Page 6 Mission Voice June 2009
Assembly 2010 Countdown
unteers will be asked to arrive a day or so early to be in-
volved in things like setting up hands-on mission opportuni-
We have just one short year to make plans to attend the
ties and assisting arrivals at the convention site and at the
United Methodist Women’s General Assembly 2010, in
airport.
downtown St. Louis. Nancy K. Kincaid, Missouri Confer-
ence President, has just returned from a planning meeting
So, mark your calendars and your Conference Mission
with Women’s Division Staff and event planners in New
Team will help with the gathering of names of volunteer
York City. “I was stunned by the number of local women
workers. We need St. Louis people, but we also want Kan-
volunteers they believe they will need. However, we know
sas City area folks to help. Whether you live in Poplar Bluff,
we can do this,” Nancy related. “We have a remarkable and
Tarkio, Joplin, or Canton, we will need your enthusiastic
talented group of women here in Missouri.”
response to our volunteer call. This is a rare opportunity to
participate in this huge gathering of our sisters in Faith. Join
Dates for the Assembly are April 29 thru May 2, 2010. Vol-
the ranks. 
Deadline for Cooperative School of Christian Mission Registration: June 26!
Vice Presidents Responsible for Planning all Elements of the Program for Their Unit
-Carol Renfro, Vice President
“The Bylaws of United Methodist Women state that the pur- missions supported by UMW. This includes InterServ,
pose of the vice president is to plan and implement pro- Della Lamb, Spofford, Epworth, and Susanna Wesley. If
grams. This is for the local unit, the district, and the confer- your unit or district is close to any of the missions, they are
ence. “ happy to provide speakers. And do not forget local missions
that can provide programs. Perhaps a therapeutic horse rid-
“Our Purpose is to be a community of women whose pur- ing school is in your area. Or maybe a quilting group pro-
pose is . . . to expand concepts of mission. . . “(See the com- vides quilts for a local children’s hospital. Also look at a
plete Purpose for the entire wording.) woman in your local unit or district who can present an in-
teresting mission program based on her background or ex-
When the top two statements are put together, the vice presi- periences. Local units should remember that district or con-
dent will be busy organizing programs for the local unit, the ference officers are willing to come give a program. Your
district, or the conference. But what happens when a pro- district Shepherdess can also present a program to your lo-
gram is planned and nobody comes? It becomes a tragedy, cal unit.
and not just for the vice president. The entire group (unit,
district, or conference) misses an opportunity to gain helpful Once a program has been planned, then it needs to be imple-
information about the missions of United Methodist mented. Remember that a wonderful idea is not enough.
Women. The program needs to be fun and well promoted. Make an-
nouncements in church and put announcements in bulletins
This main purpose of this article is to help you come up and newsletters. Make telephone calls or send emails to
with ideas for programs. A good resource for program plan- personally invite women.
ning is The Handbook 2009-2012 for United Methodist
Women. When budget constraints present a challenge, consider join-
ing with other units. What seems too expensive for a small
But where does a vice president get ideas for programs? local unit, often becomes more manageable when 2 or 3 or 4
The first place to look for program ideas is in the Program units band together.
Book, the Prayer Calendar, Response Magazine, and New
World Outlook Magazine. Also look for ideas from Confer- And last but not least: don’t forget the food. It would not be
ence activities that could turn into a program for a unit or a United Methodist function without delicious food.
district meeting. The Cooperative School of Christian Mis-
sion presents three studies every year that make great pro- And then have FUN.
grams. Other Conference activities that can provide pro-
grams are Legislative Event and the Spiritual Growth Re-
(Note: A new web page has been started at
treat.
www.moumethodist.org/umw for sharing program ideas and
speaker information).
Another source for programs is the five Missouri national
Page 1  |  Page 2