General Conference:  Sit Up and Pay Attention

By Joyce D. Sohl, deputy general secretary, Women’s Division

            Sit up and pay attention.  It’s a phrase we’ve said as parents, as teachers, as leaders, and we may have had it said to us at some time in our lives.

            The year of General Conference – the legislative-making body of our denomination – is always a time that United Methodist Women members need to sit up and pay attention.  It makes no difference if you are a voting delegate to General Conference or if you are a local member of the organization who is just learning about the event.  As United Methodist Women, it’s a time to pay attention.

            This year, the quadrennial General Conference is in Pittsburgh, Penn., April 27-May 7.  Here’s how we should be paying attention.

• Educate yourselves about it (http://www.umc.org/gc2004/ ).  It affects our whole denomination.
• Look at the resolutions that are coming before General Conference.  Many of them are about working with women, children and youth on issues of justice.  If voted on affirmatively, these resolutions can set the direction for our work as a denomination and as United Methodist Women.  The work of the Women’s Division is always within the bounds and limits of The Book of Discipline and The Book of Resolutions.  Ideas, the Biblical basis, and directions for action can come from these resolutions. (For Women’s Division resolutions, go to http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/gc2004/ .)
• Watch for resolutions meant to undermine the work of United Methodist Women and the Women’s Division.  Ask questions like who are the people who want to undermine this work?  What are their motives?  Are there claims truthful?  To whom are they accountable?  And what would happen to mission with women and children if there was no organization of United Methodist Women?  Know the issues and the facts, so that you can communicate them in your own units and Churches.  (See http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/statement_gnpetitions.html for statements about anti-Women’s Division resolutions.)
• Share with your conference delegates if there is a particular issue coming before General Conference about which you feel strongly.  God speaks to us in a variety of ways.  If you can advocate on behalf of the “least of these” or the voiceless in our world, do not be silent.  Pick up a pen, send an email, or make a phone call to share with a delegate. (The 2004 delegation list is at http://www.umc.org/gc2004/.)
• Pray for the delegates to General Conference and all who are involved in the legislative-making process.  We are being watched by those within and outside the Church.  They are looking at the way we respond as a denomination to certain issues and the way we act at our event.  Pray that all involved have been studying and discerning God’s will and that they may be a Christian witness to the world in responses and actions.

Sit up and pay attention!  General Conference is about delegates working hard to discern God’s will and direction for our Church in this world.  It’s a difficult process.  And as United Methodist Women, we all need to be involved in it.

Prayer Concern …

We pray for the decision makers of the Church that they may be open to the direction of the Holy Spirit; for the actions of the denomination that these may shine as a hopeful witness to Christ’s love in the world; and for our own work that it may be God’s will and a liberation to others.

Bible Women Spreading Work and Word Through Asia

Erlincy Rodriguez, a pastor and deaconess, travels up and down Davao, Philippines, teaching five rural communities about health issues and doing three-day seminars on HIV/AIDS in Western Visayas.

She takes with her “health begins at home” manuals, translated in native tongues, with cultural images that are appropriate for her country.  Though many of the women from the villages she visits cannot read, she uses a method introduced to her in a “Bible Women” training – sponsored by the United Methodist Women’s Division and developed by ProLiteracy Worldwide (formerly Laubach International).

Using a simple learning-focused technique, she teaches rural women to make herbal bath soaps for cleanliness and to make money.  She trains them on using herbal plants from their surroundings for medicines.  And she teaches them about HIV/AIDS and its prevention.

“I belong to where I am needed is my motto,” says Ms. Rodriguez.

It’s the motto of many Bible women – a program that is spreading rapidly and began three years ago.  Their actions demonstrate how some of the greatest evangelization takes place when living out the Word.

In Malaysia, their work has already reached more than 3000 people in the rural villages of Sarawak and the remote towns of Sabah, where male missionaries and ministers refuse to go. 

Christmas day marked the baptism of 85 new Christians in a longhouse in Malaysia, because of the work of Bible Women there.

Stories like those in the Philippines and Malaysia are becoming common throughout Asia as women in Cambodia, East Malaysia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, the Philippines, Southern India, and Indonesia work as Bible Women.

At Women’s Division trainings, “Bible Women” – as the indigenous women are called – are armed with a knowledge of HIV/AIDS, community-based health, micro-credit, domestic violence, etc.  They choose the issue, based on what they see as urgent in their areas.  

Together, they study the Bible – specifically focusing on Jesus’ ministry of healing, challenges and transformation. 

Then, they use their knowledge as they travel – many times by foot and for days at a time -- into rural areas and towns.  The treks can be brutal.  The weather can be uncooperative.  But these women are committed and believe this is their “calling.”

The women teach others about “burning issues” – like community health and HIV/AIDS for Ms. Rodriguez.  They share Bible stories.  They use materials that have been developed for their culture and situation. And, they incorporate literacy techniques throughout the entire training, so that women can learn to read.

 The result -- communities are living healthier, women are becoming leaders, and many people want to become Christian because of the actions of these Bible Women.

The Bible Women program is not new to the Church.  It was a program of women’s missionary societies more than 100 years ago. Re-invented in March 2001, trainings for this year are scheduled for Laos, Northern India, Southern Cambodia and the Tamil areas of West Malaysia.

Young Woman To Help Others Overcome Challenges in Nepal

Joanna Grome of Cincinnati, Ohio, will be working in rural communities outside Kathmandu, Nepal, to help women live better lives, thanks to a grant from the Women’s Division.

Ms. Grome, 21, has received the Theressa Hoover Community Service and Global Citizen Award.  

A student of Drew University, majoring in English and German, she currently works with the Global Volunteer Network in Nepal, where she is teaching English and environmental awareness. 

She plans to further this experience by studying the factors which contribute to rural women’s poverty in the country.  Then, she will create action plans to help women advance their status and improve the welfare of their families through education and literacy programs.

The Theressa Hoover Community Service and Global Citizen is given annually to honor Theressa Hoover for her years of service to the Woman=s Division/Women=s Division (1948-90), The United Methodist Church, and the ecumenical world.  The award in the form of a grant Ais 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.@

The Women=s Division established the award in perpetuity, in the amount of $100,000 with only the interest used for grants.  The award is designated for women of all races and nationalities, ages 21-35. 

Becoming Vessels of Mission at Jurisdiction Meetings

United Methodist Women around the country are finalizing reservations to attend the quadrennial Jurisdiction Meetings closest to them.  At these meetings, delegates from each of the conferences vote on directors to the Women’s Division.  Yet, there are other networking activities, Bible studies, worship opportunities, and workshops for those who are not delegates, yet are valuable members of the organization.  For information and registration materials on your jurisdiction meeting contact your conference or district presidents or go to:

Northeastern Jurisdiction Meeting, Baltimore, Md.

March 5-7, 2004

http://www.gbgm-umc.org/nejumw/

Southeastern Jurisdiction Meeting, Louisville, Ken. 

March 12-14, 2004

http://www.gbgm-umc.org/sejumw/

Western Jurisdiction Meeting, Oakland, Cal.

March 12-14, 2004

http://www.gbgm-umc.org/wjumw/

South Central Jurisdiction Meeting, San Antonio, Tex.

March 12-14, 2004

http://www.gbgm-umc.org/scjurisdictionumw/

North Central Jurisdiction Meeting, Chicago, Ill.

March 26-28, 2004

For registration information, contact Kathleen Enzingmer at enzmink@daktel.com.  Phone: 701-252-7852;  Fax: 701-252-8330

January-February Edition of Response Marks A Change in Your Magazine!

            The upcoming issue of Response is dated January‑February 2004. This doesn’t signal a long‑term change for the magazine, which historically has been published monthly except for a combined July‑August issue. It is Response’s way of getting production and delivery back on schedule.

            Response encountered major difficulties in producing the October 2003 issue, which has since delayed issues. By publishing a combined January‑February issue, Response will return to the regular production schedule with the March 2004 issue.

            Subscribers will still receive 11 issues for a one‑year subscription as Response will publish separate July and August issues. With 2005, the magazine will return to monthly publication except for the combined summer issue.

            As the magazine staff work to get back on schedule, there is another concern. For years, Response has mailed the last week of the month before the date of issue. Reader calls and emails indicate mail delivery is taking a week or more longer than before Sept. 11, 2001, and related postal incidents.

            Once we are able to get back on our usual production and mailing schedule, we will resume efforts to mail a week earlier.

            We appreciate readers’ patience and the many kind notes and emails, even as you have questioned the late delivery.

            Your notes and emails ‑‑on the magazine’s content and delivery ‑‑are important to the magazine, so let Response hear from you.   Address emails to Dana Jones, editor, djones@gbgm‑umc.org .

United Methodist Women Invited to March for Women’s Lives

            At their last board meeting, The Women’s Division voted to co-sponsor “The March for Women’s Lives” April 25, 2004, in Washington, D.C.  The decision represents the Division’s support of women’s reproductive rights within the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church.  The decision is in keeping with the denomination’s Book of Discipline mandate “to expand health and wholeness public-policy advocacy to include… reproductive and end-of-life healthcare.”

            United Methodist Women members are invited to march with Women’s Division participants.  Participants should meet at the Washington Office, 100 Maryland Ave., N.E., at 9:00 a.m. on April 25.  For more information, contact Julie Taylor at jtaylor@gbgm-umc.org or 202-488-5660.

Resources

Mission Maps Online

United Methodist Women know that their gifts to mission go around the world.  But did you know that you can think of a particular country, then click on an online map to find what programs and projects we support there?  This is a great resource when doing a program or reading about a particular geographic area in the news. And it’s very helpful in understanding the breadth of United Methodist Women’s support.  To access the online mission maps, go to http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/umwmap/maphome.htm