10/29/2020
The WPAUMC United Methodist Women's 2020 Annual Meeting -- Self Care, Soul Care and Caring for Others -- was held via Zoom on Saturday, Oct. 24. We'd like to share some key videos from the day on this page. The morning session featured a keynote address by the Rev. Debra Flint, a licensed clinical social work and ordained deacon. Here is a full video of her presentation, which was abbreviated to fit into the morning session of the UMW Annual Meeting. Below is Rev. Flint's afternoon ...
7/21/2020
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words that the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”(Acts 20:35) Modern science is slowly catching up with the words of our Savior and what Christians have known all along: Giving has a boomerang effect. What we give comes back to us in joy and peace and other blessings. Studies have even shown that generosity can boost our immune systems and increase the...
4/15/2020
This is a unique time in the history of the world. Instead of a World War, we have a World Pandemic that we still haven’t figured out how to successfully fight. It has changed the way we relate to each other – closing businesses, schools and churches to the way we normally do things. Locking down personal care facilities and nursing homes – No visitors for people who very much need human contact. Big questions: How do we prioritize what is important? How do we serve the Christ – ...
3/18/2020
Lynn Sibley and Sandy McKee are serving as WPAUMC Mission Ambassadors. They traveled to sites in the U.S. and Ireland in 2019. It’s been a busy year for us. After completing our visits to four mission centers, we’ve been sharing what we’ve learned at MissionU and churches around our conference. Our mostly UMW audiences have been receptive and generous in supporting the missions. There have been changes too in the months since our earlier blog posts: The Ruth Smith Center in Sheffield has ...
3/17/2020
Dear United Methodist Women, Oh my! On the phone this morning my sister said, “Everything is upside down.” Yes, it is. Since big (Jurisdiction), medium (conference and district), and small (local church/UMW) meetings have been postponed or cancelled, I have time to ponder important things. What do I need for self care? How do I stay connected with friends and loved ones? What am I called to do to continue building relationships in the United Methodist Women and the United Methodist ...
11/6/2019
Last December, the Ruth M Smith Center Board of Directors had to decide whether the Smith Center could continue its ministry to vulnerable adults and children. The Center was home to 26 adults, none of whom could afford to pay their full way, and a Preschool/Day Care for young children in the area. Deeply in debt, the Smith Center could not continue unless more funding was found. The Board took a step of faith and with determination looked for new financial support, more grants, and more ...
9/25/2019
The next time you hear someone complain about young people – how obsessed they are with their computer games and cell phones, how little they do to make life better for others, how poorly they are prepared for the future, pass on this story. The Ruth M Smith Center lifts up the work of high school junior Eric Pierson with gratitude, and hopes others adopt the example of service that he models. Eric has spent considerable time the past couple of years working at what is required to become an...
7/31/2019
The Ruth M. Smith Center’s Board of Directors has named its residential and day care building the Bloomster Building in honor of the Rev. Donald E. and Shirley Bloomster. Rev. Bloomster retired from the Smith Center board in December 2018 after serving since January 1982 when he was pastor of First United Methodist Church in Warren. Don reports that he served several 4-year terms himself and finished out terms for others who were not able to complete their terms. Over the 37 years that he was ...
6/25/2019
Mission Ambassadors Sandy McKee and Lynn Sibley report from missions along the U.S. - Mexican border. With all the controversy regarding immigration and detention, we welcomed an opportunity to travel to McAllen, Texas to learn about Methodist mission work on both sides of the border. Our host was Susan Hellums, Border Area Mission Coordinator, a native of the area. She’s been involved in mission work there since the 1980s. Her knowledge of the challenges facing the area is deep, objective and ...
5/29/2019
Mission Ambassadors Sandy McKee and Lynn Sibley recently returned a visit to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Here's the first of two reports. “The work of our missionaries is a magnificent expression of the Lord’s redeeming love.” (Elder D Todd Christofferson) We did a lot of reading about the struggles and conflicts in Northern Ireland prior to our visit. We agreed it was probably best to keep our mouths shut and eyes open regarding the ongoing challenges of keeping peace between Protestants and ...