Summer is approaching – and so are the Mission Education Events / Schools of Christian Mission that are sponsored by your Conference United Methodist Women.
I was counting up the years I have been active in UMW. Sixteen! Time flies when you are having fun. I know that I don’t hold a candle to many of you.
It was sixteen years ago that I attended my first School of Christian Mission at Santa Nella. I signed up for the study on ‘Global Economics’ because I really wanted to sort out the alphabet soup associated with the topic - GATT, WTO, and more. The instructor came loaded with additional resources, introduced the subject providing some background information, and then put the participants to work. We formed small groups and to each group he gave a packet of information about a relevant topic, like GATT. Over the next two days, each group made a short presentation about the topic. We not only learned the basics of ‘global economics’ but we also learned that we can understand ‘global economics’ and that we can participate in dialog and influence the development of policy regarding ‘global economics’. We returned home an empowered group of women – powerful United Methodist Women.
This year we will be learning about ‘I Believe in Jesus’, ‘Israel and Palestine’ and ‘Native American Survival: Giving Our Hearts Away’. The Mission Education Events are held in Reno the weekend of August 15 – 17th and in Santa Nella the weekend of September 19 – 21st. If you just want a teaser, there is a ‘one-day event’ on Saturday, July 19th at Asbury UMC in Livermore. At Santa Nella, we are offering a young women’s class for women age 18 – 30. The topic is ‘I Believe in Jesus’ and the leader will be Rosa Washington Olson. If you know Rosa, you know the women in the class are going to have a great time while learning lots. There will also be classes conducted in Korean and in Spanish at Santa Nella.
Mission Education Events, although sponsored by the Conference United Methodist Women, are for both men and women. A few years ago, there was a young man attending the School. Over lunch, I asked him the reasons he had come. He told me that his mom had been going for years and she always returned home so charged up, so on fire, that he decided he had to come and see for himself what the School was all about. He was having a great time. There are usually a few men in attendance – this year we are hoping for many more.
If you have never been to a School of Christian Mission / Mission Education Event before, I encourage you to make this your first year. Although the scholarship application deadline has passed, you may check with your District Mission Coordinator for Education and Interpretation to see if by any chance there are scholarships remaining. If you have attended before, come again and bring a friend or two, your partner too.
It is not just the studies that makes for a wonderful weekend but also the people who are present. The folks who attend are alive, wanting to learn more about their faith and the world and we have a great time! We are fed well – and we don’t have to do the cooking nor do we have to do the dishes. If you are looking for reasons to come, there are many.
So you all come! Have a great summer!
Peace,
Connie