Lily the Pink
The story behind this name started when our founder was looking for a name to use when making and selling jewellery. She did not want to use her surname so she looked at what she could do with her first name. Susan means lily. At about the same time she thought God was asking her to wear more pink clothes. At that time nearly all her wardrobe was blue or grey, colours that were more like prison uniform!
She then remembered the song Lily the Pink from her childhood. OK Lily the Pink sounds good why not use that. She had a look at the words of the song. Lily the Pink is called “the saviour of the world”. Her medicinal compound is thought to have some very strange results in the song. It is somewhat exaggerated. However it is not the only thing that might sound a bit over the top.
In 1993 she was on a course in church where one of the exercises was to write down what people thought God was saying to them. Shortly before the course she had asked God “What I will I do with my life?”. The next paragraph gives the answer.
You are my child, my precious possession, my lily, my beautiful one. My saviour for many people and churches. I will use you as you lean on me. I will support you and deal sensitively with you. You will restore my people throughout the word of my testimony. You are my child. You are my deliverer of millions, through you I will do many wonders. I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD.
Once she recovered from the amazement of such a statement she looked at the idea of what a saviour or deliverer was. Someone who helps people move from an unpleasant or unhappy situation to a far better situation. This is what blossoming is all about.
Why ministries?
Ministry is about serving people and helping them. Some of the people who were advising Susan at the beginning stressed the importance of using a distinctive name that reflected her values. If using the same name for different businesses is good enough for Richard Branson then it is good enough for Susan.
Where does the CIC at the end come from?
CIC stands for Community Interest Company. What on earth does that mean? It is a type of limited company but one where the aim is benefit the community rather than to make money for those running it. It is not a charity although there is a regulator who by law needs to see the year end accounts and the annual report. The annual report has to explain what Lily the Pink Ministries has done to benefit the communities that the founding documents said that it would do. These are available on the regulator’s own web site so anyone can have a look at them.
The legal documents have to say who will benefit from the activities of the CIC. There are two groups mentioned. Firstly, anyone who can access the web site and understand English. Secondly, those living locally who need support to improve their emotional or mental wellbeing. Before agreeing to register Lily the Pink Ministries CIC the regulator also wanted to see a list of ways that these communities could benefit. The annual report has to explain how these aims have been met.
There are restrictions on how much the directors can earn, no fat cat salaries are allowed by the regulator. The profits have to go to the community rather than to the directors. The documentation also had to state what use any surplus would be put to. The answer to that was “The range of possible needs that clients may have means that it is unlikely that there will be any difficulty finding ways of spending money on clients.” There is also an asset lock that means that if Lily the Pink Ministries is wound down then all the assets have to be passed on to another not for profit organisation doing similar work .
So now you know.
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