Women's Division Directors Decisions to Affect Women and Children

The policy-making body of 1-million-member United Methodist Women fosters spiritual growth, develops leaders and advocates for justice. Members raise more than $20 million a year for programs and projects related to women, children and youth in the United States and in more than 100 countries around the world.

In the United States, one in six children live in poverty, according to the United States Census, and the richest school districts spend 56% more per student than the poorest. Daniel Cassidy of the United States Department of Education spoke to directors on Saturday morning about the "No Child Left Behind Act," which passed in Congress in January. "There is a real crisis of the system itself and it requires real systemic changes," said Mr. Cassidy.

Women’s Division directors agreed, kicking off Phase III of the United Methodist Women’s Children’s Campaign, which focuses on a good education for all children, regardless of economic status. The campaign promotes a good education, which includes high quality teachers, adequate funding and facilities, safety and security, a fair measure of success, and accommodations for children with all needs. This grass roots campaign will encourage every woman to visit local schools, assess the quality of education, and begin advocacy work on behalf of children’s education. The book, Campaign for Children Phase III: Let’s Go Back to School, will be available this summer to lead women through the grassroots action process.

In Williamsburg County, South Carolina – an area where farmers on tractors are the common site – Regina Nesmith has been using a grant from the Women’s Division to bring health initiatives into an area isolated from information and preventative healthcare.

The churches know there is a need for health education, she says. "They ask where do we start? What do we do?" says Ms. Nesmith. So, she developed a survey of congregational health issues to ensure she was meeting the community’s needs.

Through a series of educational workshops, personal testimonies, and health screening opportunities, she has been training rural, African American churches on issues of HIV/AIDS, cancer awareness and prevention, diabetes, hypertenson, nutrition, security, free programs, and legal aid. The goal is to empower them to continue education and health screening within the community.

"I hope to continue to impact health disparities that we find in our communities," said Ms. Nesmith who wants to expand the program, eventually becoming a non-profit organization.

Ms. Nesmith was the 2001 Theressa Hoover Community Service and Global Citizen awardee. The decade-old award in the form of a grant "is for study, exploration, learning, research and/or observation in a subject area of the recipient’s choosing and in harmony with the current interests of the Women’s Division."

David Ostendorf, director of the Center for New Community, spoke on the insurgency, theology, and history of the Christian Identity movement and how United Methodist Women can confront such hate groups in their area. The Christian Identity movement began in the 19^th century with the British Israelism movement, which believed in a white Christian homeland. A variety of groups have emerged from this movement including the Aryan Nation, neo-Nazis, Christian Patriots, and the Ku Klux Klan. Today, with white power music and video games, the groups are targeting youth for membership and resulting in hard-core racists, according to Mr. Ostendorf. "Take heart from the Gospel lesson of today," said Mr. Ostendorf. "Our hearts have to be on fire for peace and justice and for bold acts that will be necessary to stand up to this hatred. Be strong and courageous in that battle my friends, and get to it."

As the world’s leaders continued peace discussions in the Middle East, the Women’s Division voted on a grant of $5000 to the Grassroots Advocacy Project of Churches for Middle East Peace. The project will produce resources and education around issues related to Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, the situation of the Palestinians living under occupation, and how to be effective advocates for peace in the Middle East.

• The Women’s Division voted to support the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "We want our kids not to smoke," said Andris Salter, executive secretary for environmental justice, about the reason for joining the campaign. The campaign advocates raising cigarette taxes to increase state revenues for non-smoking education and reduce smoking among teens.
• United Methodist Women will participate in TV-Turnoff Week on April 22-28 this year. The campaign strives to bring families and neighborhoods closer together by spending quality, creative time together.
• The Women’s Division will introduce a new plan for district leadership training at the 2002 Regional Schools of Christian Mission.
• Directors voted that $500,000 be allocated for capital improvements of Women’s Division-owned National Mission Institutions.
• Treasurer, Connie Takamine, reported to the Women’s Division on undesignated giving of United Methodist Women. "Remember the missions it is supporting," she said, then referred to the over 2 million participants in the programs of 103 National Mission Institutions; the education of thousands in Schools of Christian Mission; the mission personnel in areas of conflict; and advocacy on the part of the poor and oppressed around the world.
• Directors approved the 2003 Women’s Division appropriations totaling $19,545,475.
• Deputy General Secretary, Joyce Sohl, spoke on the accountability of the Women’s Division to the Purpose of the organization, the organization’s constituencies, and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.