Why do I go? Go where? To the District Spring & Fall events, Retreats, Mission u, Annual Celebration, and everything in between. Let’s revisit our Mission Statement: United Women in Faith seeks to connect and nurture women through Christian spiritual formation, leadership development, creative fellowship, and education so that they can inspire, influence, and impact local and global communities.

Participating in our events, either in-person or virtually, allows me to connect with old friends (my favorite), be nurtured, learn ways to better lead in my local unit, be creative as making blankets for Children’s hospital or planting seeds on Earth day. I learn how to be an advocate for women, children and youth, following the political issues we support and contacting our legislators. Our Mission u studies, selected several years in advance, are always just what we need to be hearing at the time. Who’s in charge? I am fulfilled to have said Yes to the office of president. I love to hear your ideas, mix them with mine and develop opportunities that will inspire, influence, and impact all United Women in Faith.

I look forward to seeing you virtually, August 13^th, 7:00 for our next Charter For Racial Justice Event.
I will also look forward to seeing you at your District “Fall” events.
Don’t forget to register for Annual Celebration, Saturday October 11^th, 10:00 to 2:00

All information is on our wonderful website at westohiouwf.org

Paula Nourse, Kinder6595@hotmail.com, 614-326-9062 (texting is good)

Mission Giving Letter from your Conference President

From: Paula Nourse

To: Entire Conference

Subject: A Call to Action on Mission Giving

Date: 6/19/2025

Dear Members of the West Ohio Conference,

I am writing to express my heartfelt thanks for all you have given to our sisterhood. In these uncertain times, your prayerful and financial support is changing our world for the better in ways our foremothers may have only imagined. In 1869, when those eight women in Boston grew a network and funds large enough to send Isabella Thoburn and Clara Swain to India, they began a legacy of love that you help to continue through your pledges and gifts to mission.

How are your mission dollars at work?

Perhaps you’ve recently read on the United Women in Faith website or in response magazine about how our deaconesses demanded justice in the Philippines and how their work led to the arrest of a ruthless president. Or maybe the article about Bethlehem Centers, our National Mission Institution in Nashville, showed you how vital Mission Giving is to the seniors who depend on them for their next meal and the children who learn there. Did you see the story about Imayam Social Welfare Association in India, where we’re helping to decrease the school dropout rate and let young women know they don’t have to fall victim to child marriage and abuse? Mission Giving made that possible!

Recently, we heard from Rev. Madot Merove, Pastor of the Haitian Community in Springfield, Ohio, and how we can help the Haitian immigrants.

When your pledges and gifts to mission are combined with those from sisters from within our conference, we fuel a mission that transforms lives! But there is more work to do and more love to share. Will you share your love by fulfilling your pledge early this year and/or increasing your giving, thereby helping our conference meet its yearly pledge? The need to make mission possible is as great as it has ever been. I know that together we can fill some of the gaps left by these difficult financial times.

With your pledge, you are in loving solidarity with thousands of women of faith who are ensuring the continuity of United Women in Faith’s vital mission efforts here and around the world.

Thank you for all you do to put love into action. Please reach out to your district treasurer to fulfill your pledge early, increase your gift, or donate online. (Our conference will be credited for online gifts!)

In deepest gratitude,

President, Paula Nourse, West Ohio Conference, United Women in Faith

Opening Ourselves to Social Action:

This Month – Persist

“But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us’…..

Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith!

Let it be done for you as you wish.’”

Matthew 15:23, 28a

On June 14, 2025, I finally took the plunge and protested! This 1960’s woman who had given "lip service" for years, and really believed in many causes like peace, equal justice for all, environmental causes, and more, finally “walked the talk.” Our little county had an impressive turnout, 130 folks of all ages, standing on a busy corner near the county seat. My friends and I were really encouraged as we waved our signs and flags, shouted slogans, and waved at supporters honking as they passed. Of course, there were a few cars that did not agree with us. That seems to be part of any demonstration.

The “Good Trouble” march in Toledo, in honor of John Lewis’ birthday, July 17, seemed to be calling our name again. So off we went, along with hundreds of other marchers, moving down West Sylvania Avenue in support of John Lewis’ memory and activism for equal voting rights. Again, such an encouraging time of bonding with others for a common cause!

In the latest issue of response magazine (July/August, 2025, pp. 6-11), there is a wonderful Bible study article, “She Keeps Shouting.” Reading the entire story (Matthew 15:21-28), gives us inspiration and permission to lobby for important causes. A woman wants healing for her daughter, and doesn’t give up, even as she might be shooed away. She pleads her case, and Jesus relents and gives healing because of her persistence and faith.

Tara Barnes, the Bible study writer and UWF Director of Denominational Relations, also reminds us of U. S. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s famous clash with Senate leaders, who silenced and scolded her as she quoted Coretta Scott King and Senator Ted Kennedy’s support of equal voting rights. The discussion was about the possible confirmation of Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as the U. S. Attorney General. Perhaps you’ve seen the posters, T-shirts, books, and memes, “And Still She Persisted.”

And so, we need to persist, to cause “good trouble,” to support what we believe is our democratic responsibility. I highly recommend protesting (we had folks sitting along the route in support, too), sending postcards and emails, and making phone calls to our senators, representatives—both State and National—the president and governor. You will feel encouraged and involved in a bigger cause. Let us know how it goes!

Becky Ruple, WOH Social Action Coordinator

BOOKS TO INSPIRE

Here are some books from the Reading Program you might find motivating as you plan on educating yourself and encouraging others.

Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change by Stacey Abrams

Our Strangely Warmed Hearts: Coming Out into God’s Call by Karen P. Oliveto

You’ve Been Chosen: Thriving Through the Unexpected by Cynt Marshall

Love Is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement by Sandra Neil Wallace

A Brown Girl’s Epiphany: Reclaim Your Intuition & Step Into Your Power by Aurlia Davilia Pratt

A Right Worthy Woman by Ruth P. Watson

I Won’t Shut Up: Finding Your Voice When the World Tries to Silence You by Ally Henny

Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up by Kathy Khang

We Are Not Here to Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance by Linda Sarsour

Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist & Civil Rights Activist by Rosita Stevens-Holsey and Terry Catasus Jennings

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson

What Can I Do? My Path From Climate Despair to Action by Jane Fonda

The Girls in the Wild Fig Tree: How I Fought to Save Myself, My Sister, and Thousands of Girls Worldwide by Nice Leng’ete

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth by Beth Allison Barr

Until Someone Listens: A Story About Borders, Family, and One Girl’s Mission by Estela Juarez with Lisette Norman

A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis by Vanessa Nakate

Time: The Untold Story That Held Us Together When Incarceration Kept Us Apart by Fox Richardson and Rob Richardson

Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want by Ruha Benjamin

What We Owe the Future by William MacAskill

The Enneagram for Black Liberation: Return to Who You Are Beneath the Armor You Carry by Chichi Agarom

The Gift of the Unexpected: Discerning Who You Were Meant to Be by Jillian Benfield

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

We Cry Justice: Reading the Bible with the Poor People's Campaign edited by Liz Theoharis

Ferguson and Faith: Sparking Leadership and Awakening Community by Leah Gunning Francis

My Savior Is the Masses: Dancing Along the Path to Justice by Joy Prim

Becoming Brave: Finding Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now by Brenda Salter McNeil

The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart by Alicia Garza

Prey Tell: Why We Silence Women Who Tell the Truth and How Everyone Can Speak Up by Tiffany Bluhm

We Are Called to Be a Movement by William H. Barber II

Sacred Resistance: A Practical Guide to Christian Witness and Dissent by Ginger Gaines-Cirelli

Charter for Racial Justice Event

“Lift Every Voice: Dialogue Across Differences”

On August 13, at 7:00 p.m., we welcome Melvin Barnes, Ohio Humanities, to help us continue our theme of "Lift Every Voice: Dialogue across Differences." We will focus on learning about the “Marching Mothers of Hillsboro, Ohio,” an event from 1954 that centered around standing up for equal and better education for their children. He will talk about our school systems today and actions for us to take in our communities.

Join Zoom

Additional Support for HCSS

If you or your units are interested in assisting members of the Haitian community in the Springfield, Ohio, area, we invite you also to consider donations of food items to the Covenant United Methodist Church Food Pantry. The button below links to a downloadable list of the food items that are needed for migrants and locals in the community of Springfield. The address of the church, for delivery of physical items is:

Covenant United Methodist Church

529 Johnny Lytle Avenue

Springfield, Ohio 45506

Telephone: (937) 324-3501

Rev. Merove notes that in addition to food items, funds are also appreciated to pay for migrant associates via LegalShield coverage under his organization, HCSS. As noted in the CRJC article above, monetary donations can be sent through https://www.haitiancss.org/. Monthly LegalShield fees are: single person membership - $30.00 monthly; family membership - $40.00 monthly. Funds may also be sent to help those who are not working pay for rent and utilities. We ask that you please indicate for which purpose any funds are intended so that HCSS can appropriately record donations for income, expenditures, and taxes.

If sending food items please call the Covenant United Methodist Church office at the number above to make appropriate arrangements for delivery.

Food Donation List

Reading Program with West Ohio

Our collaboration with The West Ohio Conference continues, led by Julie Carter, Director of Faith Formation and Lay Ministry. Each month, the Expanding Connections Book Club meets via Zoom to discuss the month's book selection. In this new partnership, we are inviting our UWF community to join people from all over West Ohio as we Expand our Connection with one another and people we haven't met yet. Each month's book selections will be diverse, accessible, and empowering. This community of readers will be a hub promoting equality, equity, and inclusion and sharing the stories of the world to generate empathy and peace through books. Books will be announced on the 15th of each month, and a time for gathering and sharing will take place around the same time.

Expanding Connections Book Club Information

National Mission Institutions

National Mission Institutions are community-based organizations and social service agencies that were almost exclusively founded by women in the 19th century to serve marginalized communities and populations across the United States. Today, United Women in Faith remains connected to these community centers, colleges, and residences providing vital services in vulnerable communities. National Mission Institutions empower women, care for children, support seniors, educate youth, provide housing for domestic violence survivors, and offer residences for special needs children and youth. National Mission Institutions also advocate for the women, children, youth, and families in the communities they serve.

Learn more about the Mission Institutions in West Ohio—their histories, missions, and how you can serve and support the vital work they do:

Community Development for All People (Columbus)

Wesley Dayton

Wesley Education Center (Cincinnati)

National Events, News, & Resources

The National Office has many interesting events and gatherings such as Faith Talks, Voices of the Field, Podcasts, and Webinars. Go to the United Women in Faith website to find out more and to subscribe to their digital communications to stay up on the latest scoop by clicking here.

Important Information

Join us in celebrating all the ways we inspire, influence, and impact our churches and communities with our 2023 Annual Report. We will share the 2024 Annual Report once it is made available.

The United Women in Faith Board of Directors approved the organization's 2025 budget at its fall board meeting. Check out our report.

United Women in Faith continues to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Middle East. Read our statement.

We join our friends at the General Commission on Religion and Race to condemn false claims against migrants and call for action against racism and xenophobia. Read the full statement.

Support United Women in Faith

Please consider increasing your Pledge to Mission, both individually and from your local unit! Gifts to Mission make it possible for United Women in Faith to carry out its vital work to connect and nurture women through Christian formation, leadership development, creative fellowship, and education so that they can inspire, influence, and impact local and global communities.

Give Online

The Legacy Endowment Fund

The most recent total of contributions to the Legacy Endowment Fund was $50,080,788 as of the end of May 2025. We anticipate making our goal of $60M by the end of the quadrennium in 2028. To learn more about this fund and how you can give to keep United Women in Faith strong for the future, go here.

The goal for this year's Day of Giving 2025 was $450,000, and an astounding $553,826 was given!

Learn about All-Access Membership

All Access provides easy online availability to resources nationwide. Customize your experience and access more ways to put love in action. Because love in action can change the world. Learn more.