News from Our President

For everyone interested in the Conference Meeting, here are the details and the registration form.

News from Our Jurisdiction

You may, or may not, have already heard this.  Just in case you didn't, I thought I would add this in. 

Estella Wallace was re-elected to the National Board of Directors for Western Jurisdiction and Marilyn Reid appointed to the Program Advisory Group for Western Jurisdiction.

2020-2021 Program Book

Knitted Together for God's Good Work explores how we as children of God are joined and linked together into the whole body of Christ.  Even at times when social distancing or other obstacles may keep us physically apart, we are knit together in community to transform the world.

Caring for Each Other in Community

Community Marked by Unity

This month, we are encouraged to find ways to work across differences to build community and care for those on the margins, drawing inspiration from United Methodist Women's predecessors who worked together for unified studies and mission work.

The early church was a community marked by generosity, unselfishness, and care for everyone.  When the leaders found out that some were going hungry because they could not get to the communal meals or to the food distribution sites, they delegated, others to bring the food to those people.  

When we first read the text, it may appear as a conflict between those of Greek heritage (the Hellenists) and those who were originally Jewish (the Hebrews). In reality, "the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul" (Acts 4:32).  The conflict was part of the process of working out what it means to be knit together as the body of Christ and figuring out how the whole group of those who believe they belong to Christ can live together with one heart and soul.

Choosing to build Trust

When we are pressured to choose, when there are fractures in society, conflicts between friends or family, and distressingly, in our church, we are often told to choose a side.  When we are told that we must be on one side or another, that is when we most need to work at knitting our community together.

In the scripture, the Christians did not allow their differences to separate them.  They acknowledged the difference and allowed themselves to be knit together in the body of Christ.  They empowered others to be leaders, they continued their commitment to thee care of those on the margins, and found ways to work together for the common good.

The secret to the success of the early women's mission movement, according to historian Dr. Dana Robert, was "unity among married and single women, prominent and ordinary women, missionary and homeside women, and women of different Protestant traditions."  Through friendships across the divide, the women of the early movement built trust over time despite their differences in worship style or doctrines.

Another fact she noted was that an important aspect of the early women's mission society movement was the united study of mission as early as 1900.  Women organized for mission wanted "reliable material about missions."   A group comprised of representatives from many denominations was made up to publish an annual textbook for the women to use.  At the time when all of this interdenominational cooperative study began, the Methodists were still living out the divisions brought about in the time of the Civil War.  These women sought to be knitted together in Christ through mission study and found a way to work together.

To learn more about this, check out this month's program in our new program book (see above).

Book of the Month

Here is a book that reflects this month's program from the book.  One review states:

When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up is the story of eight women called to serve God and who, in doing so, changed the world. They lived at the turn of the century, rubbing shoulders with the well-known men of their time, like John Rockefeller, Marshall Field, and Dwight Lyman Moody.

These women—Fanny Crosby, Mary McLeod Bethune, Nettie McCormick, Sarah Dunn Clarke, Emma Dryer, Virginia Asher, Evangeline Booth, and Amanda Berry Smith—were unique. They were single and married, black and white, wealthy and poor, beautiful and plain, mothers and childless. Yet, each felt called to make a difference and to do something—to meet a pressing need in her world.

These women wanted to live lives less ordinary. Their stories inspire us to follow God's calling in our own lives. They teach us that each individual person can make a difference. These eight women will show you how God can use your life to change the world.

Date Reminders

CALENDAR 2020 - these are tentative and subject to change as circumstances change.

Conference and District in person events have been canceled.

October  PNW UMW Executive Meeting, Virtual Meeting.

October PNW UMW Annual Conference Meeting, Virtual Meeting.   See above for details and the registration form.

If you have any other information that you want me to put here, please let me know by calling (360) 609-0503 or emailing me at lmilner2016@gmail.com .

Old time quilting bees worked together on a single project.  Pot lucks have many people working together to feed the whole group.  Our quilt project has many people providing quilts, blankets, and afghans for those in need, especially the children.  If you wanted to, you could do a knit, crochet, or quilted piece as a group with each person contributing one or more blocks (square or rectangle) to be joined together to make a single, unified piece.  

What other ways can you think of that we are knit together?