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Last fall the Women’s Division introduced its newly-elected Deputy General Secretary, Harriett Jane Olson. Many speak well of Ms. Olson, and it is our hope she will be instrumental in bringing much-needed change to the Women’s Division. In her first address to the Women’s Division Board of Directors and staff, she focused her remarks around an article she had read in The New York Times about Jeffrey Swartz, CEO of the outdoor gear company, Timberland. In an interview on marketing strategy, Swartz commented, “Maybe I should lament less and dial more.”

From this launching point, Ms. Olson delivered her point, “What if we as United Methodist Women did that? What if we lamented less and dialed more busy women with children, more grandmothers, more young women, and not let the barriers stop us from inviting women to join with us in mission?” Unfortunately, the focus turned political when Olson suggested that UMW members could start by dialing members of Congress in support of S-CHIP, the federally-funded State Children’s Health Insurance Program expansion, vetoed by President Bush.

“Every failure is an invitation to lead,” Olson said. “Every time you don’t see justice played out the way called for by the gospel, that’s an invitation to speak out.” Some women within the denomination would agree with her, perhaps from a differing perspective.

United Methodist women have called
Women across the church love the organization of United Methodist Women. Many have served faithfully in UMW leadership positions across the years. Yet, due to the restrictive and sometimes misdirected positions the Women’s Division takes on political, social and theological issues, thousands of these women have called, or written, but received unsatisfactory replies.

What have they critiqued through their contacts with the Women’s Division? What have they wished changed? The list from the past is extensive and can be found in many documents including Renew’s “Our Basis for Concern” and Financial File IV, both of which are posted to the Renew website at www.renewnetwork.org. Rather than re-visiting the paper trail of the past, let’s consider a few more recent issues that might surface if the Women’s Division called women at the local church level today.

More of the same—Some telephone calls are made to offer a product. If the Women’s Division called, what product would they offer? The product line identified repeatedly at the 2007 spring and fall board meetings included Women’s Division packaged mission studies, program books, reading program books, the National Seminar, the Seminar Program, the UMW Assembly, legislation to General Conference, and numerous social justice actions. In other words—no new product line—just more of the same. Unfortunately, it has been these very products that have created dissatisfaction for the women of the United Methodist Church.

Resolutions to General Conference—The Women’s Division is submitting five new resolutions to General Conference 2008, revising nine resolutions for re-submission, and endorsing two resolutions submitted by the General Board of Global Ministries and the General Board of Church and Society. Several of the new or revised resolutions are commendable and others have plausible or worthwhile goals. A high percentage of the resolutions are, as were those in 2004, by-in-large a predictable litany of liberal answers to complex issues about which United Methodists disagree as to the means of addressing and solving the problems identified. Some of the new, revised, and retained legislative pieces have theological implications that are contrary to sound biblical teaching (see an analysis of the Women’s Division Resolutions at www.renewnetwork.org).

“Steps Toward a Just Peace in the Middle East”—At its spring 2007 board meeting, the directors of the Women’s Division voted the adoption of “Steps Toward a Just Peace in the Middle East,” calling for action in three areas of the world: Iraq, Iran, and Israel. This program opposes U.S. policy in all three countries. In a related decision, at the 2007 spring meeting, the Women’s Division directors endorsed a Call to Action in Washington D.C. on June 10-11, 2007, “The World Says NO to Israeli Occupation.” Women’s Division directors, staff, United Methodist members and the Women’s Division president, Kung Za Yim, participated in the march, at which the Women’s Division president spoke boldly of their presence, “We are here to demand that the U.S. end its military, economic and corporate support of Israel’s illegal occupation!”

The 2006/2007 UMW Mission Study on Israel and Palestine is extremely biased against Israel. So much so that a critique titled “Some Methodists Are on a Mission to Demonize Israel,” by Yitzhak Santis claimed that the study was so flawed, “It would be an appropriate first step for the United Methodist Church to immediately suspend this flawed and fraudulent mission study, and restart it only after a serious review of the process that has taken place.” Santis is director of the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Relations Council’s Middle East Project. His critique is posted at www.renewnetwork.org.

Iranian President speaks at the Church Center for the United Nations—The Women’s Division approved the invitation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by the Mennonite Central Committee to speak at the Tillman Chapel at the Church Center for the United Nations, owned and operated by the Division. On September 27, 2007, Ahmadinejad spoke to and dialogued with 150 church officials. While this was billed as a bridge-building for peace opportunity, one must ask why we should build bridges, and offer a platform, to a nation that has the destruction of Israel as its goal, and the dominance of Islam as its chief objective? Not to mention the human rights abuses, the religious freedom restrictions, and the impending nuclear threat under this repressive regime.

The UMW continues to lose members
Membership loss in the organization of United Methodist Women shows a lack of confidence in the organization, or a sense that the group is not relevant to the current spiritual interests of women, either in the area of personal holiness or social holiness.

When the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged in 1968 to form the United Methodist Church, the combined church membership was 11,035,313, with a total of 42,144 churches. The combined number of United Methodist Women’s groups was 38,980, with a total membership of 1,795,376.

Between 1998 and 2001, the United Methodist Church membership (in the U.S.) dropped 1.3 percent, while the membership in United Methodist Women for that same four year period dropped 10.4 percent. The percentage of UMW membership drop between 1968 and 2001 is 57.8 percent compared to the total church membership loss of 24.8 percent.

The latest membership statistic for United Methodist Women from the General Council on Finance and Administration shows a membership for the year ending December 2005 as 714,789. The graph above shows the startling reality that most women within the United Methodist Church are not members of United Methodist Women, despite the mandate in the Discipline that “In every local church there shall be an organized unit of United Methodist Women.”

WOMEN IN THE UMC
UNITED METHODIST MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS

From The General Council on Financeand Administration (GCFA)
For the year ending December 2005

48.22 percent of United Methodists in the United States are women (based on 85 percent of churches reporting)

18.53 percent of women who are members of the UMC are members of United Methodist Women (UMW)

What do the women want?
From Renew’s contact with hundreds of women across the church, it is clear they want their resources to be: (1) Biblically-based; (2) Christ-centered; (3) theologically orthodox and faithful to the Doctrinal Standards of the United Methodist Church; and (4) reflective of our Wesleyan distinctives. These four defining elements must be interpreted from a mainstream, Christian perspective—not a liberal left or radical right worldview.

Mainstream women understand that the Wesleyan heritage includes first salvation and then evangelism and social witness.

Although we have called and not been answered, if the Women’s Division calls—and listens attentively—there may yet be hope for the organization of United Methodist Women. If they will not listen and change their course of action, supplemental or alternative women’s ministries will continue to increase while UMW groups continue to decrease. Even if UMW is strengthened and continues into the future, women in today’s culture want choice in women’s ministries. “One-size” women’s program ministry does not fit all local churches. It is better to allow for more choices in ministry than to try to require all women’s ministries to follow one restrictive, exclusive mold. The Women’s Division and, indeed, the United Methodist Church would do well to heed this reality.

Delegates to General Conference will have the opportunity to vote for this change.

RENEW is the women’s program arm of the Good News movement. Visit us at www.renewnetwork.org or contact us at renew1@hemc.net; P.O. Box 889, Cornelia, GA 30531; 706/778-4812. Your contributions to this ministry are appreciated.

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RENEW Call And We Will Answer By Faye Short

RENEW
Call And We Will Answer
By Faye Short