Report of the President
to the
Women’s Division
October 18, 2002

I would venture a guess that many of you were like I was as a child. The middle of August would roll around and the anticipation would begin. School was about to start and with it, all the emotions that accompanied that event came to the surface.

There was the uncertainty of a new teacher and new classmates. There was the shopping for clothes, or, in my case, the choosing of fabric for a new dress. And there was the anxiety of how you were going to answer that dreaded question: What did you do on your summer vacation? Some years were easier than others.

This is the third time I’ve given a fall report, and I feel a bit like I did years ago. But—even though it’s the middle of October, I’d like to answer a question not unlike that one we were asked as children: "What did you do since we last met?"

After our Division meeting in April we went to Assembly. I’ve spent time reading various articles written by people who attended assembly. They were in district and conference newsletters and in publications that were both official and unofficial.

Let me tell you what I saw, heard, and experienced at the Assembly in Philadelphia.

I saw women of different sizes and shapes and colors. I saw young women and I saw old women. I saw children brought by their mothers to childcare. I saw women helping other women. I saw women who were happy, and I saw women who were burdened. I saw women experiencing assembly for the first time and women who were probably experiencing their last. I saw women from Africa and Russia and the Philippines. I saw staff and directors efficiently doing what they were asked to do and even things they weren’t.

I heard laughter and I heard voices as women reunited with old friends and made new ones.

I heard lots of singing. I heard the voices of children and youth—which energized us and gave us hope. I heard women singing new songs—some in languages new to them. I heard Bible Studies that became ingrained in my being—helping me remember the children and the marginalized.

I heard things that made me uncomfortable—stories of women and children from here and around the world that are struggling just to survive. I heard challenges that caused me to think and to take action.

And I heard United Methodist Women—strong and determined—as they became energized once again.

I experienced United Methodist Women at their best: the genuine caring, love, and support that are freely given. I experienced women who are disciples of Jesus Christ—living their lives as he commanded.

I saw a community of women—a very large community—who are committed to mission and all the effort, and work, and money that being in mission entails. And I experienced being in the presence of women who have taken and are continuing to take the light of Jesus into the world.

It was an assembly when women took action and wrote postcards.

The officers of Women’s Division delivered those post cards in May to Washington DC. After meeting with the Children’s Defense Fund we did something that for most of us was a new experience—we visited members of Congress—or—in some cases—tried to visit. But the point is this: we used our collective voice to speak for children. And we represented the thousands of United Methodist Women from around the country as we expressed our concern for the care of the least in our society.

In July I attended a meeting of the College Consultative Group made up of women in college and older women who work in a college setting. Involving college women in the organization of United Methodist Women is no easy task. They have many demands on their time and the transient nature of the group makes forming a unit on a college campus challenging. But I saw and heard a group of women committed to the organization.

During a question and answer period, I asked what it was about United Methodist Women that attracted them. They answered simply: the organization had a purpose they could embrace, and part of that purpose was mission. I asked if they saw themselves a part of the organization in twenty-five years. There was an emphatic "yes!"

It’s up to us!

We celebrate the success of the Membership Campaign started in 1996, but at the same time we realize that with the ending of the campaign comes the real work for all of us.

Unless we put ourselves in close proximity to teens, college women, young women, retired women, Korean, Hispanic, and women from other language groups, there’s the possibility that the campaign might lose its momentum. Only in working with these groups can we really know them, and they really know us.

It was a joy for me to be with such an intelligent, committed, focused and fun group of women.

I challenge you to work with your district and conference in reaching out to all women.

I’ve had a wonderful time attending conference annual meetings this year. I’ve met women who have been members for years and years and some that are new to the organization. I’ve discovered conferences operate differently, but all have worked hard in interpreting the Purpose of United Methodist Women. I’ve been encouraged by several things.

First, there has been a better understanding of Mission Today, and local units are being recognized by the conference as Mission Today Units. That’s a good thing. The local woman has a better understanding of mission and how she can participate in mission.

It’s been exciting to see the involvement of young women—not just a few, but many—at some conference meetings. Not only were they in attendance, they were participating and, in some cases, taking leadership responsibilities.

It takes effort to involve young women. One conference I visited honored young women of the 21^st century. Each local unit was asked to choose someone from their church between the ages of 13 and 30. Members of the unit made posters, brought them to the annual meeting, and, more importantly, brought along the honoree! During the meeting, these young women were honored in a brief ceremony. There were forty in attendance, and although all were not involved in the organization, they saw and heard about United Methodist Women. They began to hear the story.

But there are challenges that we need to address.

The uncertainty of the economy is impacting giving to the organization. Conferences are hesitant about increasing their pledge to mission. This may be somewhat understandable, but I believe that if we truly are effective interpreters of mission, giving will increase. We need to tell the story of mission and to tell it again and again. We need to know where the money goes and tell others. If that happens, perhaps conferences will have no trouble in reaching their pledge to mission. They may even raise it!

And the conference committees on nominations need to be more intentional in selecting a diverse mission team. I realize it’s easier in some conferences than in others, and some conferences don’t see themselves as diverse. I also know how easy it is to recycle officers, but new life on the mission team breathes new energy, and, let’s face it: some conferences need that new energy.

As we plan annual meetings, we need to realize that women who are new to the organization don’t understand the structure, the "terms", the language we use. We need to be sensitive to that.

Annual meetings are vital to United Methodist Women. They are not just places to take care of business. Annual meetings are places of interpretation. Annual meetings are places of community, and places of worship. They are places that women become focused and energized once again on the purpose of the organization.

And the Division has done its share of traveling since we last met. Of course, not all of us have gone everywhere, but, in a sense, we have. We have been represented by staff and directors at events in the United States and throughout the world. We’ve participated in programs, seminars and celebrations. Wherever we go, those we meet know about Women’s Division and the organization of United Methodist Women. We have been thanked, prayed for, entertained, and loved by women around the world. It’s something we can all take pride in. As we go representing United Methodist Women, we know we have the support of each other, and our trips are made more meaningful.

The National and International Committee meetings this year offered us a unique opportunity to see "up close and personal" "where the money goes." First, I hope you realize the importance of these committees. Women’s Division has an awesome responsibility to make decisions that affect the lives of women, children and youth around the world. Would that we had more money to disperse! The needs are great, and the decisions aren’t easy ones as we study and learn about the projects and programs that we fund. Don’t forget about those projects! Keep in mind the visits we made in Calexico and Mexicali, and the people we met. Remember the ease we had walking into Mexico, and the lines we were in coming back to the United States. Think of the people who do that daily. Remember the sounds, the smells, and the movement. Don’t just think of the temperatures.

It was hot that day! The weather made us uncomfortable.

On the ride back to San Diego, I thought of a newspaper article I read in the Detroit Free Press. The columnist wrote about a church she attends while on vacation in Northern Michigan. A benefactor wrote a check for $10,000 to have the church air-conditioned. The pastor was, at first, thrilled. On Sunday mornings he would stand up front, in his shirt and tie, warm and damp. It was after hearing him complain, again, that the benefactor pulled out her checkbook and wrote the check.

The columnist likes the church—she likes the preaching, the singing, the coffee hour, the people, and the ceiling fans. She likes the open windows and the wide-open front door. As she walks toward the church she can see inside the new friends who will greet her. During the service she hears the birds and the wind and sometimes the rain.

She bemoans the fact that if air-conditioning is installed, the doors and windows will have to be shut.

She talked with the pastor about it. He told her that the church is already behind the times, as some people measure it. Not having climate control is, according to him, quaint. He wondered if it was practical, in the 21^st century, when nearly everyone expects to be comfortable in public gatherings.

The columnist goes on to give her opinion. She believes churches shouldn’t shut themselves off from the world, even its heat and humidity. She doesn’t think churches should be too comfortable. She says that comfort and convenience are drugs of the masses. She concludes that a little sweat joins us and reminds us that living with love and integrity isn’t easy.

She’s right, you know. Living with love and integrity isn’t easy, but it’s something that Christians are called to do.

We are called to follow Christ—to follow his teachings—to follow his example. Matthew 5:9 states: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Peterson in The Message puts it this way: "You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family."

That scripture challenges us as a Division. We’re challenged by what we saw in Calexico and Mexicali. We’re challenged by what we read. We’re challenged by what we learn at Schools of Christian Mission. We’re challenged with the issues of integrity, love, and peace.

In San Diego, we met as an Executive Committee to discern our position in light of world events concerning Iraq. After much discussion among directors and staff, the following statement was adopted:

The Executive Committee of the Women’s Division re-affirms its opposition to war as the instrument for resolving the continuing conflict with Iraq; presses for lifting the sanctions against Iraq and urges all governments, most particularly the USA, and the Security Council of the United Nations to pursue peaceful means in resolving conflicts with Iraq.

What that means to us as a Division is that we continue to understand the words of the Social Principles and the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, and we continue to witness to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The author Henri Nouwen has said: "The Christian witness is a critical witness because the Christian professes that the Lord will come again and make all things new. The Christian life calls for radical changes because the Christian assumes a critical distance from the world and, in spite of all contradictions, keeps saying that a new way of being human and a new peace are possible."

So, as a Division, we have taken a position of peace. We know, indeed, that living with love and integrity is hard work, but it is the way we will live. As we continue on this journey together—this journey that we began two years ago—we realize, perhaps now more than before, that we indeed are in a position to make a difference in the lives of people everywhere. We will continue to read and study, and to pray and discern. We will continue to support and love those with whom we are in mission. And we will continue to follow the teachings of Christ, and to live and to speak so that those we encounter will see Christ in us.