hazel decker – Texas Conference

May 31, 2025May 31, 2025 txconfumw hazel decker

Who was Hazel Decker?

Each year the Texas Conference of United Women in Faith honors one member with the Hazel Decker Award, but who was Hazel Decker?

Hazel Meeks Decker was born in Dubach, La., on Jan. 6, 1913, and died in Jacksonville on Oct. 4, 2002. By any measure, she was an extraordinary person. A devoted wife, mother, homemaker and a gourmet cook, she was also a global citizen, a social activist and a liberated woman long before that term became popular. She lived by a deep religious faith that not only allowed her to bear great suffering with courage and dignity, but also led her to a life of service to others. She had a passion for justice and frequently challenged the status quo power structure on behalf of racial minorities, women, victims of war and poverty, and those who were shunned or left out by society.

She was elegant, intelligent, articulate and compassionate, and she could be a potent force for those in need. Hazel Decker was active in civic affairs and was especially devoted to the United Methodist Church, in which she held offices from the local level to the national level. It was under her presidency that the Texas Annual Conference United Methodist Women organization (now known as United Women in Faith) was integrated. She chaired the national committee on women’s concerns, and played a major role in securing the ordination of women in the Methodist Church. She represented the Church at the 1971 Paris peace conference on Vietnam, and two years later went to South America to help in discussions about how the Church should deal with a number of the military governments in the region.

In 1975, the World Council of Churches sent her to Laos and Vietnam to review work there. That same year, she visited church installations in Afghanistan. She helped to draft and deliver the first Laity Address ever given at a United Methodist General Conference, and was named one of the hundred most outstanding women in the entire history of American Methodism. She was with the first group from the southern United States to enter mainland China after that country was opened to Americans, and also traveled in Russia, Estonia, Iran and Africa. Hazel Decker was a person of vision, courage and love.

In a world that treats truth with increasing disdain, she was a person of absolute integrity. In a world that has elevated selfishness and greed to the status of virtues, she was a person who put others first, and gave generously of her resources. In a world that follows the crowd, she dared to stand firmly for what she believed. She was consistently ahead of her time, and was an excellent example of what a human should be.

June 12, 2024June 12, 2024 txconfumw Annual Conference, Annual Luncheon, Events, hazel decker

2024 Annual Luncheon Brings Sisters Together from Across the Conference

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.

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.

Theresa closed the meeting by presenting Romonica with a Special Recognition Pin, and Romonica closed us all in prayer.

June 1, 2023June 5, 2023 stephaniepounds Annual Luncheon, Events, Guest Speaker, hazel decker

Annual Luncheon Returns in Force

Vice President Stacie Hawkins welcomes attendees to the annual luncheon

Hugs and handshakes filled the ballroom at the 2023 Annual Luncheon in Houston on May 29. After several years of not being able to meet in person, nearly 80 UWF members from across the Texas Conference greeted each other warmly as they met to share a meal during the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

UWF members and their guests were treated to an address by Rev Hannah Terry, Community Pastor of Westbury UMC and Founding Executive Director of FAM Houston – a 501c3 nonprofit organization with the mission to work for justice by building empowered community with resettled refugees, immigrants, and local Houstonians.

Rev Terry encouraged us to explore the goodness of mutuality–being with someone and listening to them without trying to “fix them.” True mutuality with another person, she said, is something that can “spring you from the prison of myself.”

During her talk Rev Terry showed videos from FAM Houston, including one that highlighted the Pamoja initiative, a program that pairs refugee and immigrant families to Houstonian families to learn from each other and create mutual aid groups. Interested volunteers are encouraged to check out Pamoja.

Lue Wenzel, Spiritual Growth Officer, leads the group from the Prayer Guide

A highlight of the luncheon was when President Theresa Graham presented the 2023 Hazel Decker Award to Wilodyne Hooper. Hooper, a long-time member who has served in several levels of UWF, expressed surprise at honor. “I never believed I did anything special enough to deserve this. Thank you so much,” she told the group.

When the luncheon was over, the room was filled with hugs again as everyone expressed the hope that they would see each other again at the next Annual Conference Luncheon.