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We commit ourselves to:
- Grow in faith
- Affirm our gifts
- Support one another in our callings
- Engage in Ministry and action
- Promote wholeness and healing in the church, society, and the world
To carry out growing in faith, affirming our gifts, and supporting one another’s calling, our women meet monthly. Ten meetings a year are held in small group settings. At these meetings a Christian based educational program is presented, we share fellowship, have a short business meeting, and may work on mission projects. Two months a year we all meet together. In this setting we get to know all our members more closely, share a meal, and have a speaker or entertainment. All meetings are planned to strengthen each women as a whole person, develop her potential, and encourage her ministry.
Through Ministry and Action, our members act upon their faith. Contacting our Church’s homebound members is a high priority whether it is a visit, telephone call or card. At Christmas each person receives a small gift and in June a flower is delivered to him or her.
It is rewarding to have our church members support many of our projects. Projects like our Fair Trade Coffee, Tea and Chocolate Bar sale to support farmers in Third World Countries. Lutheran World Relief Projects include collecting school bag items needed to fill kits sewn by Circle Women, yards of fabric enabling women around the world to make their clothes or have a small business making them for others, and quilts made by our members that serve many purposes in far off lands. In addition, our congregational members, to cover the cost of shipping these items to their designated locations, donate monies.
At Christmas, members of Circles each contribute to monies to the Lutheran Home Resident’s Christmas Fund, gifts for the York County Home residents, items to fill stockings for the Salvation Army Project, and homemade cookies for the residents at Margaret Moul Home.
Under the leadership of our women, children who temporarily live at Access York are recipients of cuddly blankets donated by members of our congregation. When they leave the shelter with their mothers they take this prized possession with them.
Women from Circles also respond to God’s call to serve by their involvement in Congregational Ministry and Community Outreach Activities. Last year nearly 2000 acts of service were reported. Among them was serving receptions for baptisms and new members.
As members of W/E.L.C.A., we have the opportunity to meet women from other churches at Leadership days, Retreats, Cluster Meetings, Day of Renewal, W/E.L.C.A. meetings of the Lower Susquehanna Synod and Triennial Convention. Each of these events certainly gives us the opportunities to fulfill the purpose of the organization as listed above.
Our income comes from our member’s free will offering – whether that is our monthly offering, Least Coin Offering or Thank Offering. Circle women take turns each month collecting monies to donate to Our Daily Bread on George Street. One half of our monthly offering goes to our W/E.L.C.A. Synod Office, as does our Thank Offering. Least Coin goes to Church Women United. We carry over no funds from year to year. In November, we vote to divide our funds. Our usual beneficiaries is the church deficit as well as other worth while church projects. We also contribute to projects such as our Refugee Family and the Katrina Disaster. All our lifestyles are changing and because of that our organization is changing also. What will not change are our generous hearts, our desire to study God’s Word, to do His work through our many projects, support one another, and to promote healing and wholeness around us.