(Note: Please have small (1/4 sheet) paper and pens/pencils available at your table for the reading of this month’s Friends of Stonecroft.)
Hello. In today’s Friends of Stonecroft moment, we’re going to start with something different. Please take a small sheet of paper and a pen or pencil found on your table. (pause)
First, write down the name of a close friend. (pause)
Now write when and where you met. (pause)
And then write three words that best describe what you like about your friend. Please keep the paper in front of you while I tell you about Diane.
One day, Diane had a brief encounter with a young woman in the office restroom; only a few words were spoken, but they touched Diane’s heart. “Nobody speaks to me,” the woman said through her tears. A few days later, Diane left the woman a small gift on her desk and an invitation to a gathering in her home.
The young woman is a victim of what one study calls an “epidemic of loneliness.” Diane sees this often as she reaches out to show love, care, and value to the women around her. She says, “There are many things going on in women’s lives that we never know about.”
Diane recently hosted in her home Stonecroft’s Where Love Lives small-group experience. That experience brought friendship and love to women from all walks of life.
One guest was a professional woman Diane met in a checkout line. Another recently lived in a shelter for abused women. Some were friends from her Stonecroft group. Others were from Diane’s office building. Diane says, “These women made such great connections with each other. Each woman told me she felt so loved there.” The experience was so welcomed, the women decided to keep meeting after the Where Love Lives sessions concluded.
Have you ever been lonely? Have you ever been in need of a friend?
Stonecroft women across the country are befriending other women to stop the loneliness epidemic. They’re bringing love to others in ways that they can feel valued and loved. Not only are they gaining friends for themselves, they’re being the friends others need.
You and I can help stop this epidemic of loneliness. We have the opportunity today to give to Stonecroft and bring love and friendship to women from all walks of life.
Your tax-deductible gifts can be placed in the envelopes. On the envelope flap, you have the opportunity to make a one-time gift or a monthly donation. You can make your donation by credit card, check, or cash. If using cash, please provide your information on the envelope flap. You will receive a receipt. Your table host is passing around a larger envelope to receive your envelope.
When you leave today, take your paper about your friend with you. How about giving her a call or writing her a note? If you had trouble thinking of someone to include on your paper, meet me afterward. I’d love to get you connected with one of our small groups such as our Bible studies or Prayer Connections where you can meet friends as we sit shoulder-to-shoulder and do life together.
Thank you for being a friend through your giving.
Thank You, Friends of Stonecroft Script Readers:
The Stonecroft staff appreciates your time and effort that you put into the Friends of Stonecroft presentation for each meeting. Every moment practiced, every smile shared, and every word spoken engages your listeners to give so that lives are transformed and changed for eternity. Please know that you are encircled by our prayers as you offer your voice to share the stories of how God is working through Stonecroft. We couldn’t do it without you. May you be blessed beyond measure.
P.S. We’ve developed a special “Recipe for Success” Friends of Stonecroft script to be read at your Fall Fundraiser this year. You can find it on the stonecroft.org/fall-fundraiser/ page (log-in required).