July 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Scheduling
As the ward activities committee chair, I
schedule dates for ward activities with the ward
council about six months in advance and then
schedule the building, park, or homes of members.
We always encourage members to bring friends, neighbors,
and visiting and home teaching families. At activities
where children are included, I try to have a table of coloring
or crafts for them to work on while the activity is
getting started.
While most of our ward activities are for the entire family,
it is also good to plan adults-only activities to let adults
have time to visit without the distraction of children. In
our ward we hold a separate pizza party for the children
and youth so couples don’t have to get baby-sitters and so
the children and youth have a fun event to attend as well.
Cynthia P. Kofford, Crescent 10th Ward, Sandy Utah Crescent Stake
Spotlight Nights
In my ward, we occasionally planned “special expertise
spotlight nights.” We would invite someone with a special
expertise to give a brief lecture on that topic. Lectures on
travel, local history, wills, and so on were well attended. We
usually had these events in an individual’s home, and people
of other faiths were invited to
attend. We also asked people who
were not members to help us plan activities. I
believe we greatly increased the feeling of unity
in our area and brought more people to Christ.
Gordon Wilson, Ensign First Ward, Salt Lake Ensign Stake
Feeling the Spirit
Our activities committee had two major goals for our
activities: First, we tried to make each one enjoyable so
that members would want to be there and would want to
invite their friends. Second, we tried to make sure there
was always an opportunity to feel the Spirit. Here are two
of the many successful activities we planned:
International dinner. At this activity, several returned
missionaries entertained us with songs and skits. We ate
dishes with international flavor and ended the evening
with excerpts from the Church video An Ensign to the
Nations (item no. 53980; U.S. $6.00, available at distribution
centers), which explains how the gospel was
introduced into nations around the world.
Potluck/carnival. Our potluck supper was followed by
carnival-style activities, including a mini golf putt and a bean
bag toss, which had been
set up around the
cultural hall. Toward