Hello, spring and sunshine! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter celebration. This feels like a season of rejuvenation and reawakening after a long winter. I’ve spent much of the past few months reading and enjoying my local unit activities with United Women in Faith. I finished a few reading program books recently- “The Girl with the Louding Voice”, “Caste”, and “Braiding Sweetgrass”. All were excellent- though “Caste” took me a while!

This month, I’d like to highlight one of our local units that considers itself small but mighty, and boy, are they busy creating connections with others in their community! Linda Hansen (IMD CON chair) and I enjoyed a wonderful afternoon lunch with the Davenport United Women in Faith unit, hearing about all the meaningful ways they’ve been reaching out to others in need. Among their many service projects is food collection, which is then used to stuff backpacks for kids to provide meals on weekends when school lunches aren’t available. They partner with another area church that provides the backpacks/distribution. This idea of joint projects with other churches was a great way to magnify the benefit of their efforts and connect with others in the process (like the whole premise of United Women in Faith—pooled funds/efforts provide for more IMPACT!).

Davenport United Women in Faith’s biggest fundraiser of the year is a cookie sale, raising over $700 for mission work. They take orders ahead of time, then make the cookies to order. Additionally, they fundraise with soup sales at other times of the year. They make a point of publicly advertising around town before an event and printing a “Thank-you” to the community for supporting their work. I enjoyed hearing them plan for their “Ladies Night Out” all-ladies dinner event. What a great way to gather in joyful celebration. It was evident to Linda and me that they had figured out how to have a significant mission and community impact. Thanks to Hazel, Patty, Carolyn, Keri, Ellen, Lois, and Linda for their hospitality and yummy soup and pie. Thanks for their ability to INSPIRE, for sharing the IMPACT of their work with us, and for the INFLUENCE they obviously have in their community. They are truly living the purpose of United Women in Faith! I encourage us all to consider visiting a unit near you to show IMD support for the local unit’s efforts.

Linda and I (and anyone else who wants to join us) look forward to visiting in May with the newly forming group combining the congregations/United Women in Faith units of Lewiston UMC, Clarkston UMC, Asotin UMC, and Lewiston Orchards UMC. As you can imagine, combining church homes and well-established United Women in Faith units could challenge even the most flexible among us, but the joining also provides an opportunity to create something stronger. Again, it reminds me of one of the primary reasons United Women in Faith has been crucial in mission work—many women in many areas combine their efforts to INSPIRE, INFLUENCE, and IMPACT local and global communities. The three active United Women in Faith units that are considering how and whether to integrate fully can evaluate what has been most meaningful and successful in their units and move forward with a renewed purpose within a wider fellowship community. Let’s keep this evolving sisterhood in our prayers as they forge ahead with the joy of getting to know one another and the work of their joint efforts for mission work.

I hope all of you enjoy the lovelier weather, light, and emerging blossoms, which remind us that we are all a part of the grand cycle of God’s growth and renewal.

Robin Gregory, President,
Inland Missional District