OKC will host jurisdiction’s UMWomen
By CHRIS SCHUTZ
Hundreds of women from eight states are expected to converge on downtown Oklahoma City April 15-17 for the Quadrennial Meeting of United Methodist Women of the South Central Jurisdiction.
Theme of the conference is "A Fresh Wind Blowing." The logo features a pinwheel with a windmill at the center, a cross representation, and an abstract figure of a dove. The theme is drawn from John 3:8: "The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit."
Oklahoma previously hosted the Quadrennial Meeting in 2000, in Tulsa, Hull said. The South Central Jurisdiction includes Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, New Mexico, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, and Nebraska.
Registration for the meeting continues through March 15 for the reduced price of $200; after that, registration is $225. All registrations must be made online, said Cindy Hull of Waynoka, UMW president for the Oklahoma Conference.
United Methodist Women of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference have been helping with the planning of the Quadrennial Meeting.
They include Beverly Parker of Okemah, that conference’s UMW president, and Sue Burgess of Lawton.
President Hull is in her 45th year as a UMW member; she recalled accepting the role of spiritual growth chairperson for her local church’s unit when she was just 18.
She expects women from even far-flung states to make the journey to Oklahoma City. UMW members "travel anywhere they need to go," she said.
UMW is "a very well-rounded organization" that ministers to women, children, and youth at home and around the world. Its Mission U program represents "the best mission education arm of the whole church," she said.
Each person at the meeting can attend two workshops. Among the topics: Empowering Oneself, Deaconess and Home Missioners, Bullying/Cyberbullying, Charter for Racial Justice, Go Green, and Native American Arts (basket weaving).
Keynote speakers will be national President Yvette Richards and Harriett Olson, UMW chief executive officer. Tours of United Methodist-related Neighborhood Services Organization will be offered. To register: www.umwmwscj.org
