Response: March 2017
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response in this issue response is the official magazine of United Methodist Women. Its think goals are to educate for mission, to 3 | From the Editor interpret the Purpose of United Tara Barnes Methodist Women and to strength 4 | Message From the President: enthe organization. The Importance of United Methodist Women March 2017, Volume 49, No. 3 Shannon Priddy EDITOR: 5 | Responsively Yours: Tara Barnes Pray, Serve, Advocate, Give feature MANAGING EDITOR: Harriett Jane Olson 30 | Transforming Through Julia Chance 6 | How To Use This Issue Eduction Denise Nurse SPANISH EDITOR: Julia Chance Nilda Ferrari 6 | the r list KOREAN EDITOR: listen Yun Nam (Kate) Kang learn 36 | Leading Into the Next 150 Years SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Michelle Bearden Paul Jeffrey 8 | Bright Hope for Tomorrow 42 | MAGAZINE DESIGNER: Barbara E. Campbell Tanya Krawciw 43 | Un Llamado a Ser Comunidad KOREAN PAGE DESIGNER: live Kevin S. Kang 13 | 140 Years of Mission in Georgia response (ISSN0034-5725) Sandra Stewart Kruger act Published monthly (bimonthly July-August) 44 | Day of Giving by United Methodist Women, 475 Riverside 16 | Continuing the Legacy Drive #1501, New York, NY 10115. ❏ Pe Beryl Goldberg r i o dicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and pypray other mailing offices. The response magazine 18 | Moral Mondays subscription price in the United States and pos- Richard Lord 46 | To Find Eternity sessions (payable in advance): $24 a year. Sin gle copy: $2.75, call 1-800-305-9857. Special Emma Dickinson two-year rate: $45. All other countries: $30. give Audio subscriptions are $24 a year. POST- MASTER: Send address changes to response 22 | Building Peace Between Japan at [email protected] or to response, and Korea P.O. Box 395, Congers, NY 10920 rather than to Post Office. A request for change of address Paul Jeffrey must reach us at least 30 days before the date of issue with which it is to take effect. Duplicate copies cannot be sent to replace those unde liverable through failure to send advance no tice. With your new address, be sure to send us the old one, enclosing, if possible, your ad dress label from a recent copy. ❏ Names of sub scribers and all money should be sent to re sponse, P. O. Box 395, Congers, NY 10920. ❏ All Bible verses herein are from the New Re vised Standard Version unless otherwise noted. member support | Throughout every issue of response, this ❏ symbol indicates that you are reading about a program and/or All items for publication should be direct- ed to Tara Barnes, Editor, response, 475 person supported by United Methodist Women’s Mission Giving. Riverside Drive, Room 1501, New York, NY 10115. on the cover | Seohyun Choi from Korea, left, Risako Mimura from Japan, and Yeji E-mail: [email protected] Han from Korea pose together following their exploration of the Third Infiltration Tunnel in the Demilitarized Zone along the border between South Korea and North Korea. Their visit to the DMZ came during a peacemaking seminar for Japanese Copyright 2017 by United Methodist Women and Korean young women sponsored jointly by United Methodist Women, the Wesley Foundation in Japan, the Scranton Women's Leadership Center and the Methodist Theological University. Photo by Paul Jeffrey. 2 response | march 2017 think FROM THE EDITOR | This month United Methodist Women celebrates its 148th anniversary as a women’s mission organization. This is a milestone worth celebrating, both for the foresight of our foremothers and for the passion and faith of members today. Our anniversary is also a time to acknowledge the importance of women organized for mission for the next 150 years (and beyond). “Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham,” reads Luke 3:8, a passage reflected on at this year’s Leadership Development Days. We have many strong women as our ancestors, many reasons to be proud members of United Methodist Women, but we are still responsible for bearing fruit. The great work of our ancestors does not give us the right to table the ongoing needs of women, children and youth. Our constant is listening to God’s call—but adapting our answers to God’s call is our legacy and our future. Women are still not equally represented in communities, agencies, workplaces, governments or churches. Voices of the marginalized are still unheard and suppressed. Today’s prophets cannot go unheeded, and we must not give in to the comfort of today’s false idols. We are called by Christ to kin-dom building, and we’re not there yet. Celebrate United Methodist Women’s birthday this month by daring to imagine a different way and by listening to those who propose it. It will be uncomfortable. It will call you out into the wilderness. But you will not be alone. The world still needs women organized for mission. Tara Barnes | [email protected] think Message From the President The Importance of United Methodist Women ferent? I could do all of this because I was a United Methodist Women member. I took my faith with me. I was brought up seeing strong women lead the churches and committees. I learned at a young age that a woman’s voice was just as important as any other voice. We have news of wars and destruction at our fingertips and images of injustices from around g the world coming into our homes and news- feeds each time we open an app or turn on the Kristina Kru news. It is more important now than ever to Left to right, Keya Strudwick, National President remember and share that United Methodist Shannon Priddy, Jacqueline Gunner and Bethany Amey Sutton prepare soil for planting at Scarritt Women have been fighting injustice since the Bennett Center in Nashville, Tennessee, during beginning. Look into your own history and the the Legacy Fund Campaign kickoff in August things you accomplished. Share United 2014. Methodist Women’s history and learn what we have done as leaders of change since 1869. I was recently asked if United Methodist It is our role as Christians to share the news This month, we Women is relevant today. My immediate an of Christ. It is our job as women to make sure honor our roots swer was, “Of course. Look at all the great things even the smallest, most marginalized is invit with our Day of we are doing to empower, educate, and trans ed into this fellowship. You know what Unit Giving and form women, youth, and children around the ed Methodist Women does—you are doing it. growing the world and at home.” But the question actual Share it in different ways, to different women. Legacy Fund. ly stopped me in my tracks. It was coming from Just as no two stories are the same, the way you Share our history local, active United Methodist Women mem know United Methodist Women is different and your story. bers and retired pastors. than I do. The common thread is United There are more choices today than ever be Methodist Women and the faith we share. fore for women to get involved in politics, so This month, we honor our roots with our cial issues and organizations for change. Many Day of Giving and growing the Legacy Fund. women’s organizations are celebrating similar Share our history and your story. When you see milestones in their founding dates. Colleges and something unsettling on the news or in your universities are educating on the status and role newsfeed, see what you can do in your com of women in the world. There are college ma munity, with your local United Methodist jors that teach how to organize community ac Women to raise funds or awareness. Eight tion. Short trips and working outside of the women started with a penny and a prayer in United States, in rural areas and with people 1869. Imagine what 800,000 women and a dol in need, are possible for anyone high school lar can do. You have a voice. Join a committee through retirement ages. at your church and use your voice to educate I have utilized many of these choices. I am members on the importance of United a member of a sorority I joined in college. I stud Methodist Women. r ied abroad and visited the native Bribri in Cos SHANNON PRIDDY ta Rica. I am a returned Peace Corps volunteer. President So, what makes United Methodist Women dif- United Methodist Women 4 response | march 2017 think Responsively Yours Pray, Serve, Advocate, Give “Turning faith, hope and love into action” hasn’t how government, business and church policies always been on United Methodist Women’s affect women, children and youth, and we speak website, but it is what we have always done. up. We call for access to health care and treat When we talk about our legacy we invoke a long ing immigrants and refugees with respect, with line of women, from 1869 to the present day, out regard to their national origin or religion. acting on our faith. Decades of mission study and work gives us a United Methodist Women pray. We pray for basis to speak about the need for effective pub the needs of the world as well as our own needs lic schools and the impact of globalization not and the needs of our communities. We know just based on the present moment but on deep that God invites us to pray, that God hears our knowledge and experience.