Season of Reflection 

IN THIS SEASON OF REFLECTION, love is always the main ingredient giving God glory for his one and only Son, Christ our Lord and Savior. I look forward to Easter Morning with Christ’s resurrection.
 
After reflecting in this Lenten Season about each decade of growth and how God provided each change in my life. I say it is no different than anyone else’s. We all know change is inevitable.
 
INSPIRE: What does it mean to be inspired? Inspiration comes from something you saw or felt, heard or smelled.
 
INFLUENCE: Did it influence you to make a change or look at a subject in a different way?
 
IMPACT: Did it propel you forward to take action to do or act for the greater good? To restore those things that have been ignored let us join in the struggle for equality in all things by creating, pushing or pulling; I mean nurturing and advocating to make a difference.
 
Therefore, we are inviting all spiritual-minded United Women in Faith to join in this more than 150-years old organization in united sisterhood.
 
Gracie Campbell, president

Mission u 2022 Registration

• La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham, Mesa Superstition Springs
  6530 E. Superstition Springs Blvd. Mesa, AZ 85206  480 654-1970
• Best Western Superstition Springs 1342 S. Power Rd. Mesa, AZ 85206  480 641-1164

The Hands On project: Coloring Quilt Squares 
Social Action presentation: Climate Justice

Register at https://dscumc.org/united-methodist-women-draft/mission-u/ starting March 24.

Click here for Scholarship Information for first time attendees.

Janette Gann, dean
Billie Larime, assistant dean
Deb Kuhn, registrar

Email umwomen@dscumc.org  for more information.

Great news for those that missed the window. Registration for virtual attendance at Assembly is extended through April 25th. Take advantage now to join us virtually in Orlando.

As a bonus, virtual attendees will have a chance to purchase a new United Women in Faith tote bag before anyone else.

The time to register is NOW.

See you in Orlando.

Your Assembly Team

Visions from the Vice President

Think, Learn, Live, Give! These are the words of the sections dividing the pages in our response magazine. Have you read the March/ April issue yet? Great stuff! Bold, Faith, Action, Sisterhood. These words are on the pages describing our new name. We are “United Women in Faith.” Now I must get used to saying it! I like that we are United Women in Faith, called by God to be bold and serve justice. Google defines Bold as “showing an ability to take risks, confident, and courageous.” Yes, that sounds like the women we know and whom we read about on the pages of our response magazine. Also, our Faith Talks women, our national leaders, our missionaries whom we pray for on the pages of our Daily Prayer Guide. The 21st century women will continue to be bold, to think, to learn new things, and to give graciously.

I believe as Bold women we can continue the work we started 153 years ago. We need to continue to listen for the stories that need to be told and share them in our programs. We need to continue to honor our mission institutions, give of our time and talents graciously and receive great blessings along the way. We can continue to transform small parts of our nation together as a strong sisterhood.

Coming up soon in a month is our “Turn it Up” Assembly. Coming after a pandemic it’s been a long-awaited gathering with so much to share for us all. I am so excited to be attending virtually and have signed up for classes that will be teaching me new things to share with you all. Another date for you to know for our future, is our ANNUAL CELEBRATION, “Pouring New Wine” on October 29, 2022. It will be a virtual conference with lots of new and exciting things to come.

Be Bold! Keep on learning new things. Inspire action together with your sisterhood of United Women in Faith. Carry on in mission. It's going to be a good year!

Cyndi Heinecke, vice president

Social Action News

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed to become the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice!!! Historic.

Thank you to Emily Jones, Liz Lee, Linda Thistlethwaite, Jan Polansky, and Lea Scipione-Linder (not pictured) for their presentations and presence on April 8 and 9 at our Social Action events. Thank you to all who helped to make our Goodwill Matthew 25 Prison Ministry Fundraising Donation Drive a success.

Thank you for partnering with Goodwill to host a donation drive! Ourgroup collected 3,773 pounds of donations, resulting in a check for $715.95! This includes a $150.00 bonus for collecting over 2,500 pounds. Thanks to your donations, you’re supporting Goodwill’s mission to fight unemployment by empowering individuals, strengthening families, and building stronger communities.

This month’s social action newsletter:
https://www.smore.com/z52vr   

Maria Hase, social action coordinator

Welcome New Conference Secretary

Like many of you, I learned from a very early age that the women of the church had a calling to be in mission. Now I’m happy to still be involved in the work of our wonderful organization as the newly-elected secretary of the Conference United Women in Faith. I thought I had retired from the Conference Leadership Team a number of years ago, but I am excited to be involved again in this time of future-focused changes.
 
My husband, Grant, and I moved from Sun City West, AZ to Mesa, AZ in 2017 to be closer to children, grandchildren, and even great-grands! I immediately became involved in Red Mountain United Women in Faith and am delighted to once again have a support group of like-minded women. What a blessing!
 
Cleo Perry, secretary

Reading to Stretch Your Mind

As we move through the spring of the year, I sincerely hope that you are taking advantage of all that our resources for growth and a deepening faith are providing us as United Women in Faith.
 
The Reading Program offers a plethora of books that I have found interesting and mind stretching. There is always a nice variety in the five categories in which the books are divided.
 
One Dress, One Year by Bethany Winz (Education for Mission), One Girl’s Stand Against Human Trafficking is an eye-opening, true life accounting of a 16-year old girl’s experience of turning passion into action. Bethany begins her experiment by wearing the same black dress every day for a year. She does this to live out what a person in slavery would face every day. Realizing how limited anyone is who is kept under the burden of having no choices, she became a living reminder. She was glad to tell the reason for her seemingly odd decision to bring to light the issue of slavery and to raise funds.
 
A biography, My Little Golden Book About Ruth Bader Ginsburg by Shana Corey (Leadership Development) tells the remarkable and inspiring story of the life of a Supreme Court lustice who overcame discrimination because she was a woman and a Jew. She used her extraordinary intelligence to become a distinguished voice for equality and justice.
 
 Caroline Kidd, program resources coordinator

Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors

There are currently thousands of asylum seekers in the Nogales, Sonora border town waiting for an opportunity to enter the United States. The asylum seekers are mostly from Central America, South America, and other regions of Mexico. They fled their homes due to persecution, torture, and other forms of extreme violence. The majority of asylum seekers are unfamiliar with the asylum process.
 
Obstacles like language barriers, past trauma, limited and incorrect legal knowledge will impede the asylum seekers from effectively telling their own stories and succeeding in their asylum claim. While they wait in Mexico for the opportunity for their asylum case to be heard in a U.S. immigration court, they have very limited access to legal representation and are vulnerable to kidnapping, rape and other forms of violence. If we are not available to educate and potentially connect asylum seekers with legal representatives, they are at a desperately low chance of succeeding with their asylum claims. For these asylum seekers, losing their asylum case means running the risk of losing their very lives.
 
Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors is committed to welcoming and providing legal assistance to asylum seekers. As part of our "Caminamos Juntos (We walk together) asylum program we provide the following services to asylum seekers free of charge:

• Educational workshops on asylum law and process
• 5-10 hours of individual legal assistance with an immigration attorney
• Legal assistance with developing an asylum declaration (the heart of the asylum application that details the asylum seekers story of persecution.)
• Document translations for evidence required in the asylum application.

We welcome immigrants the minute they reach our border and ask for asylum. Not only do we welcome immigrants; we walk with them. Because we walk together. Caminemos Juntos!

New Beginnings in New Mexico

The Navajo United Methodist Center in New Mexico gives women, children and youth a chance for a fresh start. Read more about how your Mission Giving changes lives in this story from the March/April 2022 issue of response magazine.

Photo: New Beginnings