This translation is not completely accurate as it was automatically generated by a computer.
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By Linda Bloom*
11:00 A.M. EST May 5, 2010 | ST. LOUIS (UMNS)
The Della Lamb Children's Choir sings during opening worship at the
United Methodist Women's Assembly in St. Louis. A UMNS photo by Mike
DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
The Haitian-American women were not sitting in the dome of the St.
Louis convention center, where about 6,500 United Methodist women had
gathered for worship.
But their greeting to sisters in the faith from the pews of a
Florida church was heard and seen via a Skype Internet connection.
For decades, the United Methodist Women’s Assembly has drawn
thousands to a quadrennial event focusing on worship, education,
advocacy and celebration. This year, with the help of technology, many
more women were able to view selected portions of the April 29-May 2
assembly streamed live on the Internet and, in a few cases, the women
could interact with on-site participants.
That was the case with the Haitian churchwomen, who were organized
by Ruth Jean Pierre, the Florida Conference United Methodist Women
language coordinator. Also beamed into the Friday evening worship were
women from the Brooks Howell Home in Asheville, N.C., a UMW unit at a
women’s prison in Topeka, Kan., and a student unit at Tarleton State
University in Stephenville, Texas.
Taped video greetings came from women in Sierra Leone, Honduras, Costa Rica, Russia and El Salvador.
Inelda González (left) and Emily Innes greet a Haitian congregation in Florida via Skype. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
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Bishop Joaquina Nhanala of Mozambique, the
first female United Methodist bishop elected in Africa, preached
afterward and spoke about a program ministering to vulnerable women in
her country. “My sisters, when we understand and realize how much God
loves us, we translate that love in practical ways into our lives,” she
said.
Harriett Olson, top executive of the Women’s Division, United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries, reinforced that call to action as
the assembly ended, urging participants to connect to the needs of the
world. “In the economy of God, we don’t have limits,” she said.
“There’s still more to do.”
Practical, spiritual and inspirational
The Women’s Assembly has always been a combination of the practical, spiritual and inspirational.
On the practical side, participants could learn how to spend or
invest their money in a way to encourage corporate change, set up a
Twitter account, attend a “green cleaning party” or march for immigrant
rights.
In a well-attended town hall-style meeting on April 30,
Joycelyn Elders, a United Methodist who served as the U.S. surgeon
general under President Bill Clinton, offered her perspective on health
care reform.
Elders said she was not concerned that the law finally approved this
year had some flaws in it. “We’ve been talking about universal health
care since 1912,” she said. “At least we’ve got a start, and we’ve got
something to work from.”
Harriett J. Olson, deputy general secretary of the Women's Division of
the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, sends forth United
Methodist Women for a day of volunteer service. A UMNS photo by Mike
DuBose.
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She reminded United Methodist Women that they have the power to help fix a system that “costs too much, delivers too little.”
On the spiritual side, women could get advice on strengthening and
transforming congregations, watch a liturgical dance performance and
explore the biblical basis of the church’s position on immigration.
The Rev. Anita Phillips, a member of the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma
and executive director of the denomination’s Native American
Comprehensive Plan, drew from her background to underscore the “central
interconnectedness of all creation,” which, she added, “tells us what
our deepest yearnings are for.”
During a Bible study, she spoke quietly but movingly of her
ancestors’ experience along the “Trail of Tears,” the 1,000-mile forced
march in 1838 of the Cherokees from the Eastern and Southern United
States to Oklahoma.
Even the tiniest of tears, she explained, can become the headwaters
of mighty rivers. But those mighty streams of justice “will not flow
without the vigilance of the handmaidens of the Lord,” Phillips said.
“You and I are the handmaidens.”
Music and messages
Inspiration for assembly participants came from the arts, the people and the messages.
Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former U.S. surgeon general, speaks about health
care reform and women during a forum at the assembly. A UMNS photo by
Paul Jeffrey, Response.
View in Photo Gallery
Music and dance were key elements of praise and celebration at the
assembly, which had its own house band and song leaders. Children from
Della Lamb Children’s Choir charmed the crowd with their joyful
exuberance, and two dancers spun high in the air above worshippers on
silk ropes held by a wire.
Participants like Nhashara Locke, a student at Northwestern
University, inspired by showing the connection between generations of
United Methodist Women.
Locke is combining a dedication to service—passed down by her
grandmother and aunt—with her interest in science to prepare for a
career in medicine. She encouraged the organization to hold retreats
for young women like her all over the country.
“Young people are great at generating ideas and they offer another perspective and eager hands,” she said.
Tayyibah Taylor, founding editor of a magazine for Muslim-American
women, offered inspiring words and reminded assembly participants that
“it is not our differences that cause the rifts and the enmity between
us; it is the value we attach to those differences.”
The goal is spiritual evolution, Taylor said—beyond hatred to
tolerance, beyond tolerance to understanding and acceptance, and beyond
acceptance to love.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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