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October 8, 2004

Hoosier woman to serve as a director of one-million member organization

By Kelly C. Martini

An Indianapolis woman will serve the next four years on the board of directors for an organization representing one-million member United Methodist Women.

Rita Gaither-Gant met with other directors in Nashville, Tenn., this past month for a meeting celebrating the 135th anniversary of what some believe to be the largest women's organization in the country.

Elected in March by women from across the United States, the new directors of the Women's Division represent United Methodist Women. The membership organization is committed to fostering spiritual growth among members, developing leaders and advocating for justice domestically and globally. Members raise approximately $25 million a year for programs and projects related to women, children and youth in the United States and in more than 100 countries world-wide.

Gaither-Gant has had a long commitment to the work of United Methodist Women. She returns for her second four-year term as a director.

"I have always known that life is special and worth living. I have worked to make life special and worth living for others. Working with United Methodist Women has helped me to keep working and keep striving in this direction," she said.

As a teacher, Gaither-Gant says that she has focused on the needs of individuals and families, and how to improve their quality of life.

"My professional experience included teaching mostly girls and students with special needs. I have worked with organizations and groups whose purposes and goals addressed the concerns of these groups. United Methodist Women is at the top of my list," she said.

Directors of the Women's Division meet two times each year for board meetings, then across the country on specific national and international issues that concern women and children. They are responsible for making decisions on ways they want to respond, advocate and spend money on the issues and programs affecting women and children.

For more information on the work of United Methodist Women, log on to http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/

Kelly C. Martini is executive secretary for communications of the Women's Division, United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries

News in Brief for Oct. 8, 2004

Prepared by United Methodist News Service

A standing ovation ushered in the denomination's entity that will be central place for youth, young adults and workers with young adult ministries to find direction for their ministries. The new Division on Ministries with Young People held its first meeting Sept. 29-Oct. 2 in Nashville, Tenn., to begin giving youth and young people a greater voice in the United Methodist Church.

Every congregation has a mission from God, and United Methodist churches need to hear that mission and get busy doing it, according to the leader of the denomination's discipleship agency. "I believe that when God's mission is written plainly ... on the people's hearts in our congregations, we cannot sit still," said the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, top staff executive of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship. "We cannot be content with clubs, with nice safe places that wall ourselves in. God's mission is available in every congregation, and every congregation can describe what a disciple looks like." She spoke during the board's Sept. 29-Oct. 2 meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

President Bush is not the only United Methodist candidate in this presidential election. Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic Sen. John Edwards also are United Methodists. "It certainly says that we are a very big tent, that Edwards and Cheney and Bush all could be thought of as Methodists," says the Rev. David F. McAllister-Wilson, president of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington. According to the Dallas Morning News, Bush is a member of Highland Park UMC, Dallas and Tarrytown UMC in Austin, Texas. Cheney is a member of First UMC in Casper, Wyo. Edwards is a member of Edenton St. UMC in Raleigh, N.C. Kerry is a Roman Catholic.

The United Methodist Board of Discipleship has released A Guide to Prayer for the 2004 National Election, covering Oct. 10 through Election Day, Nov. 2. The personal prayer guide is an adaptation of a resource designed for the 2004 General Conference and is available at www.upperroom.org/bookstore as a PDF document. Downloading it costs $2.50. The National Council of Churches also offers a session for group or individual study at www.ncccusa.org/electionyearprinciplesguide.html.

The United Methodist Board of Discipleship has awarded 11 grants totaling more than $157,000 to projects and organizations serving racial-ethnic groups. New United Methodist programs or pilot projects receive priority for grants. All grants are awarded on a one-year basis, and project-funding proposals are due July 1 and Nov. 1. More information is available by contacting Sungnam Choi, director of Korean, Asian American and Pacific Islander Ministries, at 615-340-7050 or toll-free 877-899-2780, Ext. 7050, or by e-mail at schoi@gbod.org.

The Rev. Samuel Kobia, a Methodist and chief executive of the World Council of Churches, affirmed the work of U.S. churches on issues of peace and justice in an Oct. 5 keynote speech in Atlanta. Speaking at the annual meeting of U.S. members of the WCC, he noted that since the United States "is now the world's only superpower," churches must "continue to advocate for a responsible use of power." Participants in the Oct. 5-6 WCC gathering were welcomed by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who presented the council with the city's Phoenix Award for its commitment to reconciliation and the eradication of violence.

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