Happy Mother’s Day, Shiloh! It’s interesting that our culture takes one day a year to celebrate motherhood! I believe being a mom is a gift, but it’s a gift that comes with incredible responsibility. And in the church, it’s not just about biology; mothers are the many women who invest their time and resources in improving the lives of women and children throughout the world. What about the girls in Nigeria? The promises we make at baptism makes me pray for, mourn with, and frankly angrily want to do something about the 234 school girls who were abducted in Nigeria last month! Why? Because these girls are our girls! They may not be my children biologically, but every time a child is baptized, I make promises to God that says, “I will help this child become a disciple of Jesus Christ.” We are family!
On the cusp of the abduction, 8000 United Methodist Women gathered from throughout the world in Louisville, Kentucky, for the quadrennial (every 4 years) UMW Assembly. The UMW is an organization of nearly 1 million women throughout the world and although the average age of an UMW member is 67 in the US, women in Africa are flocking to UMW meetings by the hundreds. There is a real global interest in the development of women and girls throughout the world. Why? Because change, real life world-changing kind of change, happens when women are empowered! From education to micro-businesses, the empowerment of women changes communities, it changes countries, it changes the world! Two members of our United Methodist Women attended Assembly, Nancy Gallat and Kathy Erpelding. There they not only heard testimony of the many ways that the UMW changes children’s and women’s lives, but they were also challenged to do their part! The theme of the Assembly was, “Make It Happen! Faith, Hope, and Love in Action.” The UMW were challenged by fellow United Methodist Hillary Rodham Clinton. who reminded the women that it wasn’t Jesus who fed the hungry. He blessed the food, allowed it to multiply, and then said to his disciples, ‘YOU feed them.” Nancy shared, “that’s what Jesus is asking of us! People are hungry for safety, justice, peace, and of course food.” Both Kathy and Nancy said it was an incredible reminder of the missional DNA of the United Methodist Women. “It’s why we do the Rummage Sale in the first place!” It’s not about the stuff, it’s about people and changing the lives of people throughout the world.
Today millions of women and children are separated from their families because they’ve been forced into slavery. It’s not just the 234 school girls from Nigeria, it’s millions. As we celebrate Mother’s Day, remember the world’s kids are our kids and Jesus is asking us to do something about it, “YOU feed them.”
To find out more about the UMW and 234 girls go to:
Blessings,
Pastor Rachel
No comments:
Post a Comment