Uniter Our quarterly newspaper ... Kady Herr-Yang 1809 Ramsey Ave. Milwaukee, 53221 414-817-8120 ... 2 boys and 1 girl and they range in age from 5 to 9

November 2013 Uniter Page 1

United Methodist Women Metro South District Wisconsin Conference Present the

Uniter Our quarterly newspaper

November 2013

Greetings! What a beautiful fall we have been having! I hope you have taken

some time to enjoy it. First, I’d like to thank both of the Metro Districts for all their work to make our District

Celebration a REAL CELEBRATION! It was an inspiration to me – I hope it was for you also. I attended a WISDOM meeting a short time ago and met Jackie Walker who is an

organizer for MICAH. She was asking for information about United Methodist Women and their churches in the Milwaukee area. MICAH would like to invite you to consider getting acquainted with their organization. MICAH has had some remarkable successes recently. I am sure they would be happy to talk to your group about their work. Faith based community organizing can offer information and multiple avenues of involvement. Her contact information is Jackie Walker, 414-264-0805. For more information, you can search - MICAH, Milwaukee. Other affiliates may be in your area: RIC (Racine County), CUSH (Kenosha County), SOPHIA (Waukesha County), RUTH (Manitowoc County). By searching the name and city you should be able to find a contact. If you have trouble, let me know and I will try to help.

Have you hosted your “Sister” from the District Mission Team? If not, it’s not too late – give her a call and invite her to come for a visit in November or December. If she can’t make it, call me and I will see if one of our other officers can fill in.

As we approach Advent and the New Year, let’s approach the manger in awe and expectation that God will enter us, our churches and our UMW’s. Let’s ask him to direct us to make one new goal for our unit - something that will stretch or enrich our souls or both. Merry Christmas!

Your president, Dodie Smith, 1927 27th Ave., Kenosha WI, 53140, 262-551-8669, [email protected]

The Uniter

Volume 15 Issue 4

Published quarterly by

United Methodist Women

Division of The United

Methodist Church

WI Annual Conference

750 Windsor St SUN PRAIRIE WI 53590

mailto:[email protected]


2014_METRO SOUTH UNITED METHODIST WOMEN MISSION TEAM

President (14)

Dodie Smith 1927 17th Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53140 262-551-8669 [email protected] Vice President - Vacant Secretary (14) Marie Garnhart 7835 W. Canterbury Court, Franklin, 53132 414-427-5770 [email protected] Treasurer (15) Diana Xiong 8233 W. Leroy Avenue, Greenfield, 53220 414-462-2887 [email protected] Communications Coordinator Patsy Ruppe 2427 Sunrise Road, Racine 53402 262-939-8075 [email protected] Secretary of Program Resources Gwenda Szczygielski 13800 W. Park Central Blvd. Apt.422 New Berlin, 53151 262-786-5265 [email protected] Mission Coordinators Spiritual Growth Vacant Social Action Betty Henderson 300 Jennifer Lane, Brookfield, 53045 262-439-9840 [email protected] Membership, Nurture, Outreach Kemi Baiyewu 4121 – 24th Ave. Kenosha, 53140 262-764-0639 [email protected] Education & Interpretation Mary Garvens 2167 South 80th Street, West Allis 53219 414-327-5305 Committee on Nominations Chair Vacant Member (14) Arlene Wilson 3120 E. Allison Ave., Cudahy 53110 414-482-1341 [email protected] Member (15) Jeanne Heckenlively 6043 W. Glen Court, Franklin, 53132 414-855-0188 Member (16) Kady Herr-Yang 1809 Ramsey Ave. Milwaukee, 53221 414-817-8120 (cell), 414-704-2365 [email protected] Conference Representatives Hmong Language Coordinator Kady Herr-Yang [email protected] Mission u Assistant Dean Gail Burgess [email protected] Legacy Representative Rebecca Yang 414-704-2365 Northcott Neighborhood House Representatives Dodie Smith – Member, Board of Directors Betty Henderson, Mary Garvens – Members of Corporation by virtue of office Other Corporate Members – vacancies












We are grateful for two new team members

Treasurer – Diana Xiong has been elected to be our treasurer. She is the

treasurer of her local United Methodist Women at Christway UMC in Milwaukee

Wisconsin. She has 3 kids, 2 boys and 1 girl and they range in age from 5 to 9. She enjoys

being a stay at home Mom. She has a degree in Accounting and Managing Information

Systems at UWM and is originally from Santa Barbara. CA. Thank you Diane for being a

part of the District team. Her term will begin in January 2014.

Membership, Nurture and Outreach – Kemi Baiyewu has been elected to be our

membership, nurture and outreach coordinator. Her full name is Oluwakemi Baiyewu

but her nick name is Kemi. She was born and raised a Baptist a few decades ago in

Lagos Nigeria West Africa, She became a Methodist by marriage in 2009. She was

educated in Lagos Nigeria graduating with Bachelors of Science in Business

Administration. She loves gardening and cooking. Thank you Kemi for being a part of the

District team. Her term beill begin in January 2014.

MISSING LINKS IN METRO SOUTH TEAM

Vice President

Spiritual Growth Coordinator

Chairperson of Nominations

RECOMMENDATION F0R DISTRICT UMW MISSION TEAM

Please send to anyone on the team

I Recommend______________________ _____ For______________________________________

Phone______________________ Address____________________________________________

City______________ ZIP___________Email____________________________________________

Race/Ethnicity_________Church/Unit/City____________________

Age: Under 18__; 18-30__; 31-50___; 51-60___; over 60______

Skills and Talents______________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Your Signature__________________________________________

Phone______________________Email______________________


Treasurer

For this year, 2013, we have given $31,316.28 toward our district’s

Pledge to Mission goal of $48,000. This is 65.2 %, but we would

like to reach 100%. With just two months left in the year, we have

to really get going. At this time, 9 units have either not remitted

anything at all towards the mission pledge…or, have not paid the

full amount. Hopefully, these units plan on giving soon.

The good news is that 18 of the 27 active units in our district have

already fulfilled their Pledge to Mission. That’s great! Of course,

we all need to consider giving to the other four areas of mission

giving, also. They are Special Mission Recognition, Gift to

Mission, Gift in Memory and World Thank Offering. These four

ways of giving help us to meet our Mission Pledge, too.

Thinking ahead to 2014, 15 of the 27 active units have made their

Pledge to Mission for a total of $23,955. But that means there are

quite a few units, 12 to be exact, that still need to send their Pledge

to Mission in to me. Please consider that as part of your agenda at

your next meeting.

I extend my best wishes to everyone for a very blessed holiday

season.

Joyce Myers Your Treasurer, Joyce Myers, 7301-156th Ave, Bristol, WI 53104, 262-

857-7254, [email protected]



UNIT

PLEDGE TO MISSION

Please complete this form and bring to the Metro South District Annual

Celebration which is held in the fall*. If no one from your unit is able to

attend the meeting, please mail your Unit Pledge by December 1st to the

district treasurer.

The district treasurer is:

Joyce Myers

7301 – 156th Avenue

Bristol, WI 53104

We (Unit Name & City) ___________________________________________________

Pledge $____________ for the year 2014

Current Unit Treasurer __________________________________________

Next year’s Unit Treasurer ___________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________

City/Zip ___________________________________________

Phone ___________________________________________

Thank you for your financial support

of the United Methodist Women!


Secretary

Greetings as we close out our calendar year. I hope everyone has enjoyed

this lovely fall weather, and by now perhaps you are gearing up for the big

holidays.

I have attended the District Annual Gathering and the Conference Annual

Gathering and had a chance to connect with a lot of our faithful UMW units.

My next job is to put together the Annual Yearbook in time to distribute it

at our Day Apart event. Hopefully you have all elected your officers for 2014 and

can report them to me in a timely fashion. You will find the 2014 LOCAL UNIT

ELECTED LEADERSHIP form in this issue of the UNITER on the next page.

Some folks have already reported to me that their entire slate of officers (or

many of them) remains the same. In this case I suggest that you check all of the

info in the 2013 Yearbook to make sure there are no errors. Also if anyone of you

has an active e-mail address that was not included in the previous yearbook please

send that on to me. For those officers that remain the same, you can simply write

“same”. It is important to have as many e-mail addresses as possible, so that if we

need to inform local units of something in a timely fashion we can use e-mail.

Postage is too expensive, and “phone tag “ is no fun.

For any new information, please type or print neatly. It is easy enough to

make mistakes when I can read the info correctly, and trying to decipher cursive

makes errors almost certain.

Also let me remind you that If your president or program resources person

has changed, you need to report that to the Service Center for which the address is

provided on the new form.

Some of you tried to reach me using the phone no. in the previous

UNITER. There was an error of one digit and you reached the sheriff’s office.

Sorry about that. The number is correct on the form in this UNITER and in the

yearbook. I’m sure that the sheriff’s office also is very unhappy about this error,

but “things happen”.

Thank you all in advance for your help in providing the needed info for the

2014 yearbook. You all make it possible for me to do my job.

I wish for all of us a mild winter, happy holidays, and a successful 2014 for

our UMW local units.

Marie Garnhart, 7835 W. Canterbury Ct. Franklin, WI 53132. 414-427-5770,

[email protected]



2014 Local Unit Elected Leadership Local Church: _______________________________ e-mail ___________________________

Address: ___________________________________

City: _______________________________________

Zip Code: __________________________________

Pastor(s): ___________________________________

Phone: ___________________________

Instructions: Please print or type the information requested in the blanks provided. Include telephone number(s) with area codes and email addresses if available. Add additional pages as needed (if you have co-leaders for a position). Please provide all requested information. Complete and return form by October 1st, 2013. Mail to: Marie Garnhart phone: (414) 427-5770 7835 W. Canterbury Ct. email: [email protected] Franklin, WI 53132 Reminder: Each unit must also send updated contact information for the President to the Service Center (UMW, 1650 Bluegrass Pky.,Alpharetta, Georgia 30004) to ensure that resources and updates can be communicated to them. Completing this form only updates information for the District and Conference

UMW. President: Name: __________________________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: ________________________________________City/State: _______________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________ email: __________________________________

Vice President:

Name: ___________________________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: _________________________________________City/State: _______________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________ email: ______________________-

______________

Secretary:

Name: ________________________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: ______________________________________City/State: ________________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________ email: ____________________________________

Treasurer:

Name: ______________________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: ____________________________________City/State: _________________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________ email: __________________________________



2014 Local Unit Elected Leadership Mission Coordinator for Spiritual Growth:

Name: __________________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: ___________________________________City/State: _____________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________ email: ____________________________________

Mission Coordinator for Social Action: Name: __________________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: __________________________________City/State: ___________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________email: ____________________________________

Mission Coordinator for Education and Interpretation: Name: _________________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: _________________________________City/State: ___________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________email: ____________________________________

Mission Coordinator for Membership, Nurture and Outreach: Name: ________________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: _________________________________City/State: ___________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________email: ____________________________________

Secretary for Program Resources: Name: ________________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: ________________________________City/State: ___________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________email: ____________________________________

Communications Coordinator: Name: _______________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: ________________________________City/State: ___________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________email: ____________________________________

Committee on Nominations, Chairperson: Name: _______________________________Phone Number: ____________________

Address: _______________________________City/State: ___________________

Zip Code: _____________ - ________email: ____________________________________


Communications Do you need program ideas for your circle? How about your UMW Sunday? District members who would be happy to speak include: Patsy Ruppe –

o Milwaukee’s Hmong House of Good News, o Haiti (Challenges and Hope), o Poverty, o UMW reorganization, o Forgiveness and reconciliation, o Roma of Europe, o The call – Living Sacramentally and walking justly.

Deanna Shimko - Cambodia Wells Marie Garnhart –

o an environmental program “Green Thing” o Human Trafficking,

Dodie Smith – social action topics Kady Her Yang – Evening in Laos fashion show and Hmong buffet

benefiting the Hmong House of Good News Gail Burgess –

o Wisconsin Volunteers in Mission, o Faith Alive o Mission University “U”

Your communications coordinator Patsy Ruppe, 2427 Sunrise Rd,

Racine WI 53402, 262-939-8075, [email protected]



Social Action

I wish more of you would have taken advantage of the Children’s Sabbath

offered by Northcott Neighborhood House October 24th. It was spiritually

uplifting and information packed. As you and your units approach the end

of the year and a time to look at your resources, please think about a special

gift to Northcott! Their partner did not receive the Head Start Grant they

depended upon. This means that 275 children had to find another place for

Head Start and 54 teachers and staff were terminated. In addition, the

wonderful new homes “Fresh Start” has built are not yet sold and the costs

of those home loans are continuing every month. I can’t think of a more

needed program than Fresh Start. Young persons get GED’s, they learn a

craft under the guidance of a skilled craftsman, the homes they build are

beautiful. Their neighborhood is upgraded. Treat yourself, take a tour of

Northcott and see one of these new homes for yourself – but, in the

meantime, Send Northcott an additional Christmas Gift this month.

Other Concerns related to the Sabbath about children and poverty.

Poverty is like a disease. It infects our brains with malnourishment

and they function at a much lower rate. (learning is less, retention is less,

comprehension fluctuates). It infects the whole body so it becomes more

susceptible to other illnesses, eg. colds become pneumonia. Did you know

the zipcode 53233 has the highest infant mortality rate in the U.S.?

Fortunately the WIC program continues to support pregnant mothers and

their children. The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program is still

languishing in a Joint Committee in D.C. because legislators can’t decide to

cut it 50% or 100%! SNAP is more than elementary school lunches; it is

elderly and college student meals.

Poverty and Violence feed each other. Numerous children under the

age of five have already seen killings, gunshot wounds and beatings. Is it

any wonder the violence of our culture is perpetuated? A child is killed every

3-1/2 hours in the U.S. Northcott is a safe haven – for children, youth and

families.


Racism exacerbates both Poverty and Violence. Employment

opportunities, living conditions, education are all affected by Racism.

Milwaukee bears the title of the most segregated city in the U.S. Just look

up the statistics under “The City of Milwaukee” and read what is happening

to 600,000 people.

We know the drill here. Do not allow you and your unit to become

apathetic. How long has it been since your unit used the Charter for Racial

Justice Policy Program prepared by our Wisconsin Team each year for our

use? Work it in!

One Bright Spot! THE TEEN BIRTHRATE HAS BEEN

REDUCED 50%!

A most UNHOLY Trinity exists in our most impoverished areas.

Racism is the base. Poverty and Violence are the two other sides. UMW has

long worked at illeviating these conditions, but we cannot do it alone. We

need the help of our state and federal programs. We need to talk long and

hard to our elected officials and become like the nagging woman in Luke

18:1-8. Keep pushing until we get the response our children need! Our

Nation has a GDP of more than $15 trillion. Surely, we can afford to take

care of our future – our children!

Ron Johnson: 202-224-5323; Jim Sensenbrenner: 202-225-5101; Obama:

202-456-1111.

Your Social Action Coordinator Betty Henderson, 300 Jennifer Lane, Brookfield,

WI 53045, 262-439-9840 [email protected]



PROGRAM RESOURCES

I hope those of you who attended the combined Annual Celebration in Hartford found the

day enjoyable and productive. The Hartford UMW unit really did a great job hosting this

event. I was able to report that 13 units out of 27 participated in the 2013 UMW Reading

Program and the 2013 number of readers totaled 54. Plan 1 had the greatest number of

participants, but the other levels had good representation. Of course, everyone who

participates is a winner because each book read is a great learning experience.

This year, for the first time, my unit bought two books, Small Things with Great Love

(Adventures in Loving Your Neighbor) and On This Spirit Walk (The Voices of Native

American and Indigenous Peoples), and we intend to have discussion groups based on

these books. So the 2014 UMW Reading Program promises to be another most

interesting year for reading and learning.

When I packed up after the Annual Celebration, I found a disturbing trend and/or

potential problem regarding providing supplies for Metro South District UMW meetings.

For the Annual Celebration, in addition to UMW Program Books, Prayer Calendars,

officer handbooks, mission study books, and free materials, I ordered 84 books for the

2014 Reading Program. Eight books were not shipped, so I had 76 books to sell. After

the sale, I shipped back 53, meaning I only sold 23 books from the Reading Program.

The national UMW pays for the shipping to district events, but the district is responsible

for paying the return shipping costs. I have focused on the number of Reading Program

books that were returned because they are readily available from other sources, usually at

a lower price.

The annual Day Apart will be held in January 2014, and Metro South is responsible for

providing program resources. My question for you is: Shall I order the 84 books for the

2014 Reading Program, with the great possibility that I will have to return the majority

after the Day Apart. I would appreciate your input on this matter before the middle of

December as that is when I have to order program resources for Day Apart.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Your Program Resources Coordinator. Gwenda Szczygielski, 13800 W.

Park Central Blvd., Apt 422, New Berlin, WI 53151, 262-786-5265,

[email protected].


#Lost by

Death or

other

Reasons

Name of

Local UMW

Unit

Cluster

Units

District

Units

Online

Units #Members

01-Jan-12

#New

Members

Total

Members

31-Dec-

12

Bristol

1

23 3 3 23

Caldwell

1

10

10

Cudahy

1

14

4 10

Eagle

1

10 1

11 East Troy St. James

1

23 2

25

Elkhorn First

1

13

13

Franksville

1

43 8 3 48 Greenfield Memorial

1

40

8 32

Greenfield Christ

1

20

20

Johnson Creek

1

9

1 8

Kenosha First

1

59 4 5 58 Kenosha Immanuel

1

8 1 0 9

Kenosha Wesley

1

43

7 36 Milwaukee Christway Hmong

1

70 4

74

New Berlin Our Lords

1

42

5 37

Oak Creek

1

32

1 31

Palmyra

1

22 1

23

Racine Christ

1

54 6 4 56

Racine Faith

1

18

1 17

Racine first

1

40

7 33 Village at Manor Park

1

35 10 6 39

Waukesha first

1

72 1 2 71

Waukesha Salem

1

54 2 2 54

Wesley Chapel

1

5

5

West Alice First

1

47 1 9 39 West Allis Calvary

1

31

1 30

Yorkville

1

20

20

27 Active

local

organizations

0

Totals 0 27 0 857 44 69 832


Look at all the active members in 2012.

We are grateful to see 44 new members and will be working to begin more

"online and cluster" local organizations to increase our membership in 2014

and to spread the positive word of the UMW.

We on the district team have been assigned several local organizations and

have gone out or will be out to personally meet with you to talk about the

changes in UMW, where we are going with STOMP and starting on-line

circles or cluster circles within your church or between churches AND

women outside of the UMC. We are encouraged and committed to UMW

mission.

Currently we have the following churches listed as having inactive UMW

organizations for 2012. 31 Inactive local organizations in Metro South

Burlington, concord, Delavan Vida Abundante, Elkhorn Bethel, English Settlement,Genoa City First, Greenfield: So Beautiful Korean,

Kenosha Korean, Kenosha Principe De Paz, Lake Geneva La Resurreccion, Lake Geneva, Little Prairie

Milwaukee Bay View, Milwaukee Luz a Las Naciones, Milwaukee Faith, Milwaukee FE Hispanic Ministry, Milwaukee Native American Ministry

New Berlin Bethel, North Prairie, Pleasant Prairie. Racine Casa De Dios, Racine Evangelical, Racine Trinity

Salem, Siloam, South Milwaukee, Spring Prairie, Troy Center, Union Grove, Waterford Community, Wilmot,

If you have any questions please let me know. Patsy Ruppe, 262-939-8075

(Communications coordinator helping with MNO functions since our

position is vacant in 2013).

For 2013 membership count you will be

submitting the information to our new membership, nurture and

outreach coordinator Kemi Baiyewu. As you can see on the form

on the next page we are asking you to submit this by January 30

2014 to Kemi Baiyewu, 4121 – 24th Ave. Kenosha, 53140, 262-764-

0639, [email protected]




Pastor Mary Counsel Austin emailed this to many people and because our

spiritual growth coordinator is vacant thought the UMW readers would like this as food for thought in our Spiritual Growth!

'If God is for us, who can be against us?'

(Romans 8:31)

1. Pray

2. Go to bed on time.

3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.

4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will

compromise your mental health.

5. Delegate tasks to capable others.

6. Simplify and unclutter your life.

7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too

many.)

8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places.

9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time;

don't lump the hard things all together.

10. Take one day at a time.

11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out

what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do

anything about a situation, forget it.

12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary

purchases.

13.. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key

buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.

14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an

enormous amount of trouble.

15. Do something for the Kid in You every day.

16. Carry a spiritually enlightening book with you to read while waiting

in line.

17. Get enough rest.

18. Eat right.

19. Get organized so everything has its place.

20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of

life.

21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.

22. Every day, find time to be alone.


food for thought in our Spiritual Growth!

'If God is for us, who can be against us?'

(Romans 8:31) continued…

23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems

in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.

24. Make friends with Godly people.

25.. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.

26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often

a good 'Thank you Jesus .'

27. Laugh.

28. Laugh some more!

29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.

30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).

31.. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).

32. Sit on your ego.

33. Talk less; listen more.

34. Slow down.

35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.

36. Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that

you've never been grateful for before.

GOD HAS A WAYOF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU.


2014 Day Apart

Set some time apart to enjoy fellowship, renew friendships, and learn with the members of

Metro North District and Metro South District United Methodist Women

The Call: Living Sacramentally, Walking Justly

The Roma of Europe

This study is a spiritual growth in nature and offers tools to deepen spiritual identity, engagement in community and involvement

in mission, looking at the sacramental understandings of baptism and communion and lifting up models of response to God’s

call. Stories of call and response are shared from a wide array of persons from different

walks of life.

Presented by Pastor Scott Walters

This Study is a geographic in nature with an emphasis on Eastern Europe. You will

discover their history up to and including the twentieth century. You can look into the ways they are treated in contemporary

European culture. You will also be able to learn about their lifestyle and spirituality,

and investigate ways the church and other organizations are working alongside the

Roma.

Presented by Jennifer Burns


COME AND JOIN US ON

OUR SPECIAL DAY APART

2014 Day Apart

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Agape United Methodist Mission Church

2400 N Brookfield Rd

Brookfield WI 53045

8:30am to 3:00pm

Serving continental breakfast and lunch, Program Resources – buy your books,

Mission Displays Information

Officer Training – First timers OR refresh ___________________________________________________________________

Send check for $20.00 made payable to Metro North UMW, and registration form below, to: Treasurer Maris Edgar, 2426 North Cramer Street, # 11, Milwaukee, WI 53211-4313 no later than Friday, January 17, 2014 Name:___________________________________________________________ District:_________________________Unit_____________________________ Phone: _______________________Email:_____________________________ Special Dietary Needs:_____________________________________________ Dependent Care Needs:________ Ages of Dependents: ________________

COME AND JOIN US ON OUR

SPECIAL DAY APART


Education and Interpretation.

Hope everyone had a great summer.

By the time you read this the annual district celebration and the

annual conference gathering will have taken place. I was glad I

attended both!

Now is also the time to start on those mission today forms which

record your mission today efforts for 2013. We would like to have

the forms prepared and submitted to me by December 10 2013.

The form is on the next two pages for your convenience.

Please remember we want to hear from all of the local units. We

are really interested in things you are doing towards mission today

and we want to see more units become mission today units and 5

star units.

Everyone have a happy and blessed Christmas season.

Mary Garvens, 2167 S. 80th St., West Allis, WI 53219,

414-327-5305 (no e-mail)



WISCONSIN CONFERENCE UNITED METHODIST WOMEN

MISSION TODAY

LOCAL UNIT REPORT FORM YEAR 2013

Presidents of all local units are REQUESTED to fill out and send this form in EACH

YEAR, whether or not your unit qualifies as a Mission Today Unit. Please refer any

questions you may have to your District Mission Team. Your gift of time and effort to

fulfill this request is very much appreciated.

Please COMPLETE the form below and CHECK OFF the activities listed on the back of

this sheet that your unit has completed this year, beginning in January 2013. RETURN

the form by December 10, 2013, to:

Mary Garvens, 2167 S. 80th St., West Allis, WI 53219, 414-327-5305 (no e-mail) NAME OF YOUR CHURCH___________________________________________________

YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS _______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

HOME PHONE: ________________________EMAIL______________________________

CURRENT NUMBER OF UNIT MEMBERS____________________________________

NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES YOUR UNIT COMPLETED IN 2013 ____________________

DID YOUR UNIT QUALITY AS A MISSION TODAY UNIT?_____YES____NO

ACTIVITIES you did during the year that you would like to share:_____________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

COMMENTS for the District or Wisconsin Conference UMW Mission team:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________


A discounted combined lodging (three nights stay

at a local hotel) and charter bus transportation

package is now available through Wisconsin

Conference United Methodist Women.

Please contact Laura Pfeffer

([email protected] or 608-592-5228)) for

details.

Early online registration ends November 30,

2013. We Make It Happen: A Living Timeline

Honoring our United Methodist Women members

The United Methodist Women national office launched a mixed-media engagement project—We Make It

Happen: A Living Timeline—on Tuesday, October 1. The ongoing submissions will be posted on

Facebook and Pinterest. Through various means of written and artistic expression, this project asks women

to tell the stories of United Methodist Women members who have inspired them: their mothers,

grandmothers, aunts, godmothers, daughters, granddaughters, sisters, nieces, goddaughters and friends.

This “Living Timeline” will be unveiled at the United Methodist Women 2014 Assembly, held in April

2014, in Louisville, Ky.

In the spirit of sisterhood we wanted to find out how members bring about change in their communities and

around the world. So we started asking the questions: How does the United Methodist Women

member in your life inspire you? How is she an inspiration to others? What does she do to show

unwavering support of women, children and youth? We want to know because we want to share with the

world how our members rely on their faith, hope and love in action to Make It Happen for those deemed

“the least,” Christ’s kin.

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/news/events/item/index.cfm?id=1237



Find out more about We Make It Happen: A Living Timeline

We Make It Happen: A Living Timeline - The beautiful pieces of art, video, music and

written expression we’ve received thus far can be viewed on United Methodist

Women’s Pinterest page.

We invite everyone to submit to We Make It Happen: A Living Timeline - Now thru

February 7, 2014, submit the story of a United Methodist Women member who does all

she can to Make It Happen! To learn how to submit a story of a United Methodist Women

member, visit our submission page. Submit a piece to “We Make It Happen: A Living Timeline” and see it displayed as part of an interactive exhibit at the Make It Happen! 2014 Assembly. The 2014 Assembly will be held in Louisville, Ky., at the International Convention Center in Louisville, April 25-27, 2014. Go to: www.assembly2014.org

Assembly Schedule

Thursday, April 24th

Pre-conference Events

Ubuntu Day of Service 8 am – 4 pm

Friday, April 25

9:00 am Kick-off - Assembly Begins!

10:00 am -6:00 pm Workshops and social activities

10:00 am -7:00 pm Experience Hall open

6:00 pm Doors open for opening worship

7:00 pm Opening Worship

9:00 pm Social Activities

Saturday, April 26

7:00 am Morning meet-ups and physical activity

8:00 am Doors open for Morning Program

9:00 am-12:00 pm Morning Program including Action

12:00 pm – 7:00 pm Workshops and social activities

12:00 pm – 8:00 pm Experience Hall

7:00 pm Doors open for evening program

8:00 pm Evening Program

9:30 pm Social Activities

Sunday, April 27

7:00 am Morning meet-ups and physical activity

8:00 am Doors open for closing worship

9:00 am – 11:30am Closing Worship


http://www.pinterest.com/umwomen/we-make-it-happen-a-living-timeline/

http://www.pinterest.com/umwomen/we-make-it-happen-a-living-timeline/

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/resources/articles/item/index.cfm?id=1236

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/assembly/



Many of the Metro South United Methodist Women attended the Annual

celebration which was held at First Church in Hartland in early October.

Enjoy some pictures of the event – Thank you to the Host Church!


Girls' Night Out at LEGACY Women

Girls' Night Out that LEGACY Women, the conference's young women's

committee, put on during Annual Gathering this year was held on October

18-19th 2013. We had a lock-in for girls in 7th-12th grade at Wellspring

UMC, less than 10 minutes away from Asbury UMC where the adult UMW

festivities were held! The night started with their registration 30 minutes

before Annual Gathering's (5:00pm on Friday) and ended their event 30

minutes after Annual Gathering finishes (~3:30pm on Saturday) in order to

give our participants' drivers time to get from church to church. Chaperones

were provided at the event so if any youth's parents wanted to go to Annual

Gathering they did!

Our event started at 6:30pm on Friday night with a worship and welcoming

service. If you had to travel from a distance, you didn’t need to worry about

bringing youth late as they had activities going all night long! They did

things ranging from a mission project for Wellspring, to watching a movie,

to getting eco-friendly spa treatments (pictured above) to making t-shirts.

If you were only planning on coming to Annual Gathering on Saturday you

could also bring your teen down with you for the day. They began Saturday

registration at 8:00am and their program started with morning worship at

9:00am. Saturday was all about leadership development. We were lucky

enough to have Marva Usher-Kerr from the National UMW office giving our

workshop. Its focus was on Esther 4:14 which says, "For if you remain


silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another

place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that

you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

The girls brainstormed what they can bring home to their churches.

We really wanted them to see that they are Esther’s and that they can affect

the world through mission work and their involvement with UMW.

The Friday dinner was on their own before the girls arrived. They had some

snacks for Friday but girls were encouraged to also bring their own. For

breakfast they had cereal, fruit, juice, and bagels and for lunch they ordered

pizza from one of the local places in town and along with salad. If anyone

had any food allergies they did their best to accommodate. Each youth

attending was asked to bring: sleeping bag, pillow, toiletries, snacks, a bible,

a change of clothes for Saturday, and some grungy clothes to wear during

Friday night's mission project.

The cost to attend this event was only $5.00. If you are going to Annual

Gathering next year, consider giving girls from your church a ride down to

their event! If you have any questions please call our legacy member

Rebecca Yang at 414-704-2365.

It was exciting to meet young United Methodist Women from everywhere

around our conference!


http://www.hmonghouse.org

HMONG HOUSE WELCOMES NEW DIRECTOR,

INVITES PUBLIC TO LEARN ABOUT HMONG CULTURE

Rev. Nhia Wahn Her recently accepted the position of Director at Hmong House of Good News, which

operates several days a week at Central UMC in Milwaukee. Rev. Her, a first generation Hmong immigrant

to the United States, said since the position became vacant, friends and colleagues urged him to consider

applying because he has a passion for helping the elderly. He said it is his calling and he is still exploring

the position and learning every day about the community. He explained that there is a great need for this

kind of ministry and prays that the Hmong House will grow as he continues to reach out to the community.

He hopes to do just that at the Hmong House’s annual meeting at 2 p.m. on November 10 at Central UMC,

where he will share a presentation about the Hmong religion, Shamanism, and the Hmong culture and its

traditions. All are invited to the event that will also feature displays, singing, worship and refreshments.

Rev. Her said, “The food, the clothing… all of that is secondary to the Hmong culture . . . the real culture is

what Hmong believe.” Rev. Her also said if United Methodist Women are interested in learning even more

about the Hmong culture or if they are interested in more information about Hmong House of Good News,

they are invited to contact him at (920) 562-9594 and set up a time for him or a representative to come to

your church and give a presentation.

We are excited and so grateful to the Kenwood United Methodist Women and church for

allowing us to have an egg roll sale. We fed A LOT of hungry college students and raised enough

to keep Hmong House open for another week. Also Metro North and South Annual Celebration

donated 1/3 or their offering to HHGN. Our heartfelt thank you.

How Can You Help the Hmong House of Good News?

LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO DO GOD'S WORK: Hmong House of Good News is seeking volunteers to help in a few different capacities to be able to better serve the Hmong seniors that now and

will one day utilize the center. We need:

a lawyer to advise, medical personnel to provide screenings and education

social workers to provide advice, brokerage services and advocacy, one on one volunteers

Translators. Please prayerfully consider helping this vulnerable group of people. For information or to make a

commitment, please contact Cheryl Mallow at 920-261-6140 or [email protected].

Would you like to help drive our elders? We will pay you mileage.

http://www.hmonghouse.org/



Evening in Laos.

Hmong Fashion show and buffet. Oak Creek UMW and church will host the first ever Hmong

fashion show and buffet on Nov 15 2013. The theme is an evening in Laos. Proceeds will benefit the Hmong House and we are grateful for this collaboration. Should you have questions

or would like to attend this event or schedule one for your UMW or church you can get in touch

with Kady Her Yang 414-704-2365. We would like to host 5 of these in 2014.

UMW Mission Visits. We are always excited to share our testimony and joy to be at Hmong House with our visitors. Why don’t you plan to come and join us? Just give our director a call at

Hmong House of Good News 639 N 25th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53233, 414-342-4380 or

email us at [email protected].

Designate Hmong House as the recipient of your church’s Noisy Collection (Change for Change/Coins Count Up/Empty Your Pockets/etc.). Send the money directly to Hmong House of

Good News, c/o Treasurer Patsy Ruppe, 2427 Sunrise Rd., Racine, WI 53402, or to the Wisconsin

Annual Conference UMC Treasurer, 750 Windsor St., Sun Prairie, WI 53590. Indicate Advance #7809.

Be a “Partner in Mission.” This is a means of sustainable support in which you, your church,

or your unit sign up to give Hmong House of Good News a designated amount either monthly or

yearly. You may choose to have the money taken automatically from your checking or savings account, or you may pay by check.

Sustainable giving allows us to know when money will be received so that we can manage our budget more efficiently.



2013 Calendar of Events across Metro South District

Nov 2 Christ Church Racine UMW annual cookies walk 9-11am

Nov 7 Palmyra Annual Turkey Supper 4:30-6:30 pm

Nov 10 Hmong House of Good News Annual meeting 2pm at

Central UMC Milwaukee

November 8-9 Conference Team Meeting Chippewa Falls: Trinity (District Pres.)

Sat, Dec. 7 Metro South officer team meeting at Marie Garnhart’s 9am-noon.

Dec 7 A Classical Christmas: A Concert for Cambodia, 2:00 pm at Caldwell

UMC (More info at www.caldwellumc.org )

2014 Calendar of Events across Metro South District

Jan 4 Day Apart panning at Agape United Methodist Mission in

Brookfield morning actual time TBD

Jan 10 Conference Team Meeting location TBD

Jan 15 February UNITER Deadline

Jan 25 Day Apart at Agape United Methodist Mission 8:30 to 3pm

Feb 15 Metro South officer team meeting at Marie Garnhart’s 9am-noon.

April 5 Conference UMW Action Day at Kaukauna UMC

Apr 15 May UNITER Deadline

Apr 25-27 Assembly 2014 Kentucky

May 4 Northcott Neighborhood House Annual Meeting at Harley

Davidson Museum

May 9-10 Conference team meeting Mauston WI

May 17 Metro South officer team meeting at Marie Garnhart’s 9am-noon.

TBD Annual Celebration Planning for Metro North and South

Jul 15 August UNITER Deadline

July 28 - 31 Mission U in Wausau

August 1 Mission U Overview Day in Wausau

Aug 22-24 Conference team meeting Pine Lake WI

Sep 27 Annual Celebration for Metro North and South location TBD

Oct 17-18 Annual Gathering Conference wide Asbury UMC Madison

Nov 7-8 Conference Team Meeting Shawano, WI

Sat, Dec. 6 Metro South officer team meeting at Marie Garnhart’s 9am-noon.

Share your mission works and fund raising with other UMWs…be connected with

each other. If you would like to add something to this calendar please contact Patsy

Ruppe 262-939-8075 [email protected].

http://www.caldwellumc.org/



Communications Coordinator of Metro

South, District of Wisconsin Conference,


Patsy Ruppe, 2427 Sunrise Rd, Racine Wisconsin 53402,

262-939-8075,

[email protected]

Non Profit

Organization

US Postage

Paid Permit # 1261

Racine, WI

The Uniter

Volume 15 Issue 4

Published quarterly by


Division of The United

Methodist Church

WI Annual Conference

750 Windsor St

SUN PRAIRIE WI 53590-

0620

Happy Thanksgiving

and have yourself a

blessed and very

Merry Christmas

PURPOSE

The organized unit of United Methodist Women

Shall be a community of women

whose PURPOSE is to know God and to

experience freedom as whole persons through

Jesus Christ;

to develop a Creative, supportive fellowship,

and to expand concepts of mission through

participation in the global ministries of the church.


Documents

Uniter Our quarterly newspaper ... Kady Herr-Yang 1809 Ramsey Ave. Milwaukee, 53221 414-817-8120 ... 2 boys and 1 girl and they range in age from 5 to 9