May 21, 1998 -- Singing the commissioned theme song, "Make the Vision Plain," more than ten thousand United Methodist Women left the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, on Sunday morning leaving a truckload of relief supplies, quilts for mission institutions, nearly $170,000 to empower women and thousands of letters to senators. Inspired by their experiences, they took with them a new understanding of justice and the future of mission.
"Assembly is a special time for United Methodist Women to celebrate who we are and what we do," said Sara Shingler, president of the denomination’s Women’s Division. "It’s a time when UMW members are nurtured, so we may be nurturers of women, children and youth around the world."
Concluding the four-day event, Deputy General Secretary of the Women’s Division, Joyce Sohl, commissioned participants to believe a vision is possible, pray for it, and allow it to empower women. Reminding participants that the vision would only be fulfilled in God’s time, she held participants responsible for making God’s vision plain.
"If we believe, pray and live the vision, we will be amazingly effective as agents of God’s vision!" said Ms. Sohl. "It is in our hands, it is in our hearts, we have the power! Let’s do it."
Enthused about the possibilities for mission, participants brought and sent health and layette kits to replenish the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) depot that aids areas victimized by war and natural disasters. Boxes of supplies filled the tractor trailer parked in the exhibit area.
They created quilt squares with their vision, sewing them together in a special exhibit area. All quilts will be given to mission institutions.
Participants gave nearly $170,000 to support programs that help women move from dependence to independence. The Women’s Division will continue to collect offerings throughout the year that aid programs in the U.S. and around the world to 1)improve access to resources such as education, health care, job training, credit, work and family needs such as child care and elder care; 2) improve the economic stability of women and their families through economic literacy, vocational skills, apprenticeship programs, business management training, formation of businesses, cooperatives, and /or loan funds, trust banks, credit unions; 3) open new horizons and help women to break down old barriers of race, ethnicity, class, age, nationality, disability/access, etc., to address a particular economic development problem or strategy.
Encouraging senators to sign an international treaty to end discrimination against women, participants wrote thousands of letters to be delivered to senators in Washington, D.C. They urged them to ratify the treaty known as the "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women," which supports equal rights for women legally, socially and culturally. The United States is the only Western democracy that has not ratified the treaty.
Afternoons were spent in one of 70 workshops ranging from prayer and meditation, biomedical ethics, environmental issues, hate crimes, multimedia, membership ideas, political advocacy, to theological tasks and special language groups.
A simulated mine field, the site of a church burning, houses of poverty from around the world, workplaces using child labor, a rain forest exemplifying the destruction of our environment, and more in the exhibits area addressed issues of concern.
Saturday morning, Senior United Nations economic officer, Ruth Bamela Engo-Tjega, focused on African Women impacting the future. "It is a curse to be sorry for someone or believe that they may not do well," said Ms. Engo. "As real transmitters of life and energy we must believe in the work African women are doing and strengthen what they have started."
The Sistren Theatre Collective from Kingston, Jamaica, used drama to confront physical and substance abuse, unemployment, and community action. This independent cultural organization has gained international acclaim for its work and has played a major role in Caribbean popular education in the regional women’s movement.
Each morning, theology experts and authors led the large group in Bible Studies and reflection on social responsibility. Leaders included Tex Sample and Emilie M. Townes, both of St. Paul’s Theological seminary, and Elizabeth Tapia, an ordained United Methodist pastor in the Phillippines and professor at Union Theological seminary in that country.
Each evening ended with a celebration of music including recording artists Cissy Houston and Native American group Ulali, and the Cantemos Choir of North Georgia, Vision of Justice Singers, and instrumentalists sharing songs of women that share the vision.
The United Methodist Women’s Assembly is a quadrennial event sponsored by the Women’s Division, General Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Church. The next Assembly will be in Philadelphia, Pa. The Women’s Division represents United Methodist Women, an organization of one million members. The organization’s purpose is to foster spiritual growth, develop leaders, and advocate for social 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.
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