December 2025
- West Ohio UWF
- Dec 5
- 7 min read
United Women in Faith of West Ohio
December Inspirations
We believe love in action can change the world.
Contents:
From the West Ohio Conference President
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… Are you singing? Do you hear what I hear?… Are you listening? Advent is here. Are you participating in the Virtual Advent Study every Sunday from 4:00 to 5:15? It’s not too late. Even if you don’t have the book, A Child is Born, by Amy-Jill Levine, join us for the hour. Zoom link is on our website. During our study last year, we talked about the sights, smells, tastes and feelings of Christmas. Because that’s what we do at Christmas. We remember. It’s a great devotional piece for your unit meeting. Have everyone share their favorite Christmas memory. One of my many was the Christmas morning when Josh was 5. As he came in the room and saw all the gifts, he truly understood the meaning of Christmas and his heart was full of joy. A few tears were shed on my part. What is your memory?
Isaiah 26:3-4 - You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
PEACEFUL HEARTS THIS CHRISTMAS
Lord Jesus, as we celebrate Your birth this Christmas, we ask for peaceful hearts amidst the chaos of the season. May Your love fill our homes and guide our interactions, bringing harmony and understanding to our families and communities. Help us to share Your peace with others, reflecting the true spirit of Christmas. Amen.
Paula Nourse, Kinder6595@hotmail.com, 614-326-9062 (texting is good)
Opening Ourselves to Social Action:
This Month – Passing It On to Children and Youth
“If we lose a generation of young people in the church, it won’t be because we didn’t entertain them. It will be because we didn’t dare them to do something meaningful with the Gospel in light of the world we live in.” — Shane Claiborne
As a teenager, I remember reading books from a reading list that Mom shared from WSWS (EUB’s Women’s Society of World Service). Also, our family hosted Mary McLanahan, editor of the mission magazine, The World Evangel, who spoke at our church.
Many of us in United Women in Faith today have shared that we were welcome to attend meetings with mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. I’m wondering if that is still something we encourage. Besides yearly mother-daughter or mother-child banquets or activities, are we making an effort to include children and teens?
Mission u is a great, inexpensive weekend (June 14-16) to bring the kids along. There are great lessons and activities planned by experienced children and youth workers. Bergamo Education Center and grounds will get them outside, too.
The Reading Program offers many wonderful books for children and youth; great discussion starters for families. See the accompanying 2026 list.
Social Action’s emphases, School-to-Prison Pipeline, Racial Justice, and Environmental Justice provide many opportunities for participation in activities that will interest them.
Providing Child Care for more formal meetings is a good way to encourage attendance of younger women.
Our example of Love in Action can inspire interest, and hopefully, lifelong active concern and service towards others. May these suggestions and books spark your units to plan for the next generation of Christ-followers!
Becky Ruple, WOH Social Action Coordinator
BOOKS TO INSPIRE
Here are some books from the 2026 Reading Program you might find interesting as you plan for youth and children in your church.
Education for Mission:
Don’t Look Back: A Memoir of War, Survival, and My Journey from Sudan to America by Achut Deng & Keely Hutton (Y)
Leadership Development:
Michi Challenges History: From Farm Girl to Costume Designer to Relentless Seeker of the Truth: The Life of Michi Weglyn by Ken Mochizuki (Y)
Stand as Tall as the Trees: How an Amazonian Community Protected the Rain Forest by Patricia Gualinga & Laura Resau (C)
Nurturing for Community:
Social Action:
From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement by Paul Yoo (Y)
When the Schools Shut Down: A Young Girl’s Story of Virginia’s “Lost Generation” and the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas by Yolanda Gladden (C)
Spiritual Growth:
Mission u: God with Us: Experiencing God’s Presence in Our Lives by Emily Carle (Y)
Mission u: Experiencing Emmanuel by Amy Beth Jones (C)
Advent Study - A Child Is Born
Remaining sessions are Dec. 7, 14, & 21
4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
The book is available at Cokesbury, Amazon, and Thriftbooks.
Amy-Jill Levine’s A Child is Born is a masterclass: a literary ultrasound that explores the ancient and often turbulent roots of nativity stories. She invites us to eavesdrop on the conversations between Old Testament narratives and their Gospel echoes, revealing raw, human stories of longing, rivalry, and divine interventions. Prepare to have your assumptions challenged, your imagination ignited, and your understanding of the divine profoundly deepened.
Save the Dates for Mission u!
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.
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:
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.
The Legacy Endowment Fund
The most recent total of contributions to the Legacy Endowment Fund was in excess of $52,455,923 as of the end of October 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.
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.
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