“The Four Winds” by Kristen Hannah, 2025, Social Action, is a riveting novel set during the Dust Bowl of the Great Plains and the Depression, beginning in 1921-1940, yet it has an eerie resemblance to our world today. It is a powerful story of human resilience…migration, poverty, and prejudice. At the same time, it is a story of love, family, unbreakable bonds, bravery, and hope. It has a familiar theme: how women, throughout history, have rallied for justice during times of survival and national crisis.

This book works well for book discussion groups as it includes additional recommended reading as well as questions for group discussion. Your Conference United Women in Faith Leadership Team read this book together and will discussed it. I would love to hear your feedback!

Deb Avery, Vancouver Heights UWF
Conference President, United Women in Faith

Let’s not keep the United Women in Faith Reading Program a “best kept secret”!

• It is a great way to introduce new members to Our Mission and Ministry through reading together and sharing common passions for Social Action, Mission Education, Leadership, Spiritual Growth, and Nurturing Community. Each fall, a new list of books from this balanced array of categories is introduced, and books qualify for the formal tracking process for the next five years. Books are purchased by individuals/groups and included in our library, where they are shelved by category. We also encourage using the local library to check out books.
• There are books not only for adults but also for children and youth. Personally, I have shared them with my School Age Sunday School class as well. Offering books from a variety of categories challenges the readers to “try something new” as they are encouraged to read at least one book from each category.
• There are also other options for participating, such as online “Faith Talks” where authors discuss specific books, and you can join with women across the country through “Mighty Networks,” the digital platform for resources within United Women in Faith. Did you know that Mission u materials also qualify for the Reading Program, as well as reading Response Magazine? There are even videos/movies that can qualify!
• The Reading Program is one of the ways we are encouraged to expand our concept of mission by opening our minds to new and possibly challenging ideas. Did you know you can make recommendations for books? This can be done through the process on the United Women in Faith website. You can also join the Reading Program Interest Group through Mighty Networks, a part of the National Organization of United Women in Faith.

Deb Avery,
Local Unit President, Vancouver Heights, & Conference President

“Sharing Our Souls and Celebrating Women” was hosted by Grays River UMC on February 10, 2025, with 17 women participating. Over half were members of that church, with visitors from Longview, led by District officers of the United Women of Faith.

The Grays River Valley was enjoying the beauty of its first snowfall of the year, so these visiting women were fortunate to have made it over KM Mountain, at 760 feet, before any snow or ice accumulated on the roads. Much of the drive was along the glorious Columbia River before entering the Grays River Valley, where they could gaze at the Willapa hills topped with a sprinkling of snow.

Upon arrival, several women mentioned how beautiful our church was. They expressed interest in seeing the Grays River Historic Covered Bridge, built in 1905, before they had to leave the area today.

We enjoyed getting to know one another before Sue portrayed the story of Mary and Martha. Because Sue is such a gifted orator, she captured the essence of the parable, giving life to those women, bringing them into our souls.

The time we spent eating our lunches and sharing yummy desserts was a great way to continue in fellowship with these fantastic, faithful women, as well as coloring a sketch of the Covered Bridge at Grays River.

These women were truly blessed to have the opportunity to share in a faith-centered conference. There were several positive comments about this special time together, with the hope that it will continue to be offered to “United Women in Faith”.

Jeanne Brahman, Grays River

One of United Women in Faith’s purposes is to foster a creative, supportive fellowship. The women at White Salmon United Methodist Church do this by hosting a Welcome-Back Fall Tea in September. This year, for the third year in a row, we each brought a family heirloom and shared its story. In this way, we get to know each other’s background. Liz brought a 100-year-old doll of her father’s, clad in his baby shoes. Sherry brought her mother’s elaborate perfume bottle from the early 1900s. Kathy brought her grandmother’s rococo clock from the late 1800s. Janet D. showed her grandmother’s salt and pepper shakers, and Janet W. shared her great-uncle’s Sea Captain inlaid box from China. Bev wore a gorgeous pink hat her mother made during a millinery class. Tracy brought her grandmother’s beaded flapper dress, and Amy showed photos of her great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents. Mary K. brought two copper tea kettles from her grandparents in Norway.  Mary G. wore a colorful dress and talked about her family in Kenya. Upon leaving Kenya, her mother told her, “Make new friends who believe in God. Those are your people.” Good advice for all of us.

Mary Kapp, White Salmon UMC

Our meeting programs are based on the purpose of the original UMW:

Know God: An example is the recent program done by Sue Raymond, a midrash focusing on Esther

Expand our concepts of mission: We hosted a speaker from Tacoma Community House and a speaker from the local children’s organization, Connections.

Develop a creative and supportive fellowship: Learning the art of watercolors, making prayer beads, and decorating individual thank banks. Janine, Montesano UMC

In the early 2000s, before I taught school, I worked at a PR firm in Portland. One day, our boss came to us and said, I’ve just gone to a seminar on a new way to communicate—a podcast.

After he explained it, I thought, well, that sounds like the old radio shows of the 1930s that my mom told me about. I later realized that the ways of telling stories may not be new, but the technology is. From analog radio waves to digital 1s and 0s, we have new ways to communicate our stories. Podcasts are very popular now and are an effective way to tell stories.

In fact, at our recent meeting at Vancouver Heights, we used a podcast produced by the United Women in Faith. Faith Talks—a digital resource from National—has been producing podcasts for about 5 years. Still, I had never listened to one or watched any of the video episodes, such as the one we used on Human and Sexual Trafficking. We showed the podcast as part of a program that our unit did this month on Human Trafficking. We recorded the program and saved it to our church’s YouTube account. We plan to start a YouTube channel for VHUWF and send the link to other UWF units (should I say other UMCs who want to start up a UWF unit?). To access these Faith Talks podcasts, you go to uwfaith.org/digital

To publicize our recent program, we used two main avenues: Facebook events and emails.

We typically post our programs on Facebook and send a notice to all our contacts. This allows anyone in our unit to share it with their contacts as well. It’s the digital version of word-of-mouth.

We also send emails publicizing our programs to area United Methodist churches and other UWF units. In fact, we have started adding contacts at other area churches, such as some Lutheran churches in our area that have social justice committees. This has proved an effective method and is more cost-effective than snail mail. While the digital revolution can be annoying and challenging, there are several ways and times in which using digital tools can help spread the word about programs and events.

Sheree Fitzpatrick,
Education and Information, Crest to Coast Missional District

Whether you have an existing Unit or are creating a new Unit, you can use these pointers. Leaders should look at these. There is no one way to create, improve, or maintain a successful Unit. And, in our current culture, this is no easy task. Today, many Women are seriously involved in many activities and projects.

And note that not all members are necessarily involved in all Unit activities or attend all meetings. It is essential that they know they are welcome, their names appear on the membership list, and they receive all communications.

Ask questions? Especially in the development phase.

• What is the culture of the church?
• Is there already a Women’s Social Action group/circle?
• How will a UWF Unit interact/conflict/collaborate?
• Are there Women familiar with United Women in Faith?
• Who has an interest in our organization?
• Gather this group together and discuss how UWF fits.
• These Women are vital in developing/improving the unit.
• With the UWF purpose and structure in mind, how do they see their unit working?

Communicate—Create invitations, flyers, and articles

• As a handout after the Service and available on the information table.
• Include in Newsletters, Facebook, and send out to e-mail lists. Handouts or potential members’ packet.
• Consult the UWF online information and the UWF handbook.
• Create a Historical timeline and a brief historical handout.
• Informational meet and greet.
• Provide food (appetizers, continental breakfast, or other)
• Make it a potluck, which makes it personal.
• Discuss UWF and answer questions.
• Resolve misinformation (It’s out there)

Gather Together—Be flexible

• Get input from your membership when planning programs and activities: Develop Programs and activities with all members providing ideas and interests. We have a different activity at a minimum during the off-month of business meetings. Sometimes, there are multiple activities within a month. These may include:
  Service Projects (Family Renewal Shelter, Project-focused Rummage Sales)
• Host Events
  Garden Tours/Local Mission Tours
  Museum Tours/Movies/Theater
  Potlucks with Games/Picnics
• Change meeting patterns to accommodate other activities where members are involved. Hold meetings in person and via Zoom.
• We currently hold 6 Business meetings a year, with planning meetings a week in advance.
• Other business is done through email for required programs. (i.e., Pledge Service, Prayer and Self Denial, World Thank)
• When someone wishes to present a program, be open to them making adjustments to the program from the Program Book. If they have a different idea or approach, work with them on that.
• When planning an upcoming activity, budgeting, or next year’s calendar, invite anyone interested to participate.

I truly feel the key to a unit’s success is:

• Lots and lots of Communication

• Be Flexible

• Include all members when asking for opinions or ideas, or when requesting participation. They all matter, even if they don’t respond.

As all of us who are personally involved in UWF, there is no measurement for the personal friendships, bonding, and support developed within the Unit. From this comes commitment to our Missions. When a Unit is actively in place, it is a true “Sisterhood”.

Larea Greer, Puyallup UMC

United Women in Faith: Free & Easy Digital Tools for Our Group
Note Taking and a Simple Treasurer Spreadsheet

Serving as Secretary or Treasurer in a United Women in Faith unit is a meaningful ministry—but it can also feel intimidating. Note-taking is time-consuming and can make it hard to participate in the meeting fully. Tracking income and expenses by hand takes time and attention to detail. This article introduces two simple digital tools—a free electronic note taker and a basic spreadsheet—to make both roles easier and more inviting.

An Electronic Note Taker for Meetings

One helpful option for meeting notes is a free online service that records and summarizes your meetings. You can invite it to join your meeting or record from a device, and it generates a written recap you can edit and share. The significant advantage is that the Secretary (or any volunteer) can be fully present in the discussion instead of spending the meeting writing things down. In practice, it usually takes about an hour after the meeting to upload, review, and lightly “clean up” the recap so it is ready to send out or file.

There is a learning curve the first time you use a tool like this, especially if you integrate it with online calendars or conferencing systems. Many users are comfortable just using a phone and a home computer. It takes a little time and practice to make it a routine.

Many of these services offer a genuinely free tier with a limited number of minutes or meetings per month. It is wise to start with the free version to see whether it fits your group’s needs before anyone commits to a paid subscription.

A Simple Spreadsheet for the Treasurer

For the Treasurer, a straightforward spreadsheet can make tracking funds and preparing reports much easier.  

The example spreadsheet has two tabs: an “Example” tab for experimenting, and a second blank tab for your real records.

The example tab can show how deposits and expenses are entered and how the categories and totals work. The Treasurer can copy that pattern, and those who are more comfortable with spreadsheets can adapt it to their unit’s specific needs.

It is helpful to include formulas that:

• Keep a running balance as you record deposits and expenses.
• Summarize total deposits and total expenses by month.
• Provide an ending balance that can be compared to the bank statement when reconciling the account. (Note: remember to include interest earned if any)

The example spreadsheet (new unit) tab has locked formulas. Locking formulas helps prevent accidental changes that might throw off the totals. You may copy the example sheet into a new tab without protection and use that if you prefer.

Using What Works for Your Unit

Not every Treasurer will want to move away from pen and paper—many do an excellent job that way.  At the same time, an electronic spreadsheet can reduce the work of recapping amounts for reports and budgets, and can make it easier for someone new to step into the Treasurer role. Similarly, a digital note taker will not replace the Secretary’s role, but it can reduce the burden of capturing every word during the meeting.

Experiment a little!  A free note-taking service or a simple spreadsheet can open the door for more people to serve joyfully in these critical roles.

Journey of Your Mission Dollars in the Conference

Journey of Your Mission Dollars at the National Level