SWF – November 2011
Everyone wants to be my friend, yet at times I feel friendless – Allyson Burggraff
The semester is starting to wind down and the holiday season is rapidly approaching. Our last SWF meeting for the semester had a Christmas setting with the scent of fresh-cut greens, wreaths, brightly lit candles and, of course, Christmas cookies!
Even though the title of the topic had the potential to be a depressing subject, Allyson Burggraff turned it into a very informative and positive time of encouragement. Allyson ministered alongside her husband, Andy, as he served as a Missionary Intern in Mons, Belgium, an Assistant Pastor in Pennsylvania, and as Senior Pastor in Florida and Minnesota. Andy and Allyson currently serve here at Colonial where Andy is the Assistant Pastor of Adult Ministries. They have moved several times over their 11 years of married life. As the mother of three, Allyson has demonstrated that following God’s leading can, and should be, an exciting time of meeting new people and experiencing new cultures.
Allyson started her talk with an interactive exercise. She asked each of us to pick a partner that we didn’t know very well. She had each twosome write down the things that they had in common. Five minutes later, Allyson asked each twosome to tell how many items they had on their list. The numbers varied from 4-14. The point of the exercise was to show that if we take a few minutes with someone we don’t know, we will be amazed at how many things we actually have in common with each other. This exercise set the groundwork for her challenge on things to do when we move to a new place. (Download the handout attached for Allyson’s complete lesson.)
During the time of fellowship, a demonstration of how to make a beautiful, yet easy and inexpensive, Christmas wreath was given (using Carolina “greens”). It was a wonderful evening of warm fellowship and friendship building.
