The Uniter CHURCH WOMEN UNITED IN IOWA. WINTER 2014 Vol. 50, No. 1. World Day of Prayer 2014 Friday, March 7

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1 The Uniter CHURCH WOMEN UNITED IN IOWA WINTER 2014 Vol. 50, No. 1 World Day of Prayer 2014 Friday, March 7 Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action World Day of Prayer is based on Informed Prayer which flows into Prayerful Action. After hearing the voices of our sisters, experiencing their pains with them, and feeling their hopes and fear, we are empowered to act. Prayer and action are not two different things connected by a string but rather inseparable realms of our faith experience. To pray truly is to be changed. To truly let in a new perspective is to be changed. To act in accordance with these shifts happens organically. Action continues our Prayer service written by WDP Egypt. More on page 8. INFORMED PRAYER...PRAYERFUL ACTION...INFORMED PRAYER...PRAYERFUL ACTION

2 W I N T E R Sisters of Church Women United, Blessings to you as we celebrate the CWU theme We are in God s hands and we are God s Hands this year.. Making new year s resolutions that promote a healthy lifestyle is important for us all. Options might include exercise, eating more fruits and vegetables, getting adequate sleep, and scheduling annual medical appointments. Just as you make resolutions about your personal health, consider making resolutions for the health of your CWU Unit in 2014: Invite community guest speakers and first-time visitors to each of your Celebrations. Have you considered holding a Celebration at an area care center? Share a voice of justice in your community, to Iowa legislators, and to members of Congress on issues of which you have been alerted by Eloise Cranke, chair of Ecumenical Global Action. Become informed about the 2014 State project, Iowa Interfaith Power & Light. How is climate change affecting your life? Be in conversation about our future! Plan a Human Rights Celebration this year. Through God Our Hands Can Protect. Become knowledgeable about human rights abuse in your community, in Iowa and globally such as human trafficking, domestic violence, homeless teens and child abuse or neglect. Recognize one s hands as tools during May Friendship Day. Through God Our Hands Can Serve. Identify hands that are serving together throughout your community. Identify steps of healing and resource groups that promote healing such as Stephen Ministries during World Community Day. Through God Our Hands Can Heal. Recognize young person(s) between the ages of who has made valuable contributions in Christ to the field of ecumenism through vineyards of church, school, community, business, etc. with Young Church Women United Award ($5 charge for the certificate). Honor person(s) as a key woman in her community, within her church and active in her faith community with Key Woman Award ($15 for pin and certificate). Recognize individual(s) who demonstrate a high regard for the dignity of others with the Human Rights Award ($25 for pin and certificate). Recipients need not be someone in the public eye! Honor a woman as a Valiant Woman ($50 for pin and certificate) who gives service to CWU, her church and her community and lives the Gospel message in her everyday life. Stay informed on Church Women United through a subscription to The Uniter and through the national CWU website Help keep our CWU records by sending Celebration reports to Janet Holmes directly after each Celebration.. Plan to attend the CWU State Assembly ion October 24 in Oskaloosa. Attend World Day of Prayer in your area on March 7. Consider being a denominational representative on the Iowa CWU State Board.. Contact me with questions, comments and suggestions. Thank you! Wishing you happiness and managed health. Stay warm and safe this winter. FROM THE PRESIDENT Serving with you in CWU Sue Hattel. 2

3 The Uniter Church Women United in Iowa Winter 2014 From the State President State Project 4-5 Church Women United in Iowa PRESIDENT Sue Hattel 3070 Kane Court, Dubuque shattel220@aol.com VICE PRESIDENT Lynn Calvert th Ave., Coralville lyksmc@aol.com TREASURER Marilyn Barnes 409 Cory Drive, Ottumwa tm-barnes@live.com COMMUNICATIONS CHAIR Kathleen Clark th St., Des Moines kclarkdsm@aol.com EDITOR of The Uniter Mary Schuchmann schuchr@pcpartner.net State officers, board members 6-7 World Day of Prayer Advocating for peace in the world 9 Highlighting our members 10 Calendar, Celebrations in Subscription Information 12 The Uniter is published quarterly for $5 annually by Church Women United in Iowa, th St., Des Moines Periodical postage paid in Grinnell, Iowa. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to The Uniter, th St., Des Moines STAY INFORMED For national CWU news Subscribe to the national CWU magazine Churchwoman News. The cost is $15 for one year (six Issues). To subscribe, mail your name, address and a check for $15 to Church- Woman News, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 243, New York, NY Make use of national CWU website: 3

4 W I N T E R State Project focuses on environment This year s State Assembly voted to adopt Iowa Interfaith Power & Light as CWU in Iowa s 2014 State Project. Iowa IPL is a statewide organization that is engaging and equipping people of faith to address the environmental and social justice consequences of Without a vision, climate change. The group focuses on education, assistance with the people perish. carbon footprint reductions, and advocacy for sustainable energy Proverbs 29:18 policies. The group is currently working with more than 300 congregations and has more than 1,500 individuals on an mailing list. Publicly launched in October of 2006, Iowa IPL is a part of the national Interfaith Power & Light movement that is active in 40 states. The first IPL program was California IPL, itself modeled on Episcopal Power & Light, both of which were organized by the Rev. Sally Bingham of San Francisco. IPL s most prominent program is Cool Congregations, an effort to encourage congregations to care for creation by helping members calculate and reduce their household energy use by roughly 10% per year. The program was developed in Iowa and now serves as a model for other state affiliates. The newest IPL program, Food, Faith, and Climate, teaches participants how their food choices impact climate change and how our faith traditions call us to respond with practical solutions. The State Project for Church Women United in Iowa alternates between state and national activities. In 2013, the project was national Feeding America, an organization that supplies food to 200-plus member food banks, including the eight Iowa food banks. FOR UNIT TREASURERS Please send your Nickels for National and Fellowship of the Least Coin offerings directly to our state treasurer, Marilyn Barnes, 409 Cory Drive, Ottumwa, IA

5 T H E U N I T E R S T AT E P R O J E C T Message from IPL executive director Dear Church Women United, I was on my way back to the hotel in following a meeting when my cab driver asked me what I was doing in D.C. I told him that I was in town for business, and he asked me what I do. I work on the issue of climate change with people of faith, was my reply.. It is difficult to assess how people will respond to those words, and especially so with someone I ve never met before. But this cab driver didn t miss a beat. You don t take care of something, you lose it, he said. You don t take care of your job, you lose it. You don t take care of your health, you lose it. You don t take care of your family, you lose it. You don t take care of the Earth, you lose it. He went on to say, People usually want to take the easy way. Not to take care of something, that is the easy way. But we must work. Needless to say those words have stuck with me in this calling that I have to work with the faith community on the issue of climate change. As people of faith, we are used to working hard on issues that we care about: hunger, clean water, disaster relief, immigration and refugees, and peace to name just a few. But the truth is, climate change impacts all of these other issues. If we do not address climate change then congregations will continue to have to ramp up their efforts as the impacts of climate disruption intensify. Climate change is one of the most pressing moral challenges facing our world today. We have already seen climate disasters including droughts, floods, wildfires, and super storms, and we know that the impacts of these disasters are felt disproportionately by the most vulnerable in our society. In addition, climate change is an issue of generational justice as we consider what kind of world we are leaving for our children, our grandchildren, and future generations. As people of faith, we are called to hope. By working together, taking practical action in our homes and places of worship to become more energy efficient, transitioning away from fossil fuels and to a clean energy future, and advocating for sustainable energy policies, we can solve the issue of climate change. Sincerely, Susan Guy For more information about Iowa Interfaith Power & Light, contact Rev. Susan Guy, executive director, at director@iowaipl.org or , or visit our website at 5

6 W I N T E R CWU State Officers, Board Members and Committee Members OFFICERS President Sue Hattel, 3070 Kane Court, Dubuque (563) Shattel220@aol.com Vice President Lynn Calvert, th Ave., Coralville 52241, (319) lyksmc@aol.com Secretary Shirley Frey, 316 Keomath Village, Oskaloosa (641) thefreys@mahaska.org Treasurer Marilyn Barnes, 409 Cory Drive, Ottumwa (641) tm-barnes@live.com BOARD MEMBERS Ecumenical Celebrations Janet Holmes, st. St, Blue Grass, (563) doug.holmes1@mchsi.com Ecumenical Global Action Eloise Cranke, 2222 E. 41 st St., Des Moines (515) ecranke@mchsi.com Ecumenical Development/Revitalization Diana Alton, 2505 Morton Ave., Des Moines (515) jamesdianaalton@gmail.com Finance Committee Evelyn Long, th Ave. SW, Altoona (515) evelynmlong@mchsi.com Marilyn Barnes, 409 Cory Drive, Ottumwa ( ) tm-barnes@live.co Nominations Committee Alice Boyd (515) acboyd22@yahoo.com Ann Garton (515) anngarton@hotmail.com MaryAnn Pedde mpedde2@hotmail.com Communications chair Kathleen Clark, th St., Des Moines (515) kclarkdsm@aol.com Editor, The Uniter Mary Schuchmann, 1315 Broad St., Grinnell ( ) schuchr@pcpartner.net United Nations Reporter Jeanette Tisdale, 616 Broad St., Apt. 107P, Grinnell (641) jetgrmus@gmail.com 6

7 T H E U N I T E R Officers and Board Members AREA CHAIRPERSONS Central Rosetta Green, 4030 Briar Cliff Drive, Des Moines (515) Southwest Northwest Ann Garton, PO Box 425, West Bend (515) anngarton@hotmail.com Southeast Shirley Frey, 316 Keomath Village, Oskaloosa (641) thefreys@mahaska.org Northeast Sue Hattel, 3070 Kane Court, Dubuque (515) Shattel220@aol.com DENOMINATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES American Baptist Jeanette Tisdale, 616 Broad St., Apt. 107P, Grinnell (641) jetgrmus@gmail.com Missionary Baptist Alice Boyd, 2210 University Ave., Des Moines (515) acboyd22@yahoo.com Community of Christ Disciples of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Presbyterian Rhonda Anderson, 2324 Reynolds Lane, Des Moines (515) United Church of Christ United Methodist Lynn Calvert, th Ave., Coralville 52241, (319) lyksmc@aol.com Central Region Coordinator Ann Garton National President Marilyn Lariviere ( ) National Headquarters 475 Riverside Drive, #243 New York, NY List updated January 31,

8 W I N T E R World Day of Prayer World Day of Prayer brings together women of various races, cultures and traditions in a yearly common Day of Prayer, as well as in closer fellowship, understanding and action throughout the year. World Day of Prayer focuses this year on Egypt a place where history flows across every location like the Nile River flows through its land. A place where history calls us to remember our past. Egypt has been both a place of exile and a place of refuge. It is a place where streams flow through desert lands bringing with them the fertile nutrients needed for plants, trees, and all forms of life to flourish. However these streams are not only the physical rivers that we can dip our feet into. In the 2014 service we are invited to seek the streams of living water which Jesus offers. At this year s World Day of Prayer, we are invited to seek the streams of living water which Jesus offers. (Artwork above by Farid Fadel) During worship we are invited to think about our own lives and where we recognize streams in our own deserts; places and moments where God is actively at work. To reflect on times when we, like the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well, have gone to the well looking for one thing and then discovered Christ offering us what we never expected. We will come not only to learn what this spring of living water is, but how we can, like the Samaritan woman, carry it back to our communities. So come, drink your fill of the waters that God has to offer Adapted from World Day of Prayer website Names needed The names of recipients of the Valiant Woman, Human Rights, Key Woman and Young Church Woman awards who have been honored by Units since the October 2013 State Assembly through October 1, 2014, should be sent to Lennie Boles, 3119 Madison, Des Moines, or call at her at The records of each award will be included in materials for the 2014 State Assembly. If your Unit has not previously submitted the names of award recipients, please send the names of recipients since your Unit originated. Contact President Sue Hattel if you have questions. 8

9 T H E U N I T E R The United Nations at work When disaster strikes, the world turns to one organization for hope, help, leadership and coordination: the United Nations. When there is conflict between warring factions, the world asks the UN to mobilize peacekeepers, oversee elections and create stability. In the face of challenges such as climate change, disease, poverty, and human rights, the UN provides the platform for international cooperation, yet its effectiveness is often limited by funds available. In today s interconnected world, individual governments cannot do this alone. A worldwide partnership between the public and private sectors is needed involving individuals, non-government organizations, corporations and foundations. To provide necessary fiscal services, the UN Office of Partnerships was instituted to connect people, ideas and resources. The UN Foundation works with the UNOP to provide an avenue of funding to support: 1)UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, 2)UN Office on Drugs and Crime, 3)UN Office & Commissioner for Human Rights, 4)UN Women, and many more issues. For more information, see: or Iran: Diplomacy, not sanctions Jeanette Tisdale, UN reporter In recent months great diplomatic strides have been made in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. But the progress that has been made is in danger of being lost. At the time of this writing the Senate is considering a bill (S. 1881) calling for new sanctions on Iran. If the bill passes, it will have a devastating effect on the negotiations. The White House, Senate leaders and a bipartisan group that includes a former U.S. ambassador to Israel have all warned of the consequences of imposing new sanctions on Iran. Such an action could increase the chances that the U.S. would engage in military action against Iran. Now is the time to contact Senators Grassley and Harkin and urge them to vote no on any new Iran sanctions legislation. Insist that, instead, they support diplomacy, building on the progress that has already been made. This is a time for more diplomacy; not more sanctions. Eloise Cranke. Ecumenical Global Action 9

10 W I N T E R Faces of CWU old and new Dedicated women who live out our mission of seeking peace and justice The Iowa Quad Cities CWU Unit is blessed to have the experience and companionship of two long-time members who are ages 100 and 101. Agnes Neumann turned 100 on January 29, and Doris Williams will celebrate her 101 st birthday on May 26. Agnes received the CWU Valiant Woman Award from her Unit in Another centenarian, Margaret Deshon died December 9, 2013, at the age of 100. Carol Briggs of the Quad Cities Unit writes: CWU played a big part in each of their lives, and they are/were a vital part of our Iowa Qua Cities Mary Ann Pedde, the newest member of the CWU state board, lives in Coralville, where she is an active member of First Presbyterian Church in Iowa City. She taught kindergarten and first grade for 17 years and for the last 14 years has worked with victims of domestic violence as a specialized legal advocate. In her church she serves on the Justice Committee, the Caring Connection and teachers Sunday School. In 2013 she was a delegate from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to the UN 57th Commission on the Status of Women. She joined CWU of Johnson County seven years ago because of what she describes as a burning need to join hands with women from other faith communities to put faith into action. Through CWU, she says, I believe we can show Christ s love and demonstrate how strength comes through acceptance and respect for one another. Amen, Mary Ann! It all adds up! CWU in Iowa is continuing to collect beverage can tabs. The tabs are redeemed to finance educational opportunities for women in the Iowa prison system in Mitchellville. The tabs redeemed in November 2013 at the recycling center in Des Moines brought a total of $69.25, which was sent to the Friends of Women Prisoners at Mitchellville. Soooo. continue to collect the tabs at your Celebrations, then bring them to the State Assembly in October in Oskaloosa. You can also contact a state board member in your area. Thank you! 10

11 CWU CALENDAR Friday, March 7 World Day of Prayer Friday, May 2 May Friendship Day Thursday, July 17 State Board Meeting Thursday, October 23 State Board Meeting, Oskaloosa Friday, October 24 State Assembly, First Presbyterian, Oskaloosa Friday, November 7 World Community Day T H E U N I T E R At World Community Day... A wide array of programs were part of CWU s World Community in November. Here is a sampling from the reports: Anamosa: Held at St. Paul Lutheran Church; Emptied our local treasury in support of a new community meal program. Boone: Held at Central Christian Church. Cedar Falls: Held at First United Methodist Church; speaker from Love Inc. talking about opportunities for service; Grinnell: Held at First Presbyterian Church; Speaker from Bread for the World; wrote advocacy letters to elected officials calling to end hunger in the U..S. Iowa Quad Cities: Held at St. Mark s Lutheran Church, Davenport. Johnson County: Held at First United Methodist Church, Iowa City; Lake City: Held at Lake City Union Church; Maquoketa: Held at a Lutheran church; Speaker was a registered nurse who spoke on the WIC (Women, Infants, Children) program, Oelwein: Held at Christ United Presbyterian Church; Waterloo/Evansdale: Held at First Baptist Church of Waterloo; Speaker on Quakerdale, a community non-profit focusing on youth; 2014 Celebrations We are in God s hands and we are God s hands May Friendship Day Focus on service Through God our hands can serve Writers: Carolyn McCullough and Marilynn Seashore Human Rights Celebration Focus on protection Through God our hands can protect Writers: Lois LaFon and Kay Huggins World Community Day Focus on healing Through God our hands can heal Writers: Kathy Zamonski and Carolyn Good For information about ordering Celebration materials, please contact the CWU national office at (212) , prompt #2, or call direct (212) Church Women United also observes World Day of Prayer in March. REMINDER All local Units are asked to complete an annual report by January 31 of each year. The deadline has passed but it s still not too late. The form may be found and downloaded at Keep a copy for your Unit s records and mail copies to: CWU in Iowa President Sue Hattel, Regional Coordinator Ann Garton and the national CWU office. 11

12 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Please enter my subscription for year(s) The Uniter WINTER 2014 Vol. 50, No. 1 $5.00 for 1 year $12.00 for 3 years NAME ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP+ 4 If WI14 follows your name on the mailing label, this will be your last issue. Please renew NOW. Send your renewal together with payment to: Kathleen Clark th St. Des Moines, IA Mission Statement of Church Women United Church Women United is a racially, culturally and theologically inclusive ecumenical Christian women's movement, celebrating unity in diversity and working for a world of peace and justice. Adopted by CWU Common Council July