This year in concert with our Annual Meeting theme of Food, Faith, and Fellowship, we’ll be offering aprons for sale with the UWFaith logo embroidered on them.
The aprons are khaki in a 65/35 Cotton/polyester blend (so not much ironing needed). The cost is $25. Pre-order now, and you can pick yours up at Lakeview.
Important
Orders must be placed by Sunday, September 15th, 2024.
When paying, the site will ask you for a shipping address, so that we have a way to contact you. There WILL NOT be a shipping option. All aprons must be picked up by someone attending Fall Annual Meeting Lakeview.
There will be no guarantee that any will be available at Fall Meeting if you have not pre-ordered.
Registration is now open for the Texas Conference Fall Annual Meeting to take place at Lakeview Methodist Conference Center outside Palestine, TX on September 27-28. We are excited to announce that the General Secretary and CEO of United Women in Faith, Sally Vonner, will join us as our keynote speaker.
To show our appreciation for all that Sally has done during her first year as General Secretary, the Texas Conference will present her with a Special Mission Recognition Award. During the registration process, individuals are invited to contribute to purchasing the pin Sally will receive. Units can also contribute by contacting treasurer, Kathy Aubin.
Our theme this year is Food, Faith, and Fellowship. You are all invited to wear your best apron and bring a recipe to share during our Friday night fellowship time. Don’t have an apron? We’ll have some for sale with the UWFaith logo! Stay tuned for more details.
Rev. Ellen Thornburg, Associate Pastor at Love UMC, Rev. Eleanor Colvin, Senior Pastor at Westbury UMC, and Rev. Jennifer Hodson, Pastor at Bryan Community Church, round out our list of dynamic speakers and workshop leaders.
The South Central Jurisdiction Quadrennial kicked off with a Day of Ubuntu across the St Louis area. One of the projects was at Epworth Residential, a United Women in Faith National Mission Institute. Epworth was founded in 1864 and continues to provides services, counseling, and housing to youth ages 11 through 18 who find themselves in the foster care today.
On arrival Epworth took members on a tour of their beautiful tree-shaded campus which includes dining and learning facilities, along with a a dorm and a pool.
The pool was the focus of the task for United Women in Faith that day. Two days later Epworth was hosting a rubber duck race as a fundraising effort, and UWFaith members attached numbered stickers to over 600 ducks! A good time was had by members from across the jurisdiction as we joined in fun and fellowship (there might have been a few verses of “Rubber Ducky” sung), and a few may have even joined in to adopt a duck with a chance to win!
Texas Conference President Theresa Graham’s group went to the Lessie Bates Davis Neighborhood House. The community center is a multi-purpose, faith based community center in relationship with the United Methodist Church. Their mission is to empower individuals and families to move out of poverty and achieve self-sufficiency.
Day of Ubuntu participants helped clean tables and chairs in five classrooms–and found enough time to sneak in a few snuggles, too!
On June 10, 2024, women from across the Texas Conference met to break bread–cheese bread to be exact–and fellowship with their sisters during the Texas Annual Conference. The Annual Luncheon was held in the Rose Garden Room of the Westchase Marriott, and more than 60 women attended.
President Theresa Graham welcomed all to the table, and Deb Wroblewski, Program Resource Officer, delivered the devotional.
President, Theresa GrahamDeb Wroblewski, Program Resource Officer
Carla Cardoza, President of the Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI) in El Paso, stepped to the podium next to share the story of their school. LPI has a rich history of nurturing academic excellence and spiritual growth, and they are looking to partner with women from the Texas Conference. You can learn more about the great work being done by the Institute in this video. If you would like to contact Ms. Cardoza to discuss ways to collaborate, her email is c.cardoza@lpi-elpaso.org.
Carla Cardoza, President, Lydia Patterson Institute
Following that Theresa introduced the very-deserving recipient of the 2024 Hazel Decker Award, Stacie Hawkins. Stacie currently serves as the Vice-President of the Texas Conference and she recently served as a delegate to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church. In addition, she has been nominated as President of the South Central Jurisdiction of United Women in Faith, with the election coming up at the end of June.
Stacie Hawkins, Hazel Decker Award Recipient with President, Theresa Graham
In her acceptance speech, Stacie spoke of her long association with United Women in Faith and how she was nurtured by the women at Windsor Village UMC.
Keynote speaker, Rev. Romonica Malone-Wardley, who currently serves as Assistant to the Bishop, based her talk on Acts 10. She asked us to consider how Peter and Cornelius might have wanted to “other” each other, but instead, by working with people with whom they might not normally work, they became witnesses to the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit.
Rev. Romonica Malone-Wardley
Theresa closed the meeting by presenting Romonica with a Special Recognition Pin, and Romonica closed us all in prayer.
Make plans now to attend Mission u 2024 on July 12-13 via Zoom. Register today!
What is Mission u? Each year, United Women in Faith develops three justice-focused Biblical curricula for adults, youth, and children, all on a common theme. In 2024, our theme is The Kin-dom Is Among You: Drawing Closer to God and One Another, and the adult curriculum is entitled Welcome Home. The eight-part series was written by Neomi Fletcher who will be our Texas Conference Mission u leader this year.
Mission u will take place over two days, Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13. Each day will last from 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. and will include worship and study time. The event will be broadcast via Zoom. You can watch the Zoom at home, or you can make plans to watch it together with your unit! The registration fee is $20 per person whether you watch by yourself or with a group.
The Texas Annual Conference will be here before you know it and that means that the United Women in Faith Annual Luncheon is right around the corner. The luncheon will take place on Monday, June 10, at noon at the Marriott Westchase. The cost of a ticket is $50. Click here to purchase tickets..
This year’s speaker is Rev. Romonica Malone-Wardley. Ordained as an Elder in the Texas Annual Conference in 2010, she has served as an associate pastor, senior pastor and district superintendent. Currently, Malone-Wardley is working as Assistant to Bishop.
Photo courtesy Texas Annual Conference
Malone-Wardley has also held posts as General Conference Delegate, member of the Strategic Mapping Team and the Board of Ordained Ministry in the TAC. In addition, she served on the nominations committee of the South Central Jurisdiction of the Black Methodist for Church Renewal and on the South Central Jurisdiction Mission Council.
United Women in Faith members are encouraged to invite their clergy to join us for the event.
Save the date and make plans to join us Saturday, March 2nd, via Zoom from 9 am – 1:30 pm. for the Texas Conference United Women in Faith Spring Event.
Our theme this year is Get Together, and we are lucky to have Rev. Janet Wolf bring our keynote message.
Following the conference news items and Rev. Wolf’s message, we will hold three workshops in separate breakout rooms.
Get together to serve – Wesley Community Center will share their programs and how ladies can volunteer.
Get together to worship – Rev. Neomi Fletcher will lead
Get together to advocate – Texas Impact will share ways to engage our communities this election season.
Each workshop will be repeated once, so you can choose to attend TWO of these workshops. Each session will be 45 minutes long with a 15 minute break in between.
Rev. Wolf is an elder in The United Methodist Church and has served as a pastor of rural and urban congregations. She is a college and seminary professor, community mediator, learner, and partner for transformative justice. In July 2012, she was appointed to work with Marian Wright Edelman and the Children’s Defense Fund on nonviolent direct-action organizing to dismantle the cradle-to-prison pipeline, work that includes the organization’s Freedom Schools and the annual Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry. She is the author of “To See and To Be Seen,” a chapter in I Was in Prison: United Methodist Perspectives on Prison Ministry, edited by James M. Shopshire Sr., et al., and numerous other writings. She is the author of the book, Practicing Resurrection: The Gospel of Mark and Radical Discipleship.
Rev. Neomi Fletcher holds a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology – Emory University with a concentration in Theology and Ethics. While at Candler, Neomi served on the Candler Community and Diversity Committee working to promote diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the school.
A New and Serious Response was the theme of this year’s Texas Legislative Event (TLE). The event provides annual training and information on statewide public policy issues and pending legislation to educate and equip women to do justice by putting their faith, hope and love in action to fulfill the purpose of the United Women in Faith. The event is organized by the United Women in Faith and their advocacy partner, Texas Impact.
Attendees were presented with an election year overview of the legislative priorities for 2023-2024 and their impact on the March 6th primary elections. The overview was followed by issue briefings on reproductive policy, climate justice, public school vouchers, gun violence, immigration, voter education resources and civic engagement. An inspirational worship service was led by Rev. Cheryl Smith, she urged us to be witnesses as we advocate for justice. The keynote speakers, Rev. Sharon Austin, Director of Connectional and Justice Ministries in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church and Sally Vonner, General Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of United Women in Faith both spoke with the same engaging and prevailing theme, our God is a justice seeker and He seeks to make things just for all people in due time.
We shared our legislative priorities on Tuesday morning with visits to our representatives and senators offices at the Capitol. We concluded our time together with encouragement to return home ready to advocate on behalf of women, children, youth and the marginalized by putting faith, hope and love into action.
On June 21-23, 2024, United Women in Faith members from across the South Central Jurisdiction will meet in St. Louis, Missouri. Early bird registration for the event is open untilNovember 30. Registering early not only saves money, but it also ensures that you get the workshops and Ubuntu activity of your choosing. Click here to get started.
Scholarships are available for first time attendees, youth, young adult, or newly retired women from the Texas Conference. The scholarships will cover the cost of registration up to $300.
If you would like to apply for a scholarship, download the application, which includes a 200-word essay on why you want to attend and why you should receive the scholarship, and send it to Kathy Aubin, 1621 Prairie Mark Lane, Houston, TX 77077, or email it to khaubin@earthlink.net or thrgram@yahoo.com. Deadline for submitting your scholarship application is November 27.
The South Central Jurisdiction encompasses twelve conference, including the Texas Conference. Its role is to implement the election process for the United Women in Faith’s national board of directors, and it’s also responsible for hosting special programs. The jurisdiction meets as a body every four years.
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.
Texas Conference 