by Margaret Nolde, Co-Chair of the 60th National Assembly
 
On June 30, 2010, in Orange, California 100 Episcopal girls and women spent the day working side-by-side to better the lives of less fortunate women, children,  and elderly seniors by sorting thrift shop merchandise, entertaining Alzheimer's patients, and decorating crosses for victims of domestic abuse. The girls participating in this Day of Service are members of Girls' Friendly Society(GFS), and are committed members of the Episcopal Church, due in large part to the women that support them through GFS activities.
 
Growing up has never been easy, so the fellowship of GFS enables church women to mentor girls seeking to live out their baptismal promises. GFS is dedicated to the development of the whole girl; however, every woman who helps these girls mature in Christ cannot help but experience her own spiritual and emotional growth in the process.  GFS is an intergenerational opportunity for women to work alongside girls at church and in the wider community so they can walk in the way of Christ and grow as young Christian women.
 
Last month, GFS members from both coasts of the United States convened for their triennial National Assembly. The Day of Service, described above, was implemented upon the suggestion of the girls themselves, and was a tribute to the GFS motto, bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. The day illustrated that GFS girls of 2010 are thoughtful, vibrant, intelligent and giving. To read more about the Day of Service and all events at National Assembly, click here. 
 
There is no doubt that GFS members are a special group of girls within the Episcopal Church. When the girls participated in the business meetings of National Assembly and heard a plea for help from their GFS sisters in Sri Lanka, they expressed a strong desire to set aside their own wants and needs to help GFS/Sri Lanka. During the next three years, GFS/USA girls will be working in their branches to raise funds for repair of the GFS meeting house in Sri Lanka.
 
Amazing as it may seem, GFS today continues a 134-year ministry around the world, from Papua New Guinea to London, from Zambia to Los Angeles, from South Korea to Nigeria. GFS,  A place where you're loved no matter what ...A group of women who shows you that they care...That they will always be there. These are the words of 17-year-old Synae Allen, the GFS national youth delegate from Pennsylvania, who shared her poem "What GFS has Done."   The challenge to GFS in the USA today is to attract women who want to "be there" for the girls. To find out more about GFS, Click Here.

 

Click Here for a slideshow presentation of photos from the National Assembly in Orange, California July 2010