Making Our PURPOSE

Through Mission Today!!!

United Methodist Women is a community of women,whose PURPOSE is: to know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church.
 

To Know God.............

• Encourage young women (18-35) to attend the Young Women’s Event.
• Use the Prayer Calendar at all unit meetings to pray for those in mission.  Assign the prayer calendar ahead so persons will be ready to read.  Use the Prayer Calendar every day for personal Bible Study.  It has Bible passages for daily reading.  You can use the Bible passages as a part of your devotions at your unit meetings. 
• Encourage the ladies in your unit to attend the Conference School of Christian Mission .   There is always a Bible Study as part of the school.  Ask someone who has never attended to go with you and mentor them.    Help those you may not be able to afford the cost to attend.  Offer scholarships especially to first timers.
• Encourage the ladies to attend the Conference & District  Spiritual Life Retreat .   This is a time for spiritual growth for all those who attend. 
• Have a Mission Study using the spiritual growth studies used at the School of Christian Mission .  Invite other area churches to participate.  Contact your district or conference Mission Coordinator for Education and Interpretation to learn what studies may be used.
• Encourage your members to subscribe to Response Magazine.  Each unit itself could order a subscription to Response Magazine which could be shared with all members.  There is a Bible Study in each issue. Share these studies at circle meetings.
• Use programs from the Program Book. Use as much of the program as you want. You can adapt the program to fit your needs. There are programs for spiritual growth, mission education and on mission giving.

To Experience Freedom As Whole Persons Through Jesus Christ..........

• Attend UM Day at the General Assembly
• Implement the Charter for Racial Justice in one way during the year.  Find books on the Reading Program that deal with racism and get your members to read and share the stories.  Involve other churches with different cultures in your mission studies and other events your local unit may have.  
• Encourage your ladies to attend the Conference & District Annual Meeting.  Volunteer your church to host a district event and get the other area churches to help.  Ask others to attend with you.  Offer scholarships to first timers attending from your unit.  Let them ask a friend to attend with them and give a scholarship to them also.
• Subscribe to Response Magazine.  This is our magazine.  It helps us to learn who we are as United Methodist Women.

To Develop A Creative Supportive Fellowship..............

• Share the joys of membership with the other women in your church.  Each one invite one.  Be intentional about inviting others to join. 

• Attend UMW Day at Ferrum the first Saturday of June

• Attend the Young Women’s Event for 18-35 year olds
• Have your Social Action Coordinator or someone else in your unit to join the United Methodist Women’s Action Network to receive and respond to legislative information during the year.  Learning about the issues facing women and children help us to learn the areas we need to be involved in.

               Download Action Network Registration Form (WORD)

               Download Action Network Registration Form (PDF)

• Invite your district officers to come and give a program to your unit.  This is part of the LUV (Local Unit Visitation) Program.

• Help sponsor a Children’s Sabbath in your local church.  Have children involved in the service and be sure to highlight the issues and needs that children are facing today. 

To Expand Concepts Of Mission Through Participation In The Global Ministries
 Of The Church..............

• Become a Rainbow Giver

• The Conference School of Christian Mission is a great way to learn about mission opportunities all over the world.  There is always a Geographical Study and a General Issue Study .

• Help the unit to make a Pledge To Mission and to meet it .  This is one channel of the six channels of Mission Giving .

• Help unit to contribute to all Six Channels of Mission Giving .  Have your unit honor some with a Special Mission Recognition pin each year.  Honor and remember someone by sending a Gift To Mission card and a Gift In Memory card during the year.  Also, help your unit be involved in the World Thank Offering .  Remember Mission Giving helps make mission possible around the world.

• Use a Response Moment at all unit meetings to help tell the mission story.  Use the articles that are followed  by the mission giving symbol to help members know where mission giving is helping.

• Use the Reading Program to learn about all aspects of the mission.  There are books on spiritual growth, mission education, social action and membership in the United Methodist Women.  Have the unit to purchase one book from each category and share the books with members in the  unit.