SRS...

Claude received a new calling at Church. We are all asked to serve in some capacity and the type of service changes throughout your life. It is all volunteer, no payment for service. Claude has been serving for the last 6+ years as a High Councilor. He has really enjoyed this. 

Now he is working with a brand new program at Church. He is the Self-reliance Specialist for the Lexington North Stake (group of congregations). 

The Church has had a Perpetual Education program and and an Employment program. These are now merged into Self-reliance. Training must be done with each Ward Council (leaders of a congregation). We have 11 units (wards and branches) within our stake. Claude will go to each of these on a Sunday and train the Ward Council's. Each of the wards can request that Claude or one of the members of the Self-reliance Committee, speak in the Sacrament Meeting (Sunday worship service) and/or train the ward members in a 5th Sunday combined meeting. The Ward Council will prayerfully select members of their ward to attend a special Devotional held by the Self-reliance Committee. From this special meeting, the attendees will receive some training and then self-select one of four groups they would like to participate in and receive further training to help them be or become more self-reliant. The four groups for training are: Personal Finances, Education for Better Work, Find a Better Job, and Starting and Growing My Own Business. These groups will them meet for 12 weeks and finish with the ability to be more self-reliant both temporally and spiritually. This process will continue to recur throughout the year, maybe three times a year.

Sunday, June 25th was the first training for a Ward Council. It just happened to be the Georgetown Ward. This is our home ward. I went with Claude to this training. Sunday, July 2nd, Claude went to Pioneer Ward and trained their Ward Council. Sunday the 9th of July I went with him on a marathon morning of training. We were at Frankfort Ward at 7:30am, then off to Beaumont Ward at 9:30am and finally to the Young Single Adult branch at 11:30am. Whew!! Claude trained the Paris Ward Council this last Sunday. And we go to Owingsville next Sunday. We will diligently get through all this training of Ward Councils. 

This promises to be a great help to the members. It has been used outside the United States where the need is great for several years and the reports show marked improvement in many areas of these people's lives. How exciting to be on the ground floor of the program starting up in the United States. Grateful for a membership in the Church with all this concern for members lives.