Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
UNITED WOMEN’S FORUM MINUTES –
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Vicki Harbertson.
Presentation on “A Principle of Freedom” was given by Rebecca Bierwolf entitled, “All Men Are Created Equal”.
Rebecca gave an inspiring message of the ways we are and are not equal as a people. The ways we are equal are in the sight of God, under the law and by how the laws protect us. Some of the ways in which we are not equal are seen in our personal lives and within our families. We all are blessed with different talents and abilities, but in these ways we are not equal. She expressed that the breakdown of inequality happens through the minorities. Rebecca is in the minority in that she has been disabled since being hit by a car at 18 months of age. Her parents raised her with no barriers or boundaries. She was chosen to be Miss Wheelchair
Debra Poulsen led us in a wonderful forum activity that helped us recognize the great accomplishments of The United Women’s Forum in this first year of organization. She shared a poem that in essence speaks of our efforts within the forum. It is as follows:
Written by Edward Everet Hale:
I am only one
But still I am one
I cannot do everything
But still I can do something
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do that something I can do
And what I can do
I ought to do,
And with god's help I will do.
Adrienne Buckley spoke of the efforts by Shelly Davies regarding inappropriate magazines being displayed at Barnes and Noble and the support of the forum in that endeavor, as well as the forums success in helping stop VIVID from recruiting young
Debra Poulsen made a special presentation to Linda Reeves for being a founder of The United Women’s Forum and for her great vision and efforts given in its behalf. We will miss her and wish her well as she serves with her husband for the next three years in
Mr. Ferguson has been involved with welfare work throughout the world since the 1970’s as a profession and has spent most of his efforts focusing on the poor people of other continents as well here in the
l. Who do we help?
2. How do we help?
3. How and how much do we help?
4. When do we help?
He stated that for him the inner conflict has been – “the conflict of a tender, giving heart seeing need and wanting to fix it, struggling with the more objective issues of teaching correct principles and leading the needy person toward a greater level of self-reliance, security and personal peace in his/her life”. He shared five ideas that might be helpful in our coming to understand the needs of people, and how best to give aid to those less-secure in their lives. They are:
l. The sometimes misunderstood meaning of human equality;
2. The influence of Judeo-Christian ethics in the generosity of American society;
3. The role of government as a player in making us all equal;
4. Understanding the culture of poverty and its influence in peoples’ lives; and
5. How we as individuals evaluate inequality and act responsibly in doing our part to
help.
The following are remarks from his talk that were so poignant in helping us understand how we can most effectively help others.
Bill Bonner illustrated this notion of “discovering poverty” using a
“The woodchopper from
“The idea of being "poor" may never have occurred to him before. He may live in a part of the world where everyone is about as poor as he is...and all perfectly happy in their poverty. But now that the spell is on him, it sits like a curse. Poverty seems like something he has to escape...something he has to get out of ...something that someone had better to do something about!
“His new scaled-up consciousness has turned him into a malcontent. The poor man, previously happy in his naïve particulars, is now miserable in his role as a poverty-stricken hick.”16
We who are prosperous often contribute to the woodsman’s woes because of our own thought processes. We eat store-bought processed food—everyone should. We sleep in comfortable bedrooms with carpeted floors and on beds with box springs and mattresses—everyone should. Our children are educated in modern, well-equipped schools—all children should. We have access to the latest in communication and technology—everyone should. The reality is, two-thirds of the world’s population have few, if any, of these luxuries, but are still relatively healthy and happy. These people have their challenges, often temporal; we have ours, as well, often social and/or spiritual. The moral: perhaps we should be less judgmental, sympathetic or pitying, and more interested in understanding the circumstances and priorities of others, from their perspective. I recall a high school educated school teacher in
Mr. Ferguson encouraged us to understand the “hidden rules” of different of societies. They are the “unspoken cues and habits of a group, and in many cases denote what is most important to them” and how we can best help.
“History tells us that most cures for poverty come from within. Foreign aid (or any other assistance for that matter) can help, but like windfall wealth, can also hurt. It can discourage effort and plant a crippling sense of incapacity…at bottom, no empowerment is so effective as self-empowerment.”
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Recipes from First Annual Anniversary UWF General Meeting
Spinach, Chicken & Pasta Salad
16 ounces bowtie pasta, cooked al dente
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup bottled Teriyaki sauce
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 (10-ounce) bag fresh spinach
1 (6-ounce) bag craisins
3 (11-ounce) cans mandarin oranges, drained
2 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
½ cup parsley, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
½ cup sesame seeds, toasted
6 ounces honey roasted peanuts
2 cups cooked chicken, cut into small pieces
Blend dressing ingredients together in blender or food processor. Mix dressing and cooked pasta in medium bowl and marinate for two hours. (I marinate the cooked chicken, pasta and water chestnuts over night in refrigerator) Combine rest of salad ingredients in large salad bowl, add pasta and dressing and toss.
Orange Rolls
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter
½ cup shortening
2 T. Yeast (2 packets)
½ cup warm water (to dissolve yeast)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
6 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
Inside; (for 2 roll outs)
½ cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. grated orange rind
1 tsp. orange extract
3 cups powdered sugar
6 Tbsp. Orange juice
Friday, April 4, 2008
First Annual Anniversary General Meeting : Wednesday, April 9, 2008
United Women's Forum is excited to invite you to attend our FIRST annual Anniversary General Meeting celebration on Wednesday, April 9, 2008. This event will hallmark our fantastic growth and development as an organization over the past year. We strive to keep our forum educated and involved on issues which affect the family, the community and the nation. Won't you join with us the second Wednesday of April, at 10:00 am at the Bountiful Public Library to hear what is going on in our Forum and with community issues?
Our guest speaker this month will be Ike Ferguson who is well known in the field of Humanitarian Service. For the past 7 years, Ike and his wife Gloria have lived in West Africa where Ike was responsible for multi-faceted community humanitarian relief and the development of programs in up to ten West African nations for the LDS Church. Additionally, he has had a lifetime of service in welfare and humanitarian related fields. The topic he will address is: "All Men are Created Equal" and he will help us understand what kind of service is most beneficial to those in need.
Because this is our Anniversary Meeting, we plan to serve a light lunch and also have a "donation" fund raiser to help with some of our expenses. We have not previously asked for any donations from the forum and guests but since our numbers are growing so quickly, our expenses are growing too. We have miscellaneous costs which have been funded by the Steering Committee but we intend to be a "not for profit" organization and spend out our expenses each year. Your "free-will" donation will be appreciated but is not mandatory for your attendance.
Please join us at this wonderful event!