July Newsletter

Sisters,

Thank you for the kind words about our first edition of this monthly newsletter. We’re back with the July edition!

We know that the past week has been difficult for many of us and we encourage you to seek guidance from the Lord on how best to support the sisters in your individual wards as people share their feelings and seek your counsel.

Starting on July 10 from 4-4:30 pm, we are kicking off monthly “office hours” with the Stake RS Presidency via Zoom. Since so many ward presidencies are being restructured this summer, we want to provide a consistent time for short training sessions or open discussions about pressing concerns. This month, our topic will be Sunday Meetings (Handbook Section 9.2.1.2). Please know we do not consider this to be mandatory training, but rather an opportunity for us to build friendships across the stake and to learn from each of you. We do hope you’ll join us when your schedule allows.

As you’ve heard, there is a Stake Pioneer Day activity on July 23, and since we want everyone to enjoy the event, we are going to change the date for our Relief Society Presidencies get-together to another month. We’ll share an update as soon as we have a new date.

Sending much love,

Monica, Leslie, Donetta, Andrea

Meet Leslie Owusu, First Counselor of the Stake Relief Society

I’m Leslie, or Les, and I was born and raised in Northern Virginia. I’m in the Brooklyn Ward, currently residing in Bed-Stuy. I loooove food, nature, and traveling. I’m terrible at texting, adore Bollywood movies, and enjoy taking long naps. I also love music, especially learning new instruments. I played the viola growing up and really want to get back into it. I’ve also learned the piano and ukulele as an adult. The cello is next on my list!

I edit children’s books for work and thoroughly enjoy it. Some of my personal favorite children’s books include The Phantom Tollbooth, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Detectives in Togas. My favorite overall book genres include historical fiction, mythology, and thrillers. I’m a Ravenclaw who is an introverted night owl and I LOVE (like am obsessed with) all-things Halloween.

Meet Angelique Nicolai, First Counselor of Single Adult Relief Society

I'm Angelique from the NYC Single Adult Ward. I grew up in the suburbs about 30 miles north of Manhattan, went to college in Cleveland and med school in New York City. Now I work as an anesthesiologist at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY.

I love to read, mostly fiction, and some of my favorite authors include Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Kazuo Ishiguro and Jane Austen. I like to swing dance when I can and I enjoy traveling, particularly to Italy where my father's family is from. I'm an occasional quilter, a novice crocheter, and I've recently been trying to perfect a lemon curd. I struggle to remember birthdays and have an irrational fear of my email inbox. My family lives nearby and they are a big part of my day-to-day life. I reside on West 115th St with a cat named Erwin who lets me live in his apartment in exchange for regular feeding and treats.