Is a short form available to pre assess sisters needs and interests for Relief Society meetings activities

[Anonymous UserParticipant]

Has any one created a short questionaire for the sisters to fill out or circle ideas that will help the presidency in planning the meetings during the week?

[Jenny SmithParticipant]

There is a form available from the church at
http://store.lds.org/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product3_715839595_10557_21053_-1__195648

It’s called the Talent and Interest survey. You can download and print it at the link above or order it for free for your unit.

I don’t mean to be rude or ugly, and so please don’t be upset at what follows….. Weekday activities, which used to be a part of the Enrichment program, are no longer listed as an activity format in the new Church Handbook of Activities:
https://www.lds.org/handbook/handbook-2-administering-the-church/relief-society?lang=eng#9.4.2

The new program, “Additional Relief Society Activities,” are held at least quarterly and generally monthly. Any change in frequency beyond this should be made under the direct instruction of the bishop or branch president.

I will be honest here — in my experience, using an assessment form like the one above is not an effective way to plan activities. I’m speaking here as a former Relief Society president during the days of Enrichment quarterly/weekly activities. People express “interest” in a class or topic, but don’t attend. Having an interest in a topic and being willing/able to attend is not the same thing. Weekday activities, in my opinion, should not be organized by the Relief Society presidency or RS committee. Activities of the kind typically created for women on weekdays are generally the type of activity already being provided by your local extension office, library, community center, or women’s organization (like playgroups, service clubs, gardening classes, book club, exercise classes, sewing club, etc). Again, it is my opinion that it does not make sense for the Relief Society to duplicate efforts that already exist in the community, and it is better for us to get out in the community where we can expand and develop friendships and talents. Further, if a weekday activity is going to be run by the Relief Society, a member of the Relief Society presidency (president or a counselor) must be present. Again, this is expecting a great deal of time from leaders that, in my opinion, is not needful.

I hope that I’m not hurting any feelings here. The thing you should know is that weekday activities are no longer an explicit part of the Additional Relief Society Meetings schedule as found in the new handbook.

If you’re looking for an assessment form for doing monthly or quarterly activities, again, it is my opinion that assessment forms are ineffective. It’s better for the presidency to work with the bishop to prayerfully assess needs and choose activities based on inspiration rather than “by vote”, if you see what I mean.

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