Our 50th Meeting!

• May
• 27

6:12 pm Footprints History, New issue, Prayer, Reading, Updates, Writing

So here it is … our fabulous 50th issue!

It occurred to me on Saturday that not only was this our 50th issue, it was also the 50th Footprints meeting. That’s a lot of meetings!

Right from the beginning, Footprints meetings have been a lot of fun. What else can you expect when you get a bunch of gals together!

When we met at my home to launch the very first issue of Footprints, it was the first time that some of the girls had ever met. Although they all had the (dubious!) distinction of being friends of mine, this was their first opportunity to get to know each other. Melanie, Nicola, Vivian and I are the “original” team members, thankfully God has brought new members onto the team over the years because there is no way we could do it all on our own!  

So what happens at our quarterly Footprints meetings? We usually kick off with a cuppa and a chat – as we come from all over Brisbane, we often don’t get to see each other between meetings (thank heavens for email!), so there is a lot of catching up to do!

As the editor, I then crack the whip and start unpacking the boxes of magazines. Each girl grabs one, and I spend the next half an hour being very bored as they are all busy reading their new Footprints!!!

We package up the magazines for mail out, and then comes the “formalities” as we tackle the meeting agenda. There is a financial report, and usually some great testimonies or letters to share that readers have sent in; then it’s time to plan upcoming issues.  Last but definitely not least is our prayer time, then it’s potluck for dinner. Jenny spoilt us with homemade soup and Pauline made bacon and zucchini slice on Saturday … mmmm … in the early days we all used to pitch in a couple of dollars for pizza but I think we all prefer potluck these days. Thankfully, I am excused from bringing a plate to share as my contribution is to bring the magazines!

Our meetings usually start at 2pm and it can be well and truly dark by the time we finish … perhaps it’s just as well they only happen every three months! With everybody leading such busy lives, we are grateful for every pair of hands, even if it’s just for an hour or two. So there is a constant stream of people coming and going! Part of the fun is inviting others to join us.  This time it was our very great pleasure to have Cate join us. Cate was very enthusiastic and may just live to regret it … she went home having volunteered to do a truckload of work. Yep, that’s us Footprints gals, be careful what you let yourself in for! Cate has kindly offered to take on the job of completing our new brochure/subscription form, and designing letterhead, business cards, yada yada yada, as soon as the graphic designer has completed our new logo. 

Thankfully Cate has experience in running not-for-profits (as does Vivian), while Jenny is an accountant, so they helped us to get our heads around all the requirements (particularly financial) now we are incorporated. We will get there … eventually!

Nicola and Mel caught us up on their recent speaking gigs – Mel has done two ladies breakfasts recently, and Nicola arrived late to the meeting after spending the day with the ladies at the Inspire Conference in Caloundra, where she led two workshops. We have had quite a boost to our subscriptions lately thanks to their efforts! It was a very big day for Nicola in particular (I’m a poet and didn’t know it!) – while I think of it, please pray for her health, she has had quite a battle against chest infections over the past few weeks.

As we looked through the stash of articles ready for the next couple of issues, we noticed that the hardest column to fill of late is “God Answered My Prayer” so if you, or someone you know, has a great story, don’t be shy, send it in! It doesn’t matter if you’re not a confident or expert writer, we are only too happy to help you polish it up ready for publication. If it’s something a little bit different, so much the better … we have printed a lot of healing testimonies, and stories of God’s provision (houses, cars, food) over the years … why not surprise us with something a bit out of  the ordinary!

Kylie was kept busy as our scribe, taking the minutes – thanks Kylie, what would we do without you. I always look forward to reading the minutes in due course, although somehow I feel that I will have quite a few “actions” to do as a result! (More work!!!)

Now for the lull after the storm. The flurry of deadlines is past, and the  magazines have all been posted … until next time, that is.  Issue 51, here we come!