"Cirlces Yes, Cliques No"
When the suggestion came from headquarters back in the 1950s that women's circles ought to be scrambled every so often, the ladies of Erwin United Methodist Church in Syracuse, New York, were not impressed. They promptly voted it down.
A few years later, the subject came up again, with stronger emphasis this time, and the proposal passed. Members would be reassigned to a new circle every two years in order to get to know more women and keep all die circles from stagnating.
Some still didn't like it. A few stopped going to their assigned circles, and one woman left the church altogether. But the others were gradually won over, and after 20 years, the practice is a solid tradition at Erwin Church.
"Every other fall, a committee of members from all the circles works on the list and mixes up the names," explains Marion Rush. "We try to create a balance in each group of young and older, shut-in and active, drivers and nondrivers. This way no circle is ever allowed to grow so elderly that it becomes inactive; new life is regularly being introduced.
"At our January luncheon, we sit at tables according to the new groupings. Each new circle elects its officers after lunch and decides its meeting places for die coming months.
"The result is that we become well acquainted with more clusters of new people while still retaining our friendships throughout the larger group."
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