United Women in Faith: response

Listen to four response stories in one podcast.From the Sept./Oct. 2025 issue of response magazine.

Sally Vonner's Responsively Yours column from the Sept/.Oct. 2025 issue of response magazine.

When Sheree Volesky was homeless, she lived in a tent in the woods until someone stole it. She couch surfed at the homes of relatives and friends, eventually wearing out her welcome. She lived in an ice fishing shelter, constantly chopping wood so she and her half-blind dog Archie would stay warm. When she finally got an apartment, she was evicted after a former boyfriend kicked in the front door. Being unhoused in Minnesota was just one of the difficulties Volesky faced.From the Sept/.Oct. 2025 issue of response magazine.

Paulette Moore-Hall has been a faithful supporter and promoter of The Legacy Endowment Fund for many years. She has served as a dedicated legacy liaison for her conference and on the Legacy Steering Committee. She has also been a member of the 1869 Society for many years and has even increased the amount of her planned gift.Through all of Paulette’s significant work for United Women in Faith over the years, her husband, Lionell, remained very supportive of her time away because he knew how important the work was to her. Sadly, on January 2 of this year, Lionell passed unexpectedly. As our hearts and prayers were going out to Paulette, she shared with me that as she was going through his papers, she discovered a completed 1869 Society Letter of Intent for a future gift to The Legacy Endowment Fund that Lionell had dated with her birthday. From the Sept/.Oct. 2025 issue of response magazine.

Assembly 2026 plans are underway, and early registration opens September 2 at uwfaith.org/assembly. The once-every-four-years event takes place May 15-17, 2026, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Stacey Abrams—politician, lawyer, activist, and writer—has officially signed on as a keynote speaker. Abrams is best known for her work involving voting accessibility and turnout. She made history by becoming the first woman and first African American woman to hold positions in state and national politics. Abrams will be joined on stage by her mother, the Rev. Carolyn Abrams, retired United Methodist clergy. This gathering of women committed to faith, empowerment, and making a difference includes events designed to uplift your soul, strengthen your faith, and bring you together with an unstoppable sisterhood.From the Sept/.Oct. 2025 issue of response magazine.

Listen to four response stories in one podcast.From the July/August 2025 issue of response magazine.

More than 20 episodes of Voices From the Field, a United Women in Faith program featuring conversations with those whose work is supported by Mission Giving, are available on our YouTube channel. They provide a great way for your circle, unit, church, or friends to learn about how your giving is at work in the world.

Over the last 150-plus years these are the words that have been used to describe United Women in Faith. I don’t know about you, but I think that it is pretty outstanding to be part of an organization that can hold such a strong claim to a variety of descriptors like those.United Women in Faith, or, as I like to call us, The League of Extraordinary Unreasonable Women has a long history that is rooted in spiritual growth, social justice, and leadership development. It is from this history that we use as our foundation being change makers for the church and developing a community for women to explore and define their faith.

We sometimes refer to the people closest to us, with whom we experience the most intimacy and love, as our “circle” of friends, or of care, or of trust. Make a physical reminder of your circle and hold in your heart where your circle might expand in the year to come. Get a pen or pencil and paper. Now draw freehand a light circle shape (or as circular as you can get). Within the circle, write the names of the people with whom you are already close. These are the members of your circle who impact you and lift you up and for whom you do the same. They may be living or dead, geographically near or far, or anyone to whom you already feel close. Then, on and around the edges of your circle, write the names of some more marginal relationships you might put intention into deepening this year. Is there someone new at church you don’t know well yet? Is there someone you often see at the grocery store or coffee shop you’ve never said hello to? Is there a person who was once a close friend, but at some point, you experienced tension or a falling out? Is there someone unhoused or struggling in your neighborhood? Pray for God’s guidance and invite at least one of these people out for coffee or time to get to know them better. Draw your circle wide and deepen your sense of connection in the new year!

Greetings in faith, hope, and love. Summertime is here! Growing up in Texas, summers were nice, but the heat could be overbearing and the air thick and balmy. It never stopped my friends and me from going to the park, having fun, feeling free and alive.Thinking about today’s environment and how many families and children are afraid to leave their homes—to travel, to simply live and thrive—is disheartening. Many are overwhelmed by fear and the loss of freedom, no matter if they are U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, documented, or undocumented. The welfare of those who are labeled different carries a burden to simply exist and the right to experience freedom as whole persons in Jesus Christ.United Women in Faith, we believe that every person is created in the image of God and should have equal rights, no matter their location, identity, religion, or status. For 156 years, we have been working for justice and advocating for change to policies or systems that prevent all God’s children from thriving. If you look back over our history, our foremothers were part of every movement for equal and civil rights and peace building in society and the church.Recently, at our senior leadership team meeting, I shared a devotional reading titled “We Have Work to Do,” from Vincent Harding. He had just shared with young people at a Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., observance, when a young man asked, “If Dr. King knew his life was at risk, why didn’t he step back? Why didn’t he just chill out?” Before Harding responded, a young woman spoke up with great wisdom, saying, “Dr. King couldn’t just chill out. He knew he had work to do!”My sisters and anyone reading this column, United Women in Faith must continue to do the hard work of advocating and seeking justice for the oppressed and the marginalized. Like King, who risked his life for God’s call to all, we must love kindness, seek justice, and walk humbly with God. Jesus also risked his life to overcome roadblocks of difference and evil that prevented the vulnerable from being part of the body of God. Micah 6:8 and Jesus’ advocacy for the vulnerable and challenging unjust systems tells us what is right in the eyes of God.As United Methodists, we vow to resist evil in all its forms, through the sacrament of baptism and reaffirmation. Until unjust systems, policies, and actions at the federal, state, and local levels of our country afford human and civil rights to all, we have work to do for God’s kin-dom to come on earth as it is in heaven. This July 4, Independence Day, let’s commit to engage with more zeal, putting our love in action through our social justice priorities: Ending Mass Incarceration and Criminalization of Communities of Color, and Climate Justice.There is always a Call to Action in which you can participate. Go to uwfaith.org to sign up for alerts or to take the Micah 6:8 pledge. Or participate in Mission u, Practicing Hope Together. Change is possible if we do this work together. We believe love in action can change the world. May it be so.

United Women in Faith observed International Women’s Day during a weekend of meetings at Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville that included an announcement of Assembly 2026 and a strong call to eliminate institutional racism.From the May/June 2025 issue of response magazine.

Listen to the Responsively Yours column from United Women in Faith General Secretary/CEO Sally Vonner.From the May/June 2025 issue of response magazine.

God, Our Hope, how can we hold onto hope when storms gather and grow greater each year?From the May/June 2025 issue of response magazine.

The PAG group visited Bethlehem Centers of Nashville, which provides services for children, youth, seniors, and families.From the May/June 2025 issue of response magazine.

List to our four response stories in one podcast.From the May/June 2025 issue of response magazine.

Hear our four response audio stories in one podcast.From the March/April 2025 issue of response magazine.

The theme for this year’s Day of Giving on March 23 is “For Generations to Come,” which is exactly what The Legacy Endowment Fund is all about—making sure that future generations of United Women in Faith members are financially equipped to continue to take on the issues of the world by putting their faith in action.From the March/April 2025 issue of response magazine.

The former United Methodist Women board president and transformative leader leaves a legacy of love and justice.From the March/April 2025 issue of response magazine.

Leadership Development Days 2024, November 21-23, explored the theme “Revive and Lead: Empowered by the Resurrection.” This event presented an opportunity for leaders within and beyond United Women in Faith to pause, connect, and reflect on their journey as women engaged in faithful leadership. Centered on the story of Jesus’ followers’ experience after the resurrection in John 20-21, Leadership Development Days asked the question: “What does it mean to lead in a post-resurrection world?”From the March/April 2025 issue of response magazine.

Hear the Responsively Yours article from United Women in Faith's General Secretary/CEO Sally Vonner.From the March/April 2025 issue of response magazine.