Inelda González, president of the Women’s Division, listens as Harriet Jane Olson, chief executive, addresses directors during their April 24-27 meeting in Stamford, Conn. UMNS photos by Cassandra M. Zampini.

Linda Bloom*
April 28, 2009 | STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS)

United Methodist Women are preparing to change the way they relate to the agency that has been their denominational home for the past four decades.

Directors of UMW’s administrative arm, the Women’s Division, participated in planning sessions during their April 24-27 spring meeting before voting to accept, in principle, the “proposed strategic direction” offered by the cabinets of both the division and its parent agency, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

The idea behind the strategic planning, according to Harriett Jane Olson, the division’s chief executive, was to answer this question: “What impact should we be prepared to make by 2020?” A detailed plan will be brought back to Women’s Division directors for approval in October.

While the expected changes will result in a different organizational chart and shifting partnerships for the Women’s Division, the immediate financial picture is stable, Olson said. “We are not expecting a reduction in head count at the Women’s Division,” she told directors.

Before the April 27 vote, which was 42-3 in favor of the proposal, a few directors spoke about their struggle with the decision and their conclusion that the changes were needed.

“We need to be a change agent,” said Katherine Kim of Morgan Hill, Calif., who noted that she had initially been opposed to the proposal. “Change is hard, you have to face difficulties.”

Traveling in a new direction could draw others to join the “old faithful faces” at UMW meetings. “We need the young people there,” she added. “We need our future.”

‘Changed my life’

Kim, who immigrated to the United States from Korea 46 years ago, said later that United Methodist Women “changed my life.” After a divorce ten years ago, she decided to advocate on behalf of women, children, and youth and the organization gave her the knowledge and training needed for that task.

She remains dedicated to United Methodist Women and now believes the timing is right for a new strategic plan. “You need to take a chance when opportunity comes,” Kim said. “Of course, it’s challenging to us.”

When Inelda González of Harlingen, Texas, the Women’s Division president, gave her address, she noted that UMW has always adjusted as the world and its mission needs have changed. “Through all the changes, our purpose has remained steadfast,” she said.

Just before the union of the Methodist and Evangelical United Brethren churches in 1968, what became known as “the 1964 Agreements” created a unified structure for mission for the new denomination. One aspect of those agreements was the stipulation that United Methodist Women elect 30 percent of the directors for the Board of Global Ministries and that 40 percent of the executive staff be women.

The agreements “were really important in their time,” Olson said, but noted that staffing and missional needs have changed over the decades. “We have inherited both their vision and their limitations.”

The complex way in which the Women’s Division currently operates obscures its achievements and has put UMW members at a distance from that work, she explained.

Make clear the difference

“I am convinced if we are to continue to meet and maybe exceed our (financial) pledge to mission, we need to make clearer and clearer that this (mission work) makes a difference in people’s lives,” Olson said.

Under the proposal, the Women’s Division would:

• Retain funds it currently allocates to the mission board for mission personnel and missionary direct support.
• Directly administer funds for international grant making and church program funding.
• Assume direct responsibility for relationships with national mission institutions.
• Take direct responsibility for the board’s program of ministries with women, children and youth.
• Directly oversee the office of deaconess and home missioner, but no longer contribute to the program for church and community workers.
• Cease its contributions of 5 percent to 10 percent of several administrative budgets within the Board of Global Ministries.

“In short, Women’s Division would cease funding the work of Global Ministries, except for remitting the allocated share of joint cost, which would be reduced as need for those services decline, in favor of a more effective partnership in mission,” stated the strategic direction document.

*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.

Audio

Inelda González: “We cannot stay tied to what we have always done…”

Inelda González: “…change is really good…”

Harriett Jane Olson: “…rethinking how we are engaged…”

Harriett Jane Olson: “image our foremothers…don’t imitate them.”

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