Ada, presiding officer for our Peace Speakers meeting today, opens the meeting in a welcoming manner. We have two guests today, and they are ardently greeted and encouraged to say a few words about who they are and why they've graced us with their visit today. (Now ardent is our word for the day, which means enthusiastic or passionate. Members try to use this word as much as possible throughout the meeting.)
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And
that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world
pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something
better, pushing right back."
Kerri, our Toastmaster for the day, shares that she had an opportunity to show off her public speaking skills at a recent conference. She spoke in front of 150 people, something she previously would have balked at doing. Kerri ardently thanked everyone in the club for their on-going support, which she attributes to her being more confident now in speaking and leadership roles.
Kerri also announces the theme for our meeting, which is focused on love (with Valentine's Day just around the corner). She challenges us to take at least 5 minutes a day to do something we love. Now that's a challenge I'll have fun doing, Kerri!
Alex, 1st Prepared Speaker, Ardently Shares Love for His Job
Alex’s speech is Project #2 from the Competent Communication
Manual. It focuses on Getting
Organized. He is animated and expressive
in his delivery. I don’t have an exact
copy of his speech, so I paraphrase it.
He gives us “The Emergency Perspective,” which takes us into the world
of the ER nurse.
Alex speaks of his pride for nursing, the benefits he’s
entitled to like wearing PJ's to work, 3-day work-weeks, and working with
beautiful women all day. He includes the
difficulties, like working with women all day, long hours, and a high stress
environment.
Alex shares 3 strategies to get through a day in the
ER. They are the ability to notice,
being able to ignore anything, and having a loud voice.
Concerning the ability to notice, he touched on how being
able to notice things is crucial for success. For example, identifying an
alteration in patient speech patterns, he’s aware that a stroke is present
sooner and gets appropriate treatment sooner. He also quips about noticing
when his female coworkers change their hairstyles, which is also very important!
The 2nd strategy useful in the ER is the ability to ignore,
as he is subjected to countless stressors any given day: call bells, doctors
yelling at them, patients yelling, and so on. If ER nurses were to
actually process all of this stimulus, they would all need to check into the ER
themselves for psychiatric evaluation at the end of each shift.
Having a loud voice is the 3rd strategy, whereby
Alex is the patient advocate. He makes certain the patient voice is heard through his own voice in the populated
medical discussions that take place away from the patient. He makes sure their wishes are respected.
Alex concludes that working as an ER nurse requires that he
is able to notice everything, ignore it all, and yell real loud! This is certainly a perspective that is unique
to the work he loves to do, and I suspect Alex does it very well.
Eva, 2nd Prepared Speaker, Ardently Praises Church
Eva’s speech is from one of the
advanced manuals called The Entertaining Speaker—Project 5: Speaking After
Dinner, 8-10 minutes in length. I’m
sharing excerpts of what she said about the 125th anniversary of
Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church.
The desire to minister to those refugees fleeing Central
America is one of many examples of the second characteristic I’ve
noticed about Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church: our focus on outreach and
mission. This emphasis is apparent from the beginning of our history. In 1891,
when the church was just a year old, it reached across town and sponsored a
mission Sunday school. This mission Sunday school grew into Harvey Browne
Presbyterian Church, which is now about three times the size of our
congregation—go figure!
Other examples of mission abound. We have supported overseas mission
workers and welcomed many of them as members of our congregation. We’ve helped
resettle refugees from Laos,
Bosnia, Sudan, and Congo. Our members have built
houses with Habitat for Humanity. We’ve helped organize a French Language
Outreach Ministry in Louisville and developed a
partnership with churches in northeastern Guatemala. We’ve set aside land for
a community garden and hosted garden camps for children, some of whom have
never grown or eaten a fresh tomato.
Peacemaking and working to end poverty and hunger have also been
priorities of our congregation for many years. Our ministry in these areas has
extended from local, to national, to global efforts. Our members have marched
for justice, written letters to Congress, and donated food and clothing to
families in need.
Evaluators for Both Speeches Share Their Opinions
Wed., Feb. 17 - Conference Room B
Wed., Mar. 2 - Conference Room B
In looking back at the history of Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church,
I’ve observed three key characteristics of this
congregation: We have a strong community. We are mission-focused. And we have
remained relevant by translating our faith into actions that respond to current
issues and needs. These qualities give me hope for our future ministry.
Let’s talk about strong community. There’s more to it than outstanding
church potlucks. We have survived some major conflicts. The church went through
a couple of rough patches early in the 20th century. In the space of
six years, two pastors resigned amid controversy and dissension. But the church
survived. And ultimately, these times of
testing must have made the community stronger.
A more recent test came in the mid-1980s, when the church session decided—by one vote—to support the Sanctuary Movement, offering a safe haven to refugees fleeing the violence in Central America. For some, this was an act of compassion and justice. For others, particularly those from military backgrounds, it was breaking the law. But the decision came after months of prayerful discussion, including time for members of the congregation to voice their opinions. Because members respected the process, and each other, they were able to live with the final decision.
A more recent test came in the mid-1980s, when the church session decided—by one vote—to support the Sanctuary Movement, offering a safe haven to refugees fleeing the violence in Central America. For some, this was an act of compassion and justice. For others, particularly those from military backgrounds, it was breaking the law. But the decision came after months of prayerful discussion, including time for members of the congregation to voice their opinions. Because members respected the process, and each other, they were able to live with the final decision.
The desire to minister to those refugees fleeing Central
America is one of many examples of the second characteristic I’ve
noticed about Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church: our focus on outreach and
mission. This emphasis is apparent from the beginning of our history. In 1891,
when the church was just a year old, it reached across town and sponsored a
mission Sunday school. This mission Sunday school grew into Harvey Browne
Presbyterian Church, which is now about three times the size of our
congregation—go figure!
Two years later, in 1893, our church reached across the Atlantic Ocean
to Africa and helped sponsor the first mission steamboat in Congo. And two
years after that, in 1895, we helped start James Lees Presbyterian Church,
which became one of our valued partners, most recently in offering English
classes for immigrants, a program begun in 2008.
We also have worked to make our space accessible to all, including
people with disabilities. We’ve gotten rid of stairs and other barriers,
improved acoustics, welcomed service animals, and made church entrances more
inviting to neighborhoods folks and visitors.
We believe God loves all people, and so we welcome all, whatever their
race, class, age, gender, or sexual orientation. Many people who have not felt
welcome in other churches have found gracious acceptance in our pews. Our
commitment to inclusion extends to the language we use in worship.
Peacemaking and working to end poverty and hunger have also been
priorities of our congregation for many years. Our ministry in these areas has
extended from local, to national, to global efforts. Our members have marched
for justice, written letters to Congress, and donated food and clothing to
families in need.
We want to be where Jesus would be: on the side of the poor, the
homeless, the immigrants, and the victims of injustice.
So, please join me in wishing a happy 125th birthday to
Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church! May we continue to fulfill Jesus’ prayer to
God that his followers “will be one, as we are one”—and the words of the song,
“They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
Eva, this sounds like a church that is walking the talk in an open, inclusive, and empowering fashion. That's an impressive list of significant works they are doing!
Table Topicsmaster Delivers Love Prompts
Kay's role today is to encourage volunteers to draw a question she's created pertaining to love and answer it spontaneously in 1-2 minutes. She asks for volunteers, and one of our guests agrees to give it a try. Such courage Daniel exhibits!!!!!
What is one of the greatest acts of love that you have ever personally witnessed?
Daniel reads this and pauses, not sure what he wants to share. This has happened to all of us Toastmasters at one time or another. So I say, "Just describe something you really love," and he quickly begins talking about playing soccer in the summer time. He loves the game and the fact that anyone can play. They've formed a close league of volunteers who play regularly. If you ask me, this is an act of love - where the game is open to anyone who wants to play, and the players are ardent about sharing the game of soccer.
Describe a place you love dearly and why it's so meaningful or beloved to you.
Abby begins to tell us about a cottage on a lake in Michigan where her grandfather, mother's siblings, and friends often gathered. As a child, it was the only vacation her family had. As years passed, she took others there, and that's where her husband proposed to her. Now she's looking forward to taking the baby she just had to this special place. She notes that it is her most favorite place in the world, and that's saying a lot because she's been to many spectacular places.
What thing do you love to the point that it almost causes you embarrassment?
George admits that the thing he loves to do is argue. He's passionate about it. He often does it on Facebook and claims that he's put his foot in his mouth at times. Why does he love arguing? He loves the contest of ideas. How he addresses what he gets hit with is fun for him.
Later in our meeting, we voted on the Table Topics speech that garnered the greatest interest from listeners, and Abby was the winner. We love it when a guest participates and shines like this!
Evaluators for Both Speeches Share Their Opinions
Ada, evaluator for Alex's prepared speech, admits she enjoyed hearing his tips for being an ER nurse. His speech was interesting and organized. Alex is comfortable expressing himself and utilizes effective body language. Ada loved his use of humor and the flow of his talk. From what he shared, it's apparent that Alex loves his job. She would have liked him to include some personal stories about his nursing experiences so she could visualize life in the ER setting.
Megan, evaluator for Eva's prepared speech, shared that she thoroughly enjoyed her speech about Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church. Her introduction very effectively drew us in and her language was compelling. Eva's use of body language was good. It was impressive hearing about all of the good works going on at Eva's church. The specific stories she shared were interesting, the speech had good flow, and it was easy to follow.
Ada concludes our meeting with a joke that relates to this weekend's Superbowl game:
A guy took his girlfriend to her first football game. Afterwards he asked her how she like the game.
"I liked it, but I couldn't understand why they were killing each other for 25 cents," she said.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, everyone kept yelling, 'Get the quarter back!' "
And if it was a Superbowl game, I hope his girlfriend at least enjoyed the commercials!
Maybe you're a visitor to this blog. Welcome!!!!! You've just witness some excerpts from our hour-long Toastmasters meeting. If you're intrigued by opportunities to build or enhance skills in communication and leadership in a safe environment, we can help you with that! Join us and experience some of our meetings. They're enjoyable and fun...and growth is guaranteed if you participate. Drop in any time!
OUR NEXT FEW 2016 MEETINGS:
Wed., Feb. 17 - Conference Room B
Wed., Mar. 2 - Conference Room B
Peace Speakers Toastmasters Club
1st and 3rd Wednesdays (usually)
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
100 Witherspoon Street
Downtown Louisville, KY
Respectfully submitted,
Kay Chambers
Blogger for Peace Speakers
