United Methodist Women
Purpose
“The
organized unit of United Methodist Women shall be 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.”
You
can see a complete listing of our UMW Officers for 2008 and their job
descriptions by clicking here.
Meetings
We
hold our meetings on the second Tuesday of each month (with the exception of
January and February) at 7:00 p.m. at the church. Our next meeting will be September 9th.
Ministries
Christmon Workshops
Throughout the
year, the UMW hosts workshops to make Chrismons. These white and gold homemade ornaments
feature Christian symbols to represent aspects of our faith. The name comes from the words “Christ” and
“monogram”, and the ornaments are used on the church’s Christmas tree each
season.
Flower Calendar
The women of
the church take care of the flowers for the sanctuary each week. Krista Link currently maintains the calendar for this. The schedule for 2008 is as follows:
January - 1/14 Krista Link, 1/20 Hazel Montgomery, 1/27 Madeline Hall
February - 2/3 Julia Hilton, 2/10 Nancy Falls, 2/17 Linda Worley, 2/24 Bev Martin
March - 3/2 Lucy Vaught & Jane Williams, 3/9 Thelma Booth, 3/16 Jennifer Sullivan, 3/23 Mar Lois Williams, 3/30 Oma Vance
April - 4/6 Merinda Williams, 4/13, Sherry Gallo, 4/20 Virginia Kauffelt, 4/27 Emily Walker
May - 5/4 Irene O'Dell, 5/11 Mary Doug McDonald, 5/18 Elaine Byrd, 5/25 Melanie Huffman
June - 6/1 Shelia Collins, 6/8 Ginny Bandy, 6/15 Debbie Caldwell, 6/22 Lola Falls, 6/29 Gertrude Williams
July - 7/6 Madeline Martin, 7/13 Pam Williams, 7/20 Betty Thomas, 7/27 Kourtney Williams
August - 8/3 Mildred Ratcliff, 8/10 Kim Medley, 8/17 Christy Jones, 8/24 Sandy Gauter, 8/31 Tonya Vaden
September - 9/7 Linda Journell, 9/14 Bonnie Butler, 9/21 Ottie Jamison, 9/28 Becky Thornhill
October - 10/5 Roma Collins, 10/12 Bev Williams, 10/19 Krista Link, 10/26 Francis Blevins
November - 11/2 Shelly DiRico, 11/9 Jane Tabor, 11/16 Kristie Williams, 11/23 Dreama Williams, 11/30 Paula Williams
December - 12/7 Lori Hicks, 12/14 Jessie and Connie Jamison
Prayer Chain
We
have a prayer chain that goes throughout the UMW in order to notify each member
of special prayer needs during the week.
When the chain is started, members call other designated members and
each person lifts up the prayer request at 9:00 p.m. If you have a special request that you would
like passed through the prayer chain, please contact Linda Journell or the
church at 540-626-3838.
Reading Program
Over
the past few years, our UMW has participated in the Reading Program endorsed by
the Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries. The purpose of this program is to expand our
knowledge of mission, humanity, Scripture, and to increase our sensitivity to
all human beings. In this program,
participating members each read one book from each of the following mission
emphases: Education for Ministry,
Spiritual Growth, Social Action, and Nurturing for Community. Regular reading of the Response Magazine is
also required.
In
addition to the adult reading program, we are also promoting a reading program
for children. Children can read five books by July 2008 (or have them read to
them) and receive a Reading Program certificate upon completion. There is a
poster in the back of the church sanctuary with more information about the
books.
For
more information about Response, go to http://gbgm-umc.org/response/.
Anyone interested in taking part in the Reading Program may contact Emily
Walker at emily_w_walker@hotmail.com.
Salad Luncheon
The UMW hosts
a salad luncheon each spring to raise monies for the church. This year’s salad
luncheon was held on Thursday, May 22nd from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Scholarships
In 2003, our
UMW began a scholarship program to support female high school graduates. This scholarship recognizes the importance of
a college education in the life of young women, encourages young women to
continue in ministry throughout their collegiate and post-collegiate years, and
helps defray the cost of ancillary expenses like textbooks and course
supplies. In 2004, the scholarship was
renamed the “Kristen McClung UMW Scholarship” in honor of the UMW member who
started this effort.
The applicant
must be a female high school senior that will be pursuing a college education
in the fall and who is a member of the
Past Recipients
2003
Whitney
Bandy
2003
Erin
Moretz
2004
Brooke
Martin
If you are
interested in applying for or donating to this scholarship, please contact Kim
Medley at kkmedley@vt.edu.
Missions
All God's Children Camp
We are collecting items for All God's Children Camp for
children of incarcerated mothers . If you'd like to donate any of the following items, please let Pam Williams know. They need
travel size shampoo and soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, new or gently used sleeping bags, pillows and pillow cases,
flat twin sheets, rain ponchos, bath towels, laundry bags, cloth bags with handles, and shower totes.
Our unit is
very active in preparing health, layette, and school kits for the
conference. These kits are sent from the
conference to Church World Service. This
organization is a cooperative ministry of many denominations wanting to provide
self-help and disaster relief to more than 80 countries. For more information on preparing a kit,
visit http://www.vaumc.org/index.cfm/fa/content.view/menuID/809.htm. Our UMW
collects change for the Each year, UMW
members make a Pledge to Missions, which is the foundation of our mission
work. The unit as a whole makes a pledge
to the Women’s Division of the Over the past
year, some of our members had the opportunity to visit Red Bird Mission in For many
years, our unit has collected soup labels for various programs. Currently, labels benefit the Henry Fork Service Center. This
is a multi-purpose mission outreach of the Danville District of the United Methodist Church. Its mission is "making God's love visible" in the
Henry Fork Community by acting as a positive Christian presence, by being a place where children, youth and adults can come to spend creative time,
by offering a helping hand and listening ear to those with problems, and by exemplifying Christ as Lord and Savior to all persons in its caring
ministry. The center's goals are to introduce Christianity to the area and to support scholastic achievement. Many children stay in school
because of encouragement and assistance offered at the Center. All respond well to the love and attention that they receive at Henry Fork.
Our UMW unit
helps various other organizations and efforts throughout the year. The primary focus of our unit is missions and
outreach, and our members are always striving to find ways to help on a local
and global scale. The United
Methodist Women Unit of the United
Methodist Women - Virginia Conference Women's Division of the United
Methodist ChurchConference Kits
Dimes for Blackstone
Pledge to Missions
Red Bird
Soup Labels
More Information
