The Newsletter of the Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women July * Volume 2018 No. 2 In This Issue President s Message 1 Mission u 2018 Information 2 Mission u 2018 Schedule 3 Spiritual Retret at Beersheba 4 Annual Meeting 5 Social Action Legacy Fund Report 5 Nominating Committee Report 6 Notes and Messages 6 Caney Fork River District Report 7 Red River District Event 7 TN Conference United Methodist Women Officers Information 8 TN Conference United Methodist Women District Presidents 9 Mission u Registration Form 10 Mission u Scholarship Form 11 Spiritual Retreat at Beersheba Registration Form 12 OUR PURPOSE The organized unit of 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. Hello ladies! President s Message It looks like spring (or summer) has finally arrived and, I don't know about you, but I am so happy to have a warm air hit my face when I step outside! We just had a wonderful hands-on mission project on May 5 when we put together 10,000 meals for Rise Against Hunger. Thanks so much to those who came to share their time for this worthwhile project - I was thrilled with the number of women (and men) who came! Your Executive Team has decided that we will support this worthwhile project next year as well by hosting another event at Smyrna First on May 4, 2019. Assembly is almost here! Please be in prayer for the group that will be leaving for Columbus, Ohio, next week and for the Assembly as a whole. This is a great event and we are looking forward to this trip. Mission u will be here before we know it! Lila Beasley and Melva Nunnery have been working very hard to put this together. Please be in prayer for them as well as the team as they attend training and finalize their plans. I hope you will sign up to attend - this is a wonderful way to learn about the topics that are so important to United Methodist Women. Olive Davenport and the Spiritual Retreat team are working hard and making plans as well for the Spiritual Retreat at Beersheba. I hope you will attend and encourage others to come as well. Please encourage our younger women to attend as we will have great classes for youth and children. Please continue to pray for this team as well. Finally, please mark your calendars for Saturday, October 13 and plan to attend our Annual Meeting at Murfreesboro First UMC - our speaker will be Harriet Jane Olson, Chief Executive Officer of United Methodist Women! I know we will all look forward to the message she will bring. As I read your district newsletters and travel to different units, I am seeing what a difference you are all making to the mission of women, children and youth. Thanks so much for providing sacred spaces for the least of these. Enjoy your summer! Blessings to you and yours, Nita Wright President, Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women Stones River District Smyrna First nita_wright@bellsouth.net 1 July, 2018
Mission u 2018 July 12 13, 2018 Begins at 9:30 am St Mark s UMC, Murfreesboro, TN For participants, Mission u is an opportunity to study current issues impacting society based on current mission study topics with particular attention to the responsibilities of women in fulfilling the mission work of the church. Participants grow in understanding the mission of the church in the current world context; conference events are open to members and non-members of United Methodist Women. Invite your friends to attend with you! Study Classes Include: Spiritual Growth Mission Study: 2018 Geographic Mission Study: 2018 Issue Mission Study: 2018 Children and Youth Studies: 2018 Perspective for Covenantal Living By Jessica Stonecypher Missionary Conferences of The United Methodist Church in the United States By: J. Ann Craig and Deborah E. Bass What About Our Money? A Faith Response By Susan K Taylor The Children s Study: Money Matters, A Study for Children By Larry Burkett Money Matters teaches children about the concept of money, the importance of generosity, and how God intends for us to use money as an expression of love for others. Over the course of the four sessions, children will learn through biblical examples how to be responsible custodians of money and how they can use their resources to be a part of God s plan. The Youth Study: Is It Just Money? Our Dollars, God s Economy: A Youth Study By Anna Burkett and Tom Burkett Is It Just Money? Is designed to engage youth in an exploration of money as it relates to faith and justice. This collection of activities and discussions will help the participants explore what the Bible and our faith tells us about the value of money and its right use. Participants will examine the difference between wants and needs, and the difference between an abundance mindset and a scarcity mindset. Fellowship Events Worship & Singing Mission u also Includes: Interest Groups around current issues Mission Projects Audiovisual presentations The following forms are attached to this newsletter: MISSION u 2018 REGISTRATION FORM MISSION u 2018 SCHOLARSHIP FORM 2 July, 2018
Mission u 2018 Mission u Schedule Wednesday, July 11, 2018 Thursday, July 12, 2018 8:00 am to 9:45 am Registration 9:45 am to 10:00 am Gathering Music 10:00 am 11:00 am Opening Plenary 11:15 am 12:00 pm Class I Introduction to Class and Lunch Discussion Assignments 12:00 pm 1:00 pm Lunch and Stretching 1:15 pm 2:15 pm Class II 2:30 pm 3:30 pm Meet the Woman at the Well 4:00 pm 5:30 pm Class III 5:30 pm Dinner for Day and Night Classes 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Night Class Friday, July 13, 2018 8:45 am to 9:00 am Gathering Music 9:00 am to 10:00 am Plenary II 10:00 am to 12:00 pm Class IV (Includes Break) 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm Lunch and Stretching 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm Class V (Includes Break) 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm Closing Plenary and Communion 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm Team will assist study leaders with class dismantle 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Night Class and Pizza Party (Night Class Only) 3 July, 2018
Spiritual Growth Spiritual Life Retreat at Beersheba Ladies of the Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women, are YOU ready to sign up for our Spiritual Life Retreat at Beersheba Springs? We are so excited to have our own Margaret Fisher leading us for the weekend! Margaret is a Past President of the Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women and presently serves on the Program Advisory Group (PAG) for the National United Methodist Women. She is a member of St Bethlehem United Methodist Church in the Red River District. Margaret Fisher Margaret will be using the book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. The books will be available at Mission u 2018 in July. So Mark your calendars for September 7-9, 2018, fill out the Registration Form attached to this newsletter and mail it to Karen Maynard. It takes all hands-on-deck to make a retreat held on a beautiful mountain top, to become one that will inspire folks to return again. We will be contacting people to fill positions for the weekend. Please pray about your desire to make this retreat a wonderful experience for those who attend. If called upon to help, think where you can best use your talents in making a difference for a great weekend for everyone. We are looking forward to having a Spiritual Growth Retreat with Worship, Fellowship, Study and Prayer. We hope to see you there in September. Olive Davenport Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women Spiritual Growth Coordinator Home 615-244-5443 treenorris02!gmail.com 4 July, 2018
Harriett Jane Olson Chief Executive Officer United Methodist Women 2018 Annual Meeting Our Day of Giving, March 23, 2018, was a great success! The National office announced United Methodist Women members, friends, and partners raised $270,643 for our Legacy Fund. We are building our legacy! I will be volunteering to fill a slot at the Legacy Fund exhibit table on Friday from 2:00 4:30 pm. I am so looking forward to meeting and greeting United Methodist Women members during that time and rekindling friendships made at National's training for Legacy Fund Liaisons from across the United States. Just A Note and A Reminder: EXCITING NEWS! We are pleased to announce that our speaker for our 2018 Annual Meeting will be Harriett Jane Olson, General Secretary of United Methodist Women. The meeting will be Saturday, October 14 at Murfreesboro First UMC. Registration begins at 8:30 am and the meeting starts at 9:30 am Please mark your calendars now and plan to be with us for what promises to be a day that will fill our hearts with joy as we celebrate the work of United Methodist Women in the Tennessee Conference. We are sure to be blessed by the music, messages, communion and fellowship of this gathering. More details will be provided in upcoming newsletters. In the meantime... Save the Date! Saturday, October 14 Blessings to you and yours, Peggy Owen Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women Vice-President Harpeth River District Centerville owenpeggy@gmail.com Social Action Legacy Fund The stories of our foremothers are not coming into me very well. I have only a very few at this time. Those stories of our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and neighbors that were our examples of mission need to be told as their work was important then and is still today. These stories are going to be told at our 2019 Annual Meeting. We need to know where we have been to help us know where we are going. Please, send your "loving and inspiring" stories, which by the way, does not have to be of some one else, this can be your story. Why are you a member of the United Methodist Women, what has that meant to you and who might have inspired you to become a member? Send the stories to me by email and/or postal service. See addresses below. My story did not begin with United Methodist Women until October, 1990. My story hasn't ended and I will be a foremother some day! I want to help leave a legacy of why I am a member of the best women's organization of the world. And at Assembly, I will be one of 8000 members from this world...what a joy! I would ask you all to keep those of us going to 2018 Assembly in prayers for safe travels and good health. We leave Tennessee on the morning of Thursday, May 17 and travel back on Sunday, May 20. in Christ, Aquilla Lillard Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women Mission Coordinator for Social Action & 150th Legacy Fund Liaison Harpeth River District 6700 Arno Allisona Road College Grove, TN 37046 Cell 615-308-6505 annaquilla77@gmail.com 5 July, 2018
Nominating Committee Report Hello Everyone, The nominating committee is hard at work to fill our slate of officers to be voted on at our October annual meeting. We met in late March and are in the process of contacting possible candidates for the positions of secretary, social action coordinator, three nominating committee members and a chair of the nominating committee. We ask you to pray with us as we continue this process. Please share any names of potential leaders with the committee as we are always seeking to grow our talent bank. We always welcome suggestions from YOU. It might even be possible that you are feeling called to serve?? "Jesus looked at them and said, with man it is impossible, but not withgod. For all things are possible with God." Mark 10:27 Blessings, Katie Harris Chairperson Committee on Nominations Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women Stones River District Home 931-364-7330 kh14@united.net Notes and Messages Thanks for all the prayers, cards and phone calls sent to me since my fall. I am blessed to have all of you in my life. Upcoming Events Olive Davenport July 12 13, 2018 Mission u St Mark s UMC, Murfreesboro, TN August 4, 2018 Executive Meeting Murfreesboro First UMC September 7 9, 2018 Beersheba Spiritual Life Retreat Beersheba Springs, TN October 14, 2018 Tennessee Conference United Women Methodist Annual Meeting, Murfreesboro First UMC Prayers for two of our Conference Officers who will have surgery in May. We ask that you keep them in your prayers for a safe and speedy recovery. Thank you Olive Davenport as she has shoulder surgery on May 24. (Olive is Mission Coordinator for Spiritual Growth) Donna Dilts as she has knee replacement surgery on May 23. (Donna is Mission Coordinator for Education and Interpretation) 6 July, 2018
District Reports and Events CANEY FORK RIVER DISTRICT REPORT CFR District has had a very busy spring! Our first board meeting of the year, February 5,2018 was busy with setting our events of the year. I attended the retreat that Heather Bennett held at Montgomery State Park, on February 18-19, 2019, entitled 24/6, was delightful and gave new meaning to Sabbath. Montgomery State Park was a great place to visit even in February. Our next event was a revisited President & Officer s training. We held this at Burton s Chapel in Algood, TN, on February 24, 2018. Many said, We have tried it before and no one will come. But we had over twenty-five officers come and many good comments on the way it was done. We used an open discussion format based on the Living the Vision goals and how to turn these into programs for the units. Each office/ coordinator commented on how they were responsible for the goals. Melva Nunnery, our E & I coordinator, wrote up who could do each goal as part of their job and present programs. Discussions and questions were encouraged as we went along. Our meeting was from 9:00 am to 11:00 am, and we made it. Burton s/ Wrights unit did a wonderful job of welcoming us and accommodating as we grew in number. After the meeting adjourned we had an extra special meeting of working together as a group project in the parking lot with mud, stuck, and laughter. (long story!) Not too long after that our district held a conference event at Clark UMC in McMinnville on March 7, 2018. The Intergenerational Event was very interesting and inspiring, and the Clark Unit outdid themselves in welcoming, and feeding us scrumptious food. Many thanks to them for their loving spaces to their loving arms to the conference. Then in a week s time on March 14, 2018, Caney Fork River District held their Spiritual Day Apart at Gainesboro UMC. This is our newly activated unit, who has never done an event before. The theme, Scared Spaces: Encounters with God and Neighbors. Mary Davis was our speaker, a pastor s wife, a mother of seven beautiful red-headed girls and a very active UMW member. She inspired us with her life journey and examples of Suzanna Wesley s life as to how we can find or set aside time to encounter God to listen for and to God s voice. Gainesville UMW ladies welcomed us from every doorway, to wonderful breakfast snacks, and a gift notebook at each place. After our inspiring talk Pastor Kathy Bowles served communion. Pastor was right at home as she had served Gainesboro UMC for many years. She dismissed us with prayer for lunch. Wow! what a spread and another special gift from a member who shared her craft gift as she feels the time spent is God s gift to her and her gift to friends and neighbors. Sacred Spaces: Encounters with God and Neighbors in action! Events to come: June 23, 2018 CFR District Mission Study at Cookeville 1st UMC August 18, 2018 CRF District Hands on Event at Tennessee Tech Anniversary's Wesley Foundation House September 29, 2018 District Annual Meeting at Fairfield Glade UMC Charlene Richardson, President RED RIVER DISTRICT EVENT A Group of some of the members from the Red River District who attended the Spiritual Day Apart at Ashland City United Methodist Church on April 28, 2018. The program was presented by Mr. Steve Fleming, Executive Director of Bethlehem Centers of Nashville. Left to right: Marlene Leazier, Jean Koelz, JoAnn Loggins, Carolyn Gunter, Ann Reed (blue top behind Carolyn), Holly Plump, and Margaret Cornell, Steve Fleming (behind Holly), the CEO of the Bethlehem Center in Nashville, and Mr. Fleming s assistant on the back right. Teri Guertin, President 7 July, 2018
8 July, 2018
Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women District Presidents 9 July, 2018
10 July, 2018
Tennessee Conference United Methodist Women MISSION u 2018 SCHOLARSHIP FORM Mission u 2018 July 12 13, 2018 St. Mark s United Methodist Church Murfreesboro, Tennessee The Tennessee Conference is offering a scholarship for a first-timer daughter (daughter-in-law) or granddaughter (granddaughter-in-law) attending with a mother (mother-in-law) or grandmother (grandmother-in-law). The scholarship extends to the mother or grandmother if they are also firsttimer. Name Address: Phone: Email: Unit Name: Daughter of: (or) Granddaughter of: Address: Phone: Email: Unit Name: Mail To: Karen Maynard, 1600 Lakeshore Drive, Murfreesboro, TN, 37130 By: July 1, 2018 PLEASE SUBMIT WITH A REGISTRATION FORM Questions: Lila Beasley, Dean: Phone: 931-580-5557, Email: landbbeasley@united.net Melva Nunnery, Assistant Dean: Phone: 931-445-4271, Email: rnunnery@twlakes.net 11 July, 2018
12 July, 2018