The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory Women's Ministries -ItSmellsSoGood

Welcome to The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory Women's Ministries Website

Women's Ministries Programs

“It Smells So Good”

May Service Program

Michele Matthews

Stock Photography: Steaming Hot Apple Pie Just Out Of The Oven

Preparations

Ahead of time, ask each woman to bring a whole pie to the meeting, preferably homemade. Have them also supply the recipe, which could be sold for a small amount. To make the meeting room even more enticing, place a pie in the oven to bake about 15 minutes before the meeting is to start, creating a delicious aroma.

Service Ideas

Pie Walk

Number the pies the women brought. Tape numbers to the floor forming a circle. You will need the same amount of numbers as pies. Before each round, announce which pie is being walked for. Anyone wanting to win that pie must contribute a small amount (.25).

They form a circle, guided by the numbers on the floor. Start the music while everyone walks around the circle. When the music stops, the person who is standing on the number of the pie being “walked” gets to keep that pie.

This continues until all the pies have been claimed. Each time the women participate they must contribute again. Use the funds raised for World Services or other service projects.

Pies for Others

Encourage each woman to take the pie she has purchased and visit the home of someone they know who is homebound. However, the pie is not for the one who is homebound. It’s for the primary caregiver of that person. When folks are homebound, many remember them with visits, cards and calls. Often, the caregiver feels overworked and under appreciated. Instruct the women to express to the caregiver that the pie is for them. They

may share it if they wish, but it was brought specifically for them.

Program Ideas

Demonstration

Invite a pastry chef from a local bakery to discuss and demonstrate the art of pie making. Or ask one of the women who is known for her pies to share her secrets.

Speaker

If the women will be giving the pies to caregivers, invite someone from a local nursing agency or nursing home to speak on “Caring for the Caregiver.”

Games

Hold a pie–eating contest. Divide the women into two teams. Have them stand in line at one end of the room and place two pies on a table at the other end. Give each woman a plastic fork. The first person in line walks to the pie, takes as big a bite as she can, swallows, and walks back to the next player on her team, who does the same thing. The winning team is the one that has consumed the most pie after all the women have had a turn.

Of course, if you have a daredevil group, have a pie–eating contest like those held at county fairs. Each woman receives her own pie and a napkin around her neck. The women must eat as much pie as possible (using no utensils) in a two–minute period. The winner is the one who eats the most pie.

Refreshments

Pie—of course! A different choice would be McDonald’s Apple Pies

with a scoop of ice cream.

Theme:

"Memories"

Devotions

How Sweet It Is!

Unforgettable! That’s the best word to describe the sight and sound of Jackie Gleason proclaiming with a look of utter ecstasy, “How sweet it is!” Unforgettable is also a great word to describe any sweet smell or taste. Scientists tell us that the senses of smell and taste may be in fact one sense. They also tell us that the memories, which are most deeply

imprinted in our minds, are the memories of certain smells and tastes. We may forget how to make grandma’s apple pie, but we never forget how one smells as it cools. Or how it tastes with ice cream on it. Just the mention of a smell can make our eyes roll back into our heads and our noses draw in vast amounts of air as we strain to capture that special smell.

Let’s try it. Can you recall the smell of Sunday dinner when you came home after church? Can you smell fresh bread baking at the local bakery? Remember what a newly mimeographed piece of paper smells like? What about a skunk in the middle of the night, a freshly mown lawn, S’mores at a campfire, a wet dog or cotton candy at the county fair?

Is it any wonder that God’s Word uses the imagery of smells and scents to help us understand our faith? Our worship is to be a sweet smelling savor unto the Lord.

In Psalm 119:103 the writer proclaims, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” The promises of God taste and smell better than any apple pie or baking bread. Why? Because unlike trying to recreate your grandmother’s recipe for apple pie, the promises of God are created by the master chef. And He’s got the recipe

memorized. Also, when you ate grandma’s apple pie, it was quickly gone and you had to wait until you visited again to get another one. Most of our grandmothers are now with God. We’ll never get another one of their wonderful pies. But the promises of God last forever. They never change. They never grow old and stale. They are always fresh as a warm apple pie or chocolate cake straight from the oven. And the best thing about God’s promises is you can have your cake and eat it too!