This is a guest post from Sam Spade. Submit guest posts to ourthoughts@gmail.com.
I would like to know if anyone out there belongs to an elders quorum that regularly has firesides. If so, are they well attended? What topics are discussed? What formats do they take? If no one regularly has firesides, why not?
In the past, I’ve been in EQ’s that have had firesides on personal finance, food storage,family history, internet safety.
Never that well attended. Also, when attended, more than just the EQ show up.
Personally, I think the firesides should be a ward or stake function.
As an EQP we do not, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t.
We do have a LA member with a $10,000 entertainment system and a wife who works at a video store. So we do regularly get together to watch movies on Blu-Ray a week before public release date. We are seeing Transporter 3 next week I believe – and they tend to be VERY WELL attended.
Our ward has four firesides each year: two hosted by the elders and two hosted by the high priests. When the elders hosted it, we did the following:
We have EQ and HP firesides on sunday nights every 2-3 months at the homes of whoever would like to sign up for it. In the first half the host family leads a little discussion abt. either a spiritual or a practical topic, the second half is spend with chatting and eating what everyone brought along.
Originally they started out as “Until 40” and “Under 100” firesides, which makes more sense to me: This way the older elders get to go to their age group and the younger high priests to theirs. And especially: The confusion for the single women to decide where to participate is avoided.
I think firesides are a great idea for every ward: Great tool to connect and to integrate new members. Don’t you only really get to know someone when you visited him/her at home?
Quorum, I’ve only heard that term used on Battlestar Gallactica. I thought it was a word they made up for the show. Turns out it’s a real word.