October, 2018 From Your President: What an awesome Annual District Celebration we had. We express our thanks to The Reconciling Group of First Methodist of Waynesville for facilitating our small group discussions on the Commission on the Way Forward and to Rev. Amy Coles for helping us to understand what is being discussed for the future of The Methodist Church. We all want to be inclusive and welcoming but this is a difficult issue for our churches. Please pray for the General Conference to be held in February, 2019 to help us follow God s will for us. By the time you read this, Hurricane Florence will (hopefully) have gone without leaving a lot of devastation in its wake. However, we will have work to do. Please pray for all those affected. I look forward to seeing everyone at Annual Celebration at Lake Junaluska on the rescheduled dates October 12-14. You may give your registration to someone else to use if you are now unable to attend. Your room reservations will transfer to this new date. Although Ubuntu has now been cancelled, please consider sending a gift card to Brooks- Howell Home for their use. Our physical presence will not be there, but our love and service can still make an impact. The address for Brooks-Howell is 266 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, NC 28801. SAVE THE DATE: November 3, 2018. We are going to have a hands-on Smoky Mountain Missions Festival. This district event will be at Crabtree Methodist Church from 9am until noon. The address is 5405 Crabtree Rd., Clyde, NC 28721. Please notify your district shepherdess or me if child care is needed. There will be some training for new treasurers and a brief overview of all the district officer positions, BUT this event is open to all since all United Methodist Women are leaders in their churches and communities. Please plan to bring supplies for the UMCOR health/hygiene kits as this will be one of the hands-on missions we will be doing. The list for this kit is printed in this newsletter. There is also a flyer attached which we would love for you all to post around your churches. Put announcements in your bulletins and pass the word. Gather your UMW sisters and carpool over to Crabtree for a morning of fun and service! We offer praises to God for the blessings He has given us and we can give back through our World Thank Offering. Involve your congregations in this offering as a way to express our appreciation for all that God does for us. This offering should be sent to the district treasurer before the end of November. Remember that district officers and shepherdesses are available to do a program for you. We would like to get to know you better. Thank you for your leadership for your units, churches, and communities. Debbie Ray 569 Country Club Drive Waynesville, NC 28786 wsray@charter.net 828-456-3402
A NOTE ABOUT EDUCATION & INTERPRETATION: Now is the time to go back and review the Mission Today Criteria and see what items you have not completed to meet being a Mission Today Unit for 2018. You can find the Criteria on the Conference Website www.wnccumw.org if you do not have a copy. Thanks to all the Units that brought 30 Hygiene & 272 School Kits to our District Annual Meeting. Our Conference Response Center is especially in need of Hygiene Kits since Hurricane Florence. Ask your Congregation, United Methodist Men and youth to help in making Hygiene Kits. Dwaine Morgan, Mission Response Manager, in Terrell, NC needs help with checking and processing all the kits that are awaiting shipment, so if your unit or church can go to help him with this, please give him a call at 828-478-2106 or email him at wnccumcmrc@gmail.com to arrange a time. You are also welcomed. Dwaine usually has volunteers on one Saturday a month. One of the hands-on projects for the Mission Festival on November 3rd at Crabtree UMC will be Hygiene Kits. All kits are always accepted. You can bring the kits to my home if you are unable to bring them to our training. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you and your unit. Beverly Bard, Acting Mission Coordinator for Education & Interpretation 1892 Plott Creek Road Waynesville, NC 28786 828-646-7558 bevandrog52@gmail.com Hello Secretaries: Are you keeping good records, taking accurate notes at each unit meeting, typing up your minutes in a timely fashion and presenting them to members for review, corrections or additions? These are things that keep our unit meetings running smoothly and knowing what actions have been agreed upon and who is to carry them out. Happy Fall to All! Julie Leatherwood, SMD UMW Secretary 828-926-1641 (H) 828-421-1913 (C) leatherwoodjulie@gmail.com POINTS FROM YOUR PARLIAMENTARIAN: The Majority Rules: This rule is basic to the democratic process. Example: A special committee of seven has been appointed to recommend a landscape architect to site the playground. Five members attended the meeting. (A majority being present, the committee has a quorum.) The choice has been narrowed down to two architects, one of which is the chairman s brother-in -law. His name was presented first. Two members abstain from voting. The chairman and one other voted for the brother-in-law, while the remaining member voted no. The brother-in-law has been selected by a majority vote of the committee. Robert s Rules states that a majority means the majority of members voting. The abstentions do not count. Therefore, in a committee of seven, two votes determined the choice! Robert s rules (Pg. 10; c. 2005) Velma Zeek, Parliamentarian (828) 369-5782 or vzeek56@frontier.com
A REMINDER FROM YOUR LEGACY TEAM ENERGIZER: Our 150th anniversary is coming up soon...march 23, 2019. Officially, the fundraising campaign was for five (5) years, 2015-2019, but things got off to a slow start and the goal of $60 million worldwide was not set until 2017. Therefore, the campaign will continue until this goal is reached. At present, we are at $24,000,000. Each unit and district are asked to celebrate our anniversary with a creative fun raiser for the Legacy Fund. Many suggestions and ideas can be found in the Response magazine or online at www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/legacyfund. There are so many ways and levels to give, individuals, units, endowments, etc. Remember this is an investment in the future of UMW to insure the continuous support of the many programs and institutions we support to help women, children and youth reach their potential as positive contributing members of society. It is an organization in which each of us as members strongly believe in supporting through our actions of faith, hope and love. As your liaison I am available to meet with you as a unit or individual to discuss how we all can contribute to this worthy cause. Please call upon me for information. Julie Leatherwood WNCC Legacy Liaison 828-926-1641 (H) 828-421-1913 (C) leatherwoodjulie@gmail.com Fellow United Methodist Women: Here are some excerpts from the February issue of the Response Magazine. If you haven t read this before, it is important for you to know why we do what we do. United Methodist Women Mission Giving and special offerings make mission happen! Mission Giving is United Methodist Women members second and third-mile gifts beyond their tithes and offerings in their local churches. In the United States, Mission Giving provides vital support for United Methodist Women-related national mission institutions and other U.S. ministries as well as spiritual growth programs, membership nurture and opportunities for leadership development, mission education and service and advocacy. Internationally, United Methodist women supports some 150 programs, carried out by up to 116 organizations in more than 110 countries annually. Mission Giving also provides scholarships to more than 73 students enrolled in institutions of high education in 18 countries. United Methodist women also supports eight regional missionaries. Their work reaches 49 countries and the Caribbean and focuses on gender justice, economic empowerment, restorative justice work with women in jail, and leadership development for women and youth. Regional missionaries partner with Methodist and United Methodist Women groups on organizational development, mission education, spiritual growth opportunities and education. Their direct work with other women s societies, ecumenical organizations and grassroots groups enables these partners to identify for United Methodist Women what programs are needed in their countries. The Legacy Fund that we are building up is to continue the work into the future. We have been doing a great job giving to the Legacy Fund...let s keep up the effort! Remember that half of the Chicken Feed money goes to the Legacy Fund this year. Remember to give in all five (5) channels. Hope to see everyone at the Missions Festival on November 3rd at Crabtree United Methodist in Clyde. Judy Bromley Smoky Mountain District Treasurer (828) 734-5512 or judithbromley7@gmail.com
MISSIONS HIGHLIGHTS!!! Andrews United Methodist Women sponsored a Mission to Roatan Honduras. The Greenfield Children s home in Roatan Honduras is part of Sandy Bay Lighthouse Ministries which is a nonprofit non-denominational Christian Organization. The children that are brought to Greenfield Home are from homes of poverty, drug abuse, violence and neglect. The Greenfield Children s home is to provide the children with a loving home, a bilingual Christian education and most of all to learn that God loves them. The Children s home has a capacity for 24 children. The Staff consist of one cook, one child care for the little ones, one teacher and a principal that also works as a teacher and, of course, the house parents, Orsy and Banesa, who have two children of their own and they are Momma and PAPA to all the children. Our mission trip all started with our AUMW president s daughter s wedding cruise. Thanks to our Loving Andrews church family we were able to provide all 26 children with their personal needs such as clothes, shoes, backpacks and many other personal and school items. We needed 26 family members to carry backpacks on and off the ship. We had 26 family members going and 26 backpacks to be delivered. Perfect! GOD is Good The Rotary club of Charlotte (the groom is President) provided $2300.00 for two weeks of food. Our first stop was the local grocery store to purchase the groceries. We proceeded to the Greenfield Children s home to deliver the backpacks. Each child was called up by name to receive their backpack that was personalized with their name, clothes, shoes and other items specifically for them. They had such big smiles and were so happy and so appreciative. This mission has been such a blessing to Andrews United Methodist Women and the whole Andrews United Methodist Church, along with the Wedding party that experienced the joy of meeting the children. A presentation with pictures was given at the August AUMW meeting and the next Sunday at our church service. Trudy Reynolds, President of AUMW
..How Can You Serve? There are many things you can do and many ways you can help other people. Look around and find something that makes you feel good something that uses your very own talents and gifts.something that will fill your heart with the JOY OF GIVING! Did you read the Missions Highlights about what the Andrews UMW did for their project to Honduras? Has your unit done anything similar or thought about doing something for one of the vast number of mission opportunities available in our world today? If you have done something specific or are thinking about projects in the future, remember that We Would Love to Hear About Them! Send us a brief write-up and some pictures so we can share them with all your UMW sisters in the Smoky Mountain District. Maybe there is even a project that two or three units and churches can tackle. Let your imaginations run and STEP OUT IN FAITH! Ways to Give to the Legacy Fund Make a gift to the Legacy Fund through your local unit United Methodist women treasurer. Use our Western North Carolina Conference Legacy Commitment Form, available on our website at www.wnccumw.org/legacyfund. Online on the national office website at unitedmethodistwomen.org/legacyfund. By phone: 800-278-7771 (8 am 6 pm EST, M-F) Text Legacy150 to 41444 By check: note Legacy Fund in memo and mail to: United Methodist Women, Treasurer s Office, 15th Floor, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115 Other methods include gifts of stock, life insurance, bequests, and other forms of planned giving. If you are interested in making a gift like this, contact the national office at 800-278-7771.
SOME THOUGHTS FROM MEMBERSHIP, NURTURE & OUTREACH: This summer at Mission u I heard, for the first time, the song made popular on YouTube called Until All Are Fed and since then I have listened to it many times. To me it is foundational to the work we do as United Methodist Women. Please listen to it when you have a moment. I don t know if the lyrics will cause chills to run up your spine as it did mine, but I believe it will become an inspiration to you. Every time I hear it, I am both inspired and challenged to become more intentional about our United Methodist Women s work here in our local communities and around the world, serving families whom we will never know. The chorus of Until All Are Fed, goes like this -- Until all are fed, we cry out. Until all on earth have bread. Like the One who loves us each and every one, we serve until all are fed. This resonates with me in light of the organization of United Methodist Women and I have to ask myself: What does it mean Until All Are Fed? Does it suggest until all have heard the good news of Jesus Christ and accepted Him as Lord of their lives? Does it mean until all get the medical care they need or could it possibly mean until all have had an opportunity to learn to read, write and reason? Until all on earth have bread? means, to me, we will work to see that people everywhere have their basic needs met -food to sustain them, clothing, shelter. Like the One who loves us each and every one? This part of the song, for me, means God loves all of His children equally and will give all of them the strength and the knowledge needed to accomplish the work He calls them to do. We serve until all are fed? This encapsulates for me the meaning of our purpose.. to expand concepts of missions through participation in the global missions of the church. It reminds us to be loyal to our call, to pray for our missionaries, to honor our pledges to support our many mission projects around the world assuring that the work of these missions will continue in to the future long after we are gone. I will be happy to come to one of your meetings to talk with your group about keeping members active and increasing membership numbers. If this could be helpful to you, just call at 828-226-7481, text or email ehm1@yahoo.com or write to me (P.O. Box 256, Brasstown, NC 28902). I m hoping to hear from you. Esther Manchester - Membership, Nurture and Outreach Coordinator PLEASE REMEMBER: If you have a change in officers or email and addresses, please let me know so we can keep our Roster current and our mailings focused. Please also include your pastor(s) name(s) and contact info as he/she is also considered a member of our UMW. This publication can be helpful to all your members so forward it to your entire group or make copies and pass it out. If you have any questions or feedback, don t hesitate to contact me by email: smdcommcoor@gmail.com or by phone: (850) 428-3636. Thanks! Nancy Jo Willis, SMD Communications Coordinator
COME ONE, COME ALL TO OUR MISSIONS FESTIVAL. OPEN TO ALL UNITED METHODIST WOMEN HAVE SOME FUN AND FEEL A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. MEET SOME OF YOUR UMW SISTERS. DATE: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2018 TIME: 9:00 AM TO 12:00 NOON WHERE: CRABTREE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 5405 Crabtree Road, Clyde, NC 28721 PROGRAM: 9:00 9:30 AM BREAKFAST (provided by the Crabtree UMW) 9:30 10:15 AM GENERAL (including Prayer Calendar Notes, Response Moment, UMW Purpose, Announcements, Officers Overview, and Instructions. 10:15 10:40 AM Missions Station* 10:40 11:05 AM Missions Station* 11:05 11:30 AM Missions Station* Attendees will be split into four groups and visit each Missions Station in turn, spending about 25 minutes at each. 11:30 11:55 AM Missions Station* 11:55 AM 12:00 Noon Closing MISSIONS STATIONS WILL BE: UMCOR School & Hygiene Kits - We have 50 school kits to be put together. In addition, we are asking that members from each Unit bring supplies with which to create as many Hygiene Kits as we can (see list of contents on back of flyer) Fleece Blankets - Creating light weight fleece, fringed blankets for foster children. (The SM District will provide materials.) Social Action Station - We will provide ways and materials for you to register your response to outstanding social issues which need to be addressed and changed. Chair Aerobics - Led by LaDonna Butts. Taking care of yourselves, so you can take care of others, should be one mission goal each of us aspires to. CHILD CARE can be available if you request it ahead of time. If needed, please call Debbie Ray (828-456-3402) no later than Sunday, October 28th. DONATIONS will be accepted during the morning to help with purchase of toothpaste and shipping ($2 per hygiene kit).
UMCOR Hygiene Kits: Hygiene kits provide basic necessities to people who have been forced to leave their homes because of human conflict or natural disaster. Hygiene kits are also used as learning tools in personal hygiene, literacy, nutrition, and cooking classes. Hygiene Kit Materials (Hygiene Kit Value: $12 per kit) One hand towel (15 x 25 17 x 27 inches) No kitchen, cleaning, or microfiber towels One washcloth One comb Must be sturdy with at least 6 inches of teeth No pocket combs or picks Rattail and combs without handles are acceptable but must have at least 6 inches of teeth One toenail or fingernail clipper No emery boards or metal nail files Bath-size soap (3 oz. bar or larger) No Ivory or Jergen's soap Do not remove from packaging One adult toothbrush Do not remove from packaging Personal advertising not acceptable 10 adhesive bandages (¾ by 3 inches) Common household bandages acceptable One one-gallon size re-sealable bag Assembly Directions Lay hand towel flat on a table. Lay the washcloth in the center of the hand towel. Place all remaining items on top of the washcloth (except the plastic bag). Fold the sides of the hand towel to cover the items. Grasp the bundle tightly and roll over the remainder of the towel. Place the tightly rolled bundle in the plastic bag, remover air, and seal. Important Notes All items must be new. Do not wash any of the items as they will no longer be considered new. Do not include any personal notes, money or additional materials in the kits. Contents of kits or the containers of kits should not be imprinted with cartoon characters, advertisements, religious, patriotic, military or camouflage symbols Packing Instructions Packed box cannot exceed 70 pounds. Complete two packing lists, one for the box and one for your records. Place the shipping label/packing list on the outside of the box. Please send a check for the total amount of hygiene kits times $2 per kit for the cost of toothpaste and shipping to Sager Brown. One check may be written for all of the kits. You can send relief supply kits to: UMCOR Sager Brown Depot, P. O. Box 850, 131 Sager Brown Road, Baldwin, LA 70514-0850 Contact For Help: 1-800-814-8765 Help Purchase Supplies If you prefer to donate toward the purchase of supplies instead of buying and shipping them, give online to Material Resources, UMCOR Advance #901440.
JOIN US!!! RESCHEDULED TO OCTOBER OCTOBER 12-14, 12-14, 2018 2018
Nancy Jo Willis Communications Coordinator, SMD 310 Cassady Lane Murphy, NC 28906 2018 WNCC UMW Calendar of Events Oct. 12-14 WNCCUMW Annual Celebration Lake Junaluska Oct. 20 Leadership development (district officers) - First UMC, Morganton Oct. 20 Ubuntu Day of Caring (Cancelled due to Hurricane Florence) SMD UMW Calendar of Events November 3 S.M. Missions Festival Crabtree UMC from 9am to Noon 5405 Crabtree Rd., Clyde, NC 28721
Happy 150th Anniversary! Let s Celebrate! by Sandy Wilder In just a matter of months, we will celebrate together our 150th year as women organized for mission. In the midst of this busy fall season of conference, district, and unit events and leadership meetings, we don t want to lose sight of the biggest celebration of all! We re fast approaching our anniversary year of 2019. How will you celebrate? With whom will you share the story of United Methodist Women in these upcoming months? If you don t already have your celebrations planned, let us offer a few 150th suggestions for you: - March 23, 2019, our actual 150th anniversary date, is a Saturday, so consider organizing a celebration of United Methodist Women that lasts for that entire weekend (March 22-24). Activities might include, on Friday: a service day, a unit program. On Saturday: a 150th birthday party or special event, a women s slumber party, a retreat, a service day, participation in the Day of Giving (March 23). On Sunday: a worship service planned and conducted by United Methodist Women, a festive luncheon, a prayer service. - Plan a Fun-Raiser and announce the amount raised at a 150th birthday party over the March 23 weekend. What is a Fun-Raiser? It is an activity your unit, circle, or conference creates to raise money for the Legacy Fund Endowment Campaign. Details about how to Fun-Raise for the Legacy Fund can be found at the Legacy Fund website: unitedmethodistwomen.org/150. - Remind your members that because every woman needs to have a valid will, everyone can easily plan for a gift of any size to United Methodist Women in her will. Could we get 150 bequest commitments from each conference in our anniversary year?
- Promote the legacy of your United Methodist Women community and global work by sending a story to your local newspaper or pitching a news story to your local news station. - Challenge all your members to stretch during the anniversary year by giving an amount every month during 2019 to the Legacy Fund. For instance, if only 179,000 of us gave only $18.69 twelve times once per month in 2019, we would exceed our entire campaign goal! Could you suggest that each member give $20 per month, or more? - Honor your leaders by presenting them with the special 150th Mission Recognition pin or the 150th necklace. - Continue your 150th celebrations in 2019 at Mission u, Annual Conference, conference and district Annual Meetings, and all conference, district, and local events next year. Where do you find the resources you need for your regular Legacy Fund displays and for your anniversary celebrations? First, contact your conference Legacy Fund Liaison. She can help provide commitment (pledge) envelopes, blank 150 note cards, a one-pager describing the Legacy Fund, a promotional flyer for the special 150th anniversary pin and necklace, and copies of the new fun-raiser, planned giving, and Legacy Fund brochures. If you don t know who your conference Legacy Fund Liaison is, ask the Legacy Fund team by e-mailing: legacy150@unitedmethodistwomen.org. And finally, you ll find further information and resources such as the Legacy Fund toolkit on the Legacy Fund website: unitedmethodistwomen.org/150. You may already have your 150th birthday celebrations planned and, if so, please share your ideas and photos with Anissa New-Walker, awalker@unitedmethodistwomen.org, at the National Office so we can in turn share your creativity with other members. God will make our love fruitful, whether we see that fruitfulness or not. ( Bread for the Journey by Henri Nouwen). What a privilege we have: to be faith, hope and love in action at this time in the history and the future of United Methodist Women. Together, we are building our legacy!