We are excited to announce a special gathering of the women of the Metro District taking place on May 4 from 2-4 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church. This event promises to be a wonderful opportunity for fellowship, connection, and community building. We welcome all members and friends to join us for this special occasion. There will be engaging activities, meaningful conversations, and of course, refreshments to enjoy. We look forward to seeing you there as we come together to celebrate and strengthen our bonds.
On January 20, 2024, Winnie-Stowell United Women in Faith hosted the first gathering of the new Southeast District. Twenty-five women from Santa Fe to Beaumont braved freezing temperatures to hear Kandy Lawson, 2023 president of South District, outline issues facing the newly reconstituted district.
Several conference officers—President Theresa Graham, Vice-President Stacie Hawkins, Treasurer Kathy Aubin, and Program Resources Chair Debra Wroblewski—joined the group also.
Rev. Jared Grosse, pastor of First United Methodist Church, Winnie-Stowell, officiated a communion service and blessed the lunch that concluded the gathering. Fortified with hearty soups and salads, attendees returned home with inspiration for the coming year.
United Women in Faith from across the Texas Conference met for district meetings in October and November, in some cases for the last time and in some cases for the first time, as the current nine districts will be merged into five districts on January 1.
South/Southeast District
On Saturday, November 4, South District United Women in Faith held a fall meeting, including representatives from the Southeast District. This was their first in-person gathering since 2019, and attendees delighted in meeting face to face. Deer Park United Women in Faith hosted, providing light breakfast to begin the day and brown bag lunches to end it.
South District President Kandy Lawson of Seabrook was the keynote speaker, elaborating on the theme, “Into a New Season.” She closed by inviting her audience to assemble feminine hygiene kits, the hands-On project for 2024.
Conference Treasurer Kathy Aubin filled in for district treasurer, explaining the 2024 budget and leading the mission candle-burning ceremony. The morning concluded with communion service led by Rev. John R. Black, senior pastor of Deer Park United Methodist Church, and Debbie Talley, Deer Park choir accompanist.
Southwest District
Southwest District United Women In Faith held its Fall celebration on Saturday, November 4th, 2023 at Newman Chapel United Methodist Church in Kendleton, Texas. The theme was “Inspire” based on the scripture Isaiah 43:18-19. The special guest speaker was Prophetess Sharon Y. Allen of Kendleton.
Installation of officers for the incoming year was done by Carolyn Milby, secretary of the Texas Conference. Luncheon catered by Michael Phoenix “Made a Tea Cake Services” It was enjoyed by all.
Special games were presented including Biblical questions and a super fun icebreaker Bingo. Special door prizes were also available to everyone. Although attendance for the celebration was not as full as it has been in the past, those who were there heard a powerful message from the speaker and enjoyed a nutritious and filling lunch. The event was enjoyed by all who were there.
Central North District
The Central North District met for the last time at Klein United Methodist Church in Spring on October 21st. President Florence Snyder led the meeting and the singing. Women enjoyed the breakfast provided by the Klein women.
Jane Clark, district treasurer, led the Mission Candle burning ceremony, and during the meeting a vote was taken to close our bank account as the Central North District will merge with the Southwest District in the new year. Suzie Worsham reminded us that the November election was coming up quickly and encouraged everyone to get ready to vote.
Linda Elms was the keynote speaker, and she reminded us that while our goals may seem hard and sometimes far away, our foremothers did great things in a time when it wasn’t easy for women to do many things. Yet they persevered.
The United Women in Faith of Covenant Glen Methodist in Rosharon have been active and growing during and after the pandemic, welcoming new members of different ages. During 2023 they held two noteworthy events: their annual fundraiser, the Mother Daughter Tea, and Blue Sunday, a National Day of Prayer for victims of child abuse and their helpers.
The Mother Daughter Tea was a virtual event on April 29th that attracted attendees from across the country. They had an interactive afternoon with prayers, teaching, music, door prizes and a hat parade. [See the video here!] They also had breakout sessions on three topics of interest, followed by summaries from each group. The feedback was very positive and uplifting, and some participants asked if they would stream live next time.
Blue Sunday was on April 30th, during National Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month. The unit prayed for all children who suffer from abuse and those who care for them. They also learned about the signs of abuse and how to report it.
President Joyce Hopkins was enthusiastic about the group’s activities. “We are grateful for the support and participation of our members and guests in these events. We look forward to more opportunities to serve and grow together.”
When Klein United Women in Faith formed a few years ago, they realized that most of their members were avid readers, so they chose literacy as one of the social priorities for their unit. One of the ways they decided they could help was to install book boxes where children can take books to read for free.
Their first two boxes were installed on their church campus and are meant to serve the Children’s Weekdays Ministries and Food Pantry clients. This July they followed that up by installing another book in the Five Oaks community, a neighborhood near their church.
The Klein unit partnered with the youth from their church who helped them with the installation. Now women from the unit check the box–regularly adding new books to keep the library fresh. The Children who might not be able to make it to the nearest public library now have a source of books to read thanks to United Women in Faith.
The newly-formed Strawbridge United Women in Faith unit welcomed 83 women at their first retreat on August 12. The event was highlighted by Bishop Cynthia Harvey who spoke to the group during their opening program.
photos courtesy of Jessica Pence
Later in the day the women participated in four workshops:
Missions – Christine Riggle talked about the Mission Center and the women put together 100 adult hygiene kits for our United Women in Faith Hands-on Project.
Prayer Stations – Members experienced different methods to pray
Arts & Crafts – The women put together cross pins from remnants and discussed how the remnants in their lives are still gifts to be used
Speed Friending – like speed dating only meeting new friends.
A newborn baby in Maua, Kenya. A woman undergoing breast cancer treatment in Houston. A schoolboy in Belize.
Worlds apart, yet, connected by a common thread – all recipients of handcrafted gifts sewn, crocheted and knitted by members of Memorial Drive UMC’s Common Thread Circle.
One of the oldest and most active circles within MDUMC’s United Women of Faith organization, Common Thread has been meeting since 1997. Their hats, scarves, blankets, “critters” and heart-shaped pillows have found their way around the world, bringing a bit of comfort to more than 125,000 people, large and small.
In 2022 alone, the ladies made 5,216 donations to hospitals, nursing homes, schools, mission trips to foreign countries, charitable organizations providing aid to hurricane victims, and others.
Common Thread founding members first gathered at the church 25 years ago. Because of limited space, they moved to a nearby Starbucks where regular customers got to know the ladies and started donating fabric and spreading the word about the ladies’ mission.
And even though they loved meeting at the coffee shop (they even purchased a vacuum cleaner so they could tidy up the rugs before leaving), the Circle soon outgrew its space and went back to meeting at the church.
For two hours each Monday afternoon, 25 to 30 Circle members meet to stuff and sew closed heart-shaped pillows and animals that have been cut out, washed and ironed, and sewn by other volunteers working from home. Others crochet and knit lap blankets, hats and scarves. The ladies turn out approximately 75 pieces a week.
“One of the things I love about the Circle is that it includes ladies from so many denominations and that we assist other churches like Spring Branch Presbyterian and St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church in their mission efforts,” says Circle Co-chair Mary Brannies.
No project is ever too daunting for Common Thread to tackle. Last year, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the group answered the call to make 125 pink scarves and hats and was honored for its work at Methodist Medical Center’s “Blessing of the Gifts” event.
“One of the most moving things to me is seeing a breast cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy treatment with her arms wrapped around one of our pink heart-shaped pillows,” says Rima Blanc.
More often than not, Common Thread members don’t see the true outcome of their work as it goes in so many directions.
They missed seeing the smiles on the faces of children who received Child Care Bags that included one of their stuffed animals after the Texas Annual Conference Mission Center helped families affected by a hurricane in Louisiana.
They never watched pediatric surgeons make simple drawings on the white “therapy dolls” showing their smallest patients where they were going to give a shot or put a bandage.
Leslie Antley, who singlehandedly knitted and crocheted more than 500 hats for Houston’s Interfaith Ministries Refugee Services and a 2022 mission trip to Kenya, didn’t see the outcome of her work.
Yet, Common Thread members keep on sewing, knowing that their handiwork makes a difference to someone, somewhere.
A note from HCA West Houston Medical Center recently shared these sentiments: “Today was a good day to pass out pillows: A crying mother of an infant in the ICU, the daughter of a patient who just lost her 12-year-old son, and to a lady who had a stroke and was delighted to have the heart pillow. I left a pillow for the unit secretary in the ER. Her back pain was flaring up and the pillow provided comfort while she finished her long work day. Everyone wants me to convey how much they love and find comfort with the heart pillows.”
Common Thread welcomes all women of all denominations. It meets from 2 to 4 p.m. on Mondays in Memorial Drive United Methodist Church’s Wesley Hall.
When the church split occurred last year, it left a lot of people searching for a new church home, and many of them landed at Strawbridge UMC in Kingwood. Strawbridge did not hold a vote on disaffiliation, instead their vote was all about what the church’s positioning statement would be regarding the LGTBQ+ community. When the vote came back, defining Strawbridge as a reconciling church, the floodgates opened. The church doubled in size. The biggest issue right now is enough parking on Sundays! What a lovely problem to have.
Although it could have felt overwhelming for the Strawbridge members, long-time members threw the doors open and welcomed new members with open arms and helped them on a healing path.
One new member, Carol Boldin, was most interested in the Women’s Ministry. She had always enjoyed that in the past and wanted to contribute at her new church. The existing Women’s Ministry group at Strawbridge functioned but needed some organization. That’s when Boldin met Kathy Kraiza in her new Sunday School class. Kraiza, Texas Conference Education and Interpretation Officer, told Boldin all about United Women in Faith. This seemed like the ideal time to begin a new unit.
Boldin poured out the Strawbridge story to Katie Pryor and Khia Shaw at UWF in New York, who were encouraging and helpful. They emailed Strawbridge a membership kit.
On January 10, 2023, Strawbridge UWF had their first meeting to see if there was enough interest to proceed. They had a salad bar because it’s always time for a pot luck! Kraiza gave an excellent overview of UWF, and the women voted to move forward. Officers were nominated and voted in for 2023. There were many circle suggestions that night, as well as people stepping forward to volunteer their talents. They held their official New United Women in Faith Celebration on Sunday, April 17, 2023, and signed up a number of ladies that day.
In early May Strawbridge hosted their first event, a tea party. They had 77 in attendance. They opened with a performance by Sola Gratia, a women’s ecumenical choir, enjoyed their tea fare, and closed with women from a local charity, Oaks of Righteousness, sharing their testimonies. The event was free, but they asked everyone to bring household items for the Oaks of Righteousness. It was an amazing spirit-filled afternoon.
“That’s us,” Boldin says. “Moving forward. Figuring things out. Seeing God in everything as we build relationships with our new church family.”
Texas Conference 