Fresh Connection

Annual Meeting, Leadership Development    Join us on October 1st   at First UMC in Waseca for our Fall Gathering as we learn from Guest Speaker Nancy Beaulieu why we are all treaty people and why protecting treaties and Indigenous ways is sacred and fundamental to protecting our environment. We will also have our Annual Meeting to vote on the 2023 Officers, Budget, Standing Rules changes, and other business. The Gathering begins at 9 am with lunch at noon and afternoon sessions from 1 pm until 2:30.  Click here to register for Annual Gathering by September 15. LDR Leadership Development Retreat for Conference and District officers and for coordinators starts at 3 pm to 8:30 pm and continues the following day 9:30-2 pm.  Click here  to register for LDR  by September 21.  

  Diane Denkmann, Carol Foster, Nancy Kipp,   Kathy Carter, and Sheila Weber Five women from Brooklyn United Women in Faith experienced Assembly 2022 together via Zoom at Koronis Ministries. Each signed up for different sessions then met together in a conference room, each with their own laptop. This allowed everyone to attend a greater number of sessions than they otherwise would have. They discussed the sessions in real time and brainstormed ideas that were generated in the meetings. It made for a more meaningful and enriching experience. It was a perfect combination of Zoom technology and having fellowship with UWFaith sisters, and at the same time relaxing in a beautiful location by the lake.   Sylvia Farrells contributed to this article.

Accepting the Invitation   Have you ever felt like Jeremiah? (And I am not referring to the bullfrog in the Three Dog Night song from the 70’s?!) Anyway, I think about Jeremiah most of the time -- the prophet, not the frog! Let me explain.   In the first chapter of Jeremiah, he responds to God’s call saying, “I don’t know how to speak because I am only a child” (Jeremiah 1:6). Jeremiah is focused on himself and his own shortcomings. It is like looking into a mirror for me. Maybe you can relate.   I have spent the last twenty years committed to United Methodist Women, now United Women in Faith. I have studied, learned and my faith has deepened as I never imagined. In May, I was consecrated as a Deaconess committing my life to Love, Justice and Service. Like most of us, Love and Service feels second nature, but Justice -- that is a frog of a different color!   Currently, United Women in Faith is focusing on Racial and Climate Justice. My experience is that I know what ...

  Campaign for Emma Norton’s Restoring Waters   Restoring Waters is Emma Norton Service’s new development at Highland Bridge. Their $3M campaign to fund the development is an opportunity for you to act boldly for justice and equity to help ENS better serve women and families. ENS, a UWFaith National Mission, has served women and families for more than 100 years, providing safe and affordable housing which is still sorely lacking in our community. Most of the women ENS serves are affected by mental illness, struggle with chemical health issues, or have a dual diagnosis or other disability. Most have backgrounds of intergenerational poverty and homelessness, and many are dealing with the effects of systemic racism. They face numerous barriers to stability and independence. Restoring Waters will provide safe and affordable housing with trauma-informed supportive services for healing, recovering, and truly transforming lives. For more information about how you can ...

United Methodist Deaf Hard of Hearing Ministry had a booth at the United Women of Faith Assembly in May. It was the first time DHM hosted a booth and it was busy nonstop!   People at the booth shared information with people from across the country and world on Deaf ministry, interpreters, and the youth event at Daytona Beach, July 25-28, 2023.  One woman from Africa who visited the book shared about 500 Deaf children for whom she cares.   They also discussed Deaf prison ministries and went to classes such as Restoring Just Relationships, Climate Justice, and Ending Poverty.   They explored Deaconesses and Home Missioners for Deaf Ministry as well. Bishop Peggy Johnson,   retired Bishop from the Eastern Pennsylvania and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences,  shared that only one other person has done this and offered her support.   Adapted from an article by Billy and Mary Ann Deters in the United Methodist Committee on Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Ministrie...

Retreating for Visioning, Business MN Conference UWFaith officers and coordinators, with representation from all five districts, gathered at Koronis August 13 for a Retreat to vision how we will move forward into the future. Members of the leadership team brainstormed their dreams of transformational experiences that could energize, reconnect, and revitalize our members, districts, and local units. How does remembering our legacy move us forward instead of just doing it the way we’ve always done it? Prior to the Retreat, Christie Brown, Spiritual Growth Coordinator, asked each person on the team to bring one or more items from home that could be used to decorate an altar. At the Retreat, all items were placed in baskets. In random pairs, each pair created an altar using those materials and was asked to explain the symbolism of the items they chose. After an evening of sisterly sharing of stories and music, the group met August 14 for the business of leadership -- hearing reports, d...