Marple Christian Church

Welcoming All as Christ Welcomes Us

Christian Women's Fellowship

CWF
Members of CWF. Top row left to right: The Rev. Janet Moore, Dale Blair, Sharon Margolis, Barbara Ann Floyd, Irene Thompson, Pat Treat, and Emily Treat. Lower row left to right: Janet Settee, Marion Johnson, Becky Johnson, Joanne Birch, and Mary Mallory.

The Christian Women's Fellowship of Marple Christian Church, Broomall, PA, has a benevolent project nearly every month (except July, August, and September). The monthly meetings can take place either in a classroom of the church building or in the home of the hostess of each meeting. All women are invited. Please contact the church to confirm the date and place, and if you need to arrange transportation or directions.

Meetings in September and June begin with a "salad supper" at 6:30 p.m. with the program beginning at 7:30. Meetings from October through May are on the second Wednesday of the month. The morning group's meetings include reports and planning sessions from 10 to 11:30. The business is followed by a 15 minute program and 10-15 minute devotional, ending by 12 a.m. Often we work on a project (projects listed below, by month) instead of having a program. At noon the meeting is followed by lunch (usually a bring-your-own-sandwich lunch with the beverages and a salad or dessert provided by the hostess), and sometimes followed by finishing up a project, which can go until 2 p.m. (participants are free to leave when they need to).

From October through May there is also usually an evening group which meets the same Wednesdays as the morning group. There is neither a business meeting nor meal (therefor no hostess - although often someone brings a dessert) at the evening meetings, but there is a 10-15 minute devotional. This group usually has the same program or project as the morning group. They generally meet from 7:30 to 8:30 or 9:00 p.m., depending on how long the project takes.

Our planned 2007-2008 CWF meetings and projects are:

September - Salad Supper at 6:30 p.m., followed by a meeting or program (contact church for details) and worship. For this program we often invite a guest speaker or group. In 2006 our guests were the JoyBells. In 2008 we expect to meet on September 10th. Salad Suppers are always held in the Church building.

[Also in September: The annual regional women's Retreat will be from Friday evening, September 26 through noon September 28, 2008, in Laurelview, Pennsylvania. For more information about Retreats, the Region, or Disciples Women's Ministries, use the links at the bottom of this page.]

October - 10:00 at the church building. In 2008 we expect to meet on October 8th. We will prepare group craft projects for the annual Craft Fair (this year theCraft Fair falls on October 18, 2008) and finalize plans. Click on the red letters to learn more about our annual Craft Fair (a fundraiser). Then click on Photographs. We will conclude our planning session with a devotional that includes highlights from the CWF Retreat. Craft-making to follow either the devotional or the luncheon.

November - The project for this month is to fill Christmas Stockings with toiletries and niceties for Fair Acres, a state-supported home for the elderly in (Granite Run) Delaware County. The Christmas stockings for women are red and are to contain several of the following: Hand lotion, body powder, a toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, comb, shampoo, soap, wash cloth, socks, jewelry and cards. The green stockings, for men, are to contain shaving lotion in a plastic bottle, tooth brush, tooth paste, comb, shampoo, soap, socks, stocking cap, pen, note book, playing cards. The meeting is expected to be on Wednesday, November 12th, 2008. We will accept donations of either some of these items or money by the Sunday before this meeting (for assembly at the meeting). The rest of the finished stockings will be collected on the last Sunday of November, and taken to Fair Acres in time for their Christmas parties in early December.

December - We fill Ziploc"goodie bags" for The Life Center of Delaware County, which is a shelter for the homeless (whose director, we've been told, takes many of the goody bags to shelters where children are). The business meeting begins at 10:00 a.m., followed by a devotional. We will work on filling the goody bags instead of having a program.

January - We collect money for baby kits. The money is sent to Church World Service.

February - We make heart pillows for Paoli Hospital (post-surgical pillows sewn in the shape of hearts, to be used for holding against the stitiches when coughing). There is a devotional time, but no program, as we spend that time to work on the pillows both before and, if needed, after the byos luncheon. For the last several years we have made at least 40 pillows each time, so 40 is our minimum goal.

The evening group will not meet this month because on Wednesday the 13th, 2008, our church choir will be singing at St. Marks Lenten service beginning at 7:30.

March - Because the need for the heart pillows is so great, we will be continuing making heart pillows in March. The meeting will be on Wednesday, March 12, 2008. Barbara Ann Floyd will be our hostess.

The evening group will also meet on Wednesday, March 12, 2008, at 7:30; also at the church building, and also stuffing heart pillows.

We used to collect items for School Kits in March to send them to Church World Service, but our Children's Group has taken over this good work. Donations accepted in any amount. (Church World Service needs $11 to make each kit, but the kids are putting together the kits themselves to send in March), with the project being organized by the leaders of the 'Youth' Group. Donations can go to our minister, Rev. Janet Moore; the children will do the shopping. Contents of each kit:
• One pair blunt-tip children's scissors
• Pads or notebooks of ruled paper approximately 8 1/2” x 11”, containing 150-200 sheets of paper
• One 30 centimeter ruler (12 inch)
• One pencil sharpener
• Six new pencils with eraser tops
• One large eraser
• Twelve sheets colored construction paper
• One box of 24 crayons
• One canvas cloth bag, approximately 12” x 14”, with cloth handles (A.C. Moore)
(Instructions from CWS to us: Pack these items in the canvas cloth bag, fold the top over, and secure with two large rubber bands. Processing/shipping: $1.00 You can also provide School Kits by donating $11.00 per Kit.)
http://www.weekofcompassion.org/pages/resources/giftsoftheheartkits.html

April - Health Kits, sheets and towels for the local Life Center (for the homeless of Delaware County) located on Market Street in Upper Darby Township (by Cobb's Creek). The meeting will be April 9, 2008, at the Church building, hosted by Pat Treat. Business topic this meeting will be planning for our hosting the Spring Event for the CWFs/DWMs of the Eastern half of Pennsylvania. The Spring event will occur Saturday, March 26, 2008 from approximately 9:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Contents of a Health Kit for the Delaware County Life Center. Donations of individual items or cash can be gven to Sharon or Dale (or to Reverend Janet Moore if neither ladies are around).

• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Nail Clippers
• Emory Boards
• Soap
• Washcloth
• Powder

• Lotion
• Shampoo
• Comb
• Pen
• Shaving Cream
• Shavers
• After Shave

May - Blankets for Church World Service, for the homeless and refugees around the world. (Among thousands of others, blankets were given to both the Tsunami survivors and the Katrina survivors.) Donations, given in increments of five dollars for each blanket, may be made 'in honor of' or 'in memorial to' a special woman or women in the donor's life, such as one's mother. The project is being organized by Marion Johnson. The meeting will be from 10:00 a.m. until noon, followed by a byos luncheon, hosted by Dale Blair on May 14, 2008.

June - Tools For Hope for Church World Service, for providing tools for people to take care of themselves. Donations for Church World Service are given in increments of $5. Donations may be made 'in honor of' or 'in memorial to' a special man or men, such as one's father and/or a special teacher, and given to Marion Johnson. This meeting will be held in the church building, beginning with a Salad Supper, at 6:30 p.m., with the program from 7:30 to 9:00 or 9:30 p.m on June 11, 2008. Our hostesses will be the evening CWF group.

September - This meeting will be September 10 at the Marple Christian Church building. Beginning with a Pot Luck Supper in the Fellowship Hall at 6:30 p.m.

Other On-going Projects - At any time during the year, our CWF collects Campbells' Soup labels for The Cleveland Home for children. We are also collecting the blue receipts from Acme. Also, we continue to collect unusual used stamps to 'stamp' out hunger. ('unusual' like commemorative stamps made for special occasions) These may be turned in to Marion Johnson, Barbara Ann Floyd (President) or Pat Treat (Secretary).

Other occasional projects that the Christian Women's Fellowship participates in from time to time are: baby gifts to Head Start (given to Faye Tyler of Fellowship Christian Church); layettes for Church World Service; Christmas stockings for Melmark; Christmas presents sent to the children of The Cleveland Home; gift certificates to McDonalds fast food restaurants; panties and socks given to the Life Center Shelter for girls and women, and Ronald McDonald House fundraisers.

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These CWF projects shown here are above and beyond either the projects done by our Church as a whole, like the offerings and gifts for the "Christmas Family" and the congregational money sent to the Disciples headquarters for dispersing aid to groups in need in this country and around the world (like to Hurricane Katrina victims), or the projects done by the Care Groups like house painting, the vegetable garden for the poor in West Philadelphia, the Welcome Baskets, and preparing and serving food at The Life Center.

For more information on any of the above, please call Reverend Moore at the Church at 610-356-6186 or contact us by email . If you haven't already, please check out our church website.

For information and pictures about the annual retreat, CWF board cabinet, the Interregional CWF, national CWF, and International CWF, please click on the red words below. This year the regional retreat will take place at Antioch Village (a motel-style retreat center near Ligonier, PA), from September 26-28, 2008. The theme will be"Seasons of the Soul": Participants will chose two sessions from the following: 1) A Season to Grow! (on aging issues); 2) A Season of Caring! (care for veterans and families); 3) A Season of Study! (Bible study); 4) A Season of Giving! (mission projects). Our Keynote Speaker will be Julie Nevel.

Regional CWF | Interregional CWF
Disciples Women's Ministries | International Disciples Women's Ministries
CWF Retreat

Marple Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Broomall PA 19008
www.MarpleChristian.org

Monday, March 17, 2008