I do too!

[Mim23]

I don't think that my ward is going to change anytime soon. I was on the enrichment committee for 18 months, went through three different leaders, and a new presidency. The new presidency is very set on what they are doing. I think it is sad, because the new sisters who move into the ward are having a hard time meeting people because none of the social activities are announced. The sisters in the ward do their own groups: play group, craft group, book club, etc, but since they are not getting announced, the new sisters don't know about them, and so when they finally realize about the play group they are relieved that there is something there for them. However they have offered some great classes. I just went to one on container gardening, and it has really helped me to try it. Something I wanted to do for years.

It is tough being the only planner, will they not get you more committee members. I think the four big activities are supposed to be more spiritual, but also a lot like the old activities maybe a guest speaker, and some classes. It sounds like your ward is doing a great job. Are you having mainly daytime or evening activities or both?

[babydawn]

I had a whole committee and then when the program changed, all but one person got released, and she has had a couple of major surgeries so I don't want to ask her to do much. My friend told me about something she saw in another church building. On the RS bulliten board, they put a large poster with all of the enrichment groups names and contacts on it, then they had little pockets for each one with little slips of paper that women could take home as a reminder of when and what the next activity for Enrichment was. I am thinking of doing this myself. I really hope that your ward catches that women are supposed to be socializing and building friendships through this. It is so needed right now.

[writerchick]

I was, until just recently, in the Relief Society presidency in our ward, and the biggest concern I had about the new program is that instead of drawing all the sisters together, it would break us up into little cliques or groups. I don't know for sure that this will happen because the new presidency hasn't starting implementing anything yet. We were just going to be absolutely certain that everyone felt invited to every event. But I trust that the new program is there for a reason, so I expect there to be many benefits!

[babydawn]

The cliques were a concern for us as well. I do however, understand why they are changing things around. For one, they want to suit the needs and interests of the sisters in the ward. Breaking up into groups works out great for this. In my ward, we have a huge variety of sisters, everywhere from newlywed to widowed 80 year old women. Although some of the needs and interests for these women are the same, many are different. There are women who are wonderful at sewing and would show little interest in going to a sewing class (unless they were teaching it of course) but it would appeal to a number of other women. I think that it will take a good year to work all of the kinks out. I just hope we can keep them fun and educational and relaxed so the sisters really can get to know one another.

[writerchick]

Yes, I think it will take a while to work all the kinks out. And what you said about some of the older women not being interested in a sewing class, unless they were teaching it, is also key. Asking them to share their wisdom rather than sit there and be taught something they already know is one way to keep them involved.

[verbena]

The new Enrichment program was introduced several months after I had moved into my new ward. One of the things I had noticed right away when I moved in was that my ward was very good at having "mini" activities/groups during the month in addition to the actual Enrichment meeting once a month. However, when the new program was announced, I've noticed it has actually created a struggle as to trying to "formally" form interest groups, when this was already going on quite naturally. Unfortunately it has become more focused on the scheduling of events rather than the casual getting together of friends. I agree that it will take a good year to get the system running smoothly.

[writerchick]

Here it is the middle of May and we haven't had a single activity outside of the Relief Society birthday party in March, which was like a regular enrichment night. It might be a year just to get it running, let alone smoothly. It seems like it will be a lot more work, at least initially, to figure it all out.