A message from our president.

The PNW Conference UMW Spiritual Growth Retreat that was scheduled at Lazy Z on March 19-21, 2021 has been changed to a zoom meeting.   

The dates will be Friday evening, March 19th (6:30 pm-9:00 pm) and Saturday morning, March 20th (8:45 am-11:00 am). 

You will be asked to register at no cost so that we can send out information to you before the meeting.  It will still be presented by Rev. Brenda Tudor. She would like us all to read the book "What We Need Is Here" by L. Roger Owens before the zoom meeting. There will be more information coming out in late January. 

 From Susan Chamberlain, C2C District President

God-Bearer

While still living under the protection of her father, Mary is informed by the angel Gabriel that she is to bear a child and her relative Elizabeth is also pregnant. Knowing that Elizabeth is older and has never had any children, a miracle, Mary says yes to Gabriel and accepts the miracle of being "Theotokos" or God-bearer.

Shared Joy

Instead of staying in the safety of her parent's home, Mary hastens off to visit Elizabeth. She stays there for three months as the women share their joy of expectation, as Elizabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist is nearing an end and Mary's pregnancy with Jesus is beginning.

Elizabeth functions as a prophet, announcing to Mary that her child shall be the Lord (Luke's title for Jesus) even before Mary tells her that she is pregnant. Through the Spirit, Elizabeth has wisdom to share with Mary. Being pregnant is stressful enough.  Having an unexpected pregnancy that would draw attention from everyone around would be even more so.  Elizabeth's mentoring of Mary surely helped her to handle the pressure and stress that she was to face.

The Gift of a Mentor

There are three characteristics of a mentor according to Priscilla and Jack Levison, authors of How is it With Your Soul.

1. Is intentional - a mentor goes out of their way to guide, teach and lead others.
2. Offers Hospitality - welcoming people into their home, offering them food and drink.
3. Is a relationship of friendship, not a project with a deadline.

When Mary arrives unexpectedly on Elizabeth's doorstep, she is welcomed in and offered hospitality.  The two women share a special bond that makes it easy for Elizabeth to mentor Mary. 

During this time, it can be assumed that Elizabeth shares about preparing for a child and for caring for her own child and her own body. 

It is essential to the Christmas story to remember that Mary said "YES." She was the first to say yes to God's work through Jesus.  Elizabeth's own miracle and her acceptance of Mary gave Mary the strength and courage to sing out boldly about God's transforming work in the world.

Book of the Month

This month's book was chosen to give you a bit of an idea regarding the book we are being asked to read for the spiritual event in March.  It is not available at most libraries but is available from many other sources (even Target has it).  The description below comes from Upper Room Books.

In What We Need Is Here, Roger Owens calls you to return to 7 basics of Christian spirituality:

• Reading the Gospels
• Praying the Psalms
• Making friends with silence
• Finding Jesus at church
• Meeting Jesus through Holy Communion
• Embodying your spirituality
• Being with the poor

Writing in a style that is honest, accessible, and at times humorous, Owens weaves his own stories of struggle with insights from the history of Christian spirituality to help you receive and open yourself to these 7 "givens."

This book includes practical exercises and questions for reflection and discussion, making it ideal for individuals and groups.

Date Reminders

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

These are the dates from the Conference Calendar:

2021 PNW UMW Conference Calendar

• January 16, 2021 Winter Conf. UMW Exec Meeting Zoom  9 a.m. – 12 noon
• January 28-30, 2021 Conf. UMW Leadership Dev. Days Zoom
• January 30, 2021 Spokane Legislative Conference Zoom 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• February 11, 2021 WA Interfaith Advocacy Day Zoom
• February 23-24, 2021 Idaho Legislative Event Boise FUMC Boise, Idaho
• March 19-20, 2021 Spring Spiritual Day Apart Zoom meeting - details to follow.
• June 10-13, 2021 UMC Annual Conference TBD
• July 28-29, 2021 Summer Conf. UMW Exec Meeting Selah UMC, WA (?)
• July 29-August 1, 2021 Mission u Wesley UMC, Yakima, WA
• September 2021 Puget Sound Missional District TBD Annual Meeting
• September 2021 Crest to Coast Missional District TBD
• Annual Meeting
• September 18, 2021 Inland Missional District Annual Mtg. TBD
• September 18, 2021 Seven Rivers Missional District Chelan, WA   Annual Meeting
• September 2021 SeaTac Missional District TBD
• Annual Meeting
• October 14-15, 2021 Fall Conf. UMW Exec Meeting TBD
• October 15-16, 2021 Conf. UMW Annual Meeting TBD
• May 20-22, 2022 Assembly Orlando, FL
• 2024 Western Jurisdiction Quadrennial Mtg. TBD

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 .

Keep working on your "knit together" project, whatever you (or your group) chose to work on.

Mentors often help us to figure out the best way to handle events the way they worked out. This is sometimes a new strategy, sometimes a time for reflection, sometimes it is a time of action.  You and your mentor / mentee need to figure out what will be best for the situation you are in and what you are trying to accomplish.

Also, to help with food shortages, a reverse advent calendar can be done for both months (November and December).  For this you put a non-perishable food item into a container each day.  At the end of the month (or when you want to bring it for a food drive) you can be done or start over.