September 1 was the first meeting for the RMGS 2012-13 session.  It was also the first meeting under new leadership since the inception of RMGS.  Mrs. P and I were beyond excited to see familiar faces among a few newcomers. 

We had a wonderful turnout of thirty-nine girls (out of 41).  Twenty-six of the girls sat together for Mass.

All returned to the gym for the remainder of our meeting.  Snacks were provided by LC, LG, and WG.  Additional snacks were brought by EF and CP.  Remember, all snacks are welcome!

The girls were then divided into six groups.  Each group was given a name of a virtue that we will be covering this year – Love of God, Industry, Truthfulness, Humility, Piety, and Obedience.  The girls will rotate into a new group at the start of a new skill.

The first meeting took on a different format than many were familiar with from the past.  In fact, it was different than what we plan to conduct for the remaining meetings.  We wanted the first meeting to be somewhat informal and to serve as a welcome back get-together.   We covered majority of the housekeeping topics for the coming year.  We also gave the girls an opportunity to get to know one another with a fun ice-breaker game, I know Something…

The girls received their RMGS – Hospitality Binder and a brief overview of the outline for the year. 

RMGS mission is to help young girls grow in faith, virtue, and service, through hospitality, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

• Calendar – found on eloop
• Guidelines
• Groups & Virtues
• Prayers – first three prayers come from Fr. Lasance Catholic Girls’ Guide

Fr. S gave a splendid talk to the girls on our focus for the year, hospitality.  He was charismatic and related to the girls in a way that I had not seen before.  Deo gratias!  We will miss him this year but look forward to our new Spiritual Director.  The girls gave Father a birthday send-off (his birthday was 9.6) and he gave them a blessing.

The girls generated three lists of ways to show hospitality; in the home, at church, at other places.  Each group contributed to the list.  We will continue to add to the list throughout the year as we follow Fr. Lasance’s Catholic Girls’ Guide and grow in virtue.  We recommend that each girl have their own copy of Fr. Lasance’s Catholic Girls’ Guide.

Next, the girls received a brief overview of our next skill to come, sewing.  They briefly reviewed the sewing section in their RMGS – Hospitality Binders.  The girls are to continue reading the sewing section and complete the sewing machine anatomy prior to our next meeting.  We encourage moms to help them along with their introduction to sewing.  We will sew an apron over the next three meetings.

Sewing:

• Sewing Divider Sheet – made with image from The Graphics Fairy
• Sewing Activity Sheet – to be passed out at the Oct. meeting
• Embroidery Stich Book – printable
• Sewing 101: Basic Sewing Tools and Supplies – printable
• Anatomy of a Sewing Machine – blank printable for quiz
• Anatomy of a Sewing Machine with Labels – printable
• Sewing 101: Sewing Machine Parts – printable
• Sewing 101: Threading Sewing Machine – printable
• Sewing 101: Basic Stiches – printable
• Sewing 101: General Sewing Tips – printable
• Sewing Basics – printable
• Sewing 101: Types of Presser Foots – printable

The girls were given instructions to complete an embroidered name tag using the split stich.  The name tags were a simple task to allow the girls some hand sewing practice and help give us an idea of the skill levels that we have to work with.  It was (and will continue to be) imperative that the girls follow the instructions during our meetings.  We realize that the girls have many great ideas and their creativity is often endless but we want to keep everyone on the same page so that each girl can acquire a basic understanding of simple skills.  We encourage the girls to expand upon the skills introduced (at the meetings) while at home.

The meeting ended with an overview of the meeting and sharing of projects.  We closed with a prayer taken from Fr. Lasance, found on the RMGS Prayer Page.

PRAYER AFTER INSTRUCTION

We give Thee thanks, merciful God, for the instruction and direction which we have received. Grant us Thy grace that we may lay the lesson to heart and carry it into action, to Thy glory and our eternal welfare. Furthermore we pray Thee to pour forth Thy blessing upon our parents and superiors, our teachers and benefactors, and to recompense them abundantly for all the good which they have been the means of bringing to us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.