Wednesday - May 16, 2012
United Methodist Women (UMW) is made autonomous organization within the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Women (UMW) has been made an autonomous organization within the United Methodist Church.
The change came by a delegate vote of 889 to 20 on May 1 during the 2012 General Conference of the United Methodist Church in Tampa, FL.
The historic vote separates the national policymaking body of women organized for mission within the denomination from the church’s mission agency for the first time in more than 70 years, according to Yvette Moore, editor of Response, the magazine of United Methodist Women.
“General Conference also approved a series of recommendations from United Methodist Women that will structurally strengthen ties between local United Methodist Women members, their national structure and the ministries they support around the world. The actions will provide more flexibility to local, district, conference and jurisdictional United Methodist Women as they organized for mission in their respective communities,” reported Moore.
Meaning for Memphis Conference
“We tend to do the same things, not realizing we are leaving out some of our ladies, young and older, who would like to reach out in other ways,” she explained. “It reminds me of what Jesus said in John 15: ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vineyard keeper. He removes any of my branches that don’t produce fruit, and he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit.’”
Mooney said the change “will encourage us to reach out in faith, hope and love and put it into action.”
Memphis Conference United Methodist Women began discussing and preparing for the expected changes last year, she said.
“Will this be easy? Certainly not!,” Mooney commented, but noted the changes are needed to reverse declining membership.
“If we find one change will not work for us, we will try another. We (have been given) a little more freedom in our day-to-day way of reaching out to others. Mission around the world is our goal in helping others,” she said.
A related change Mooney mentioned is that United Methodist Women will begin to use the words “United Methodist Women” at all levels.
“I believe it will pull each of us closer together. Every conference will have a representative in ‘United Methodist Women, Inc.,’ whether serving as a director or on the Advisory Committee.”
More details about the new autonomy
According to Moore:
*A 25-member board of directors will govern the national United Methodist Women organization. Of these directors, 20 will be elected by United Methodist Women members through jurisdictional channels and five will be elected through a nominations process to ensure diversity of age, race, language, physical ability and working status. The board will be responsible for managing the organization’s program policies, finances — including investments, budget, property, financial policies — and its chief executive staff person.
*A 70- to 80-member Program Advisory Group will advise the board on matters related to program. Each annual conference will have representation in United Methodist Women’s national organization, thereby strengthening the connections between local women and their national policymaking body. The Program Advisory Group will include:
· United Methodist Women’s 25-member board of directors.
· The five United Methodist Women jurisdictional presidents.
· A representative from each conference not already represented on the 25-member board.
· Representatives from United Methodist agencies, the deaconess and home missioner community, and, with voice but no vote, United Methodist Women regional missionaries and representatives of pan-Methodist women’s organizations related to the World Methodist Council.
*In a separate vote at General Conference, oversight of the denomination’s deaconess and home missioner programs was placed with the new national United Methodist Women organization.
~By Lane Gardner Camp, Director of Communications, Memphis Conference
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