Amy: The Arkansas Conference Women in Faith Annual meeting was a wonderful success! Please tell me how you feel about leaving the position of president for the Arkansas Conference United Women in Faith. You have navigated a lot of change.
Cathy: One thing I can say about my four-year tenure as president, there was never a dull moment. We started 2019 celebrating 150 years of United Methodist Women and, in 2022, have been celebrating our rebranding this year as United Women in Faith. Between these bookends, we learned how to keep our sisterhood together through two years of a pandemic. Learning how to hold Zoom meetings and getting creative with how to gather together in person and yet keep each other safe were significant milestones.
The great leadership team I worked with over the past four years helped make many things happen during 2020 and 2021. I was so impressed that our mission coordinators offered Zoom gatherings for spiritual growth and how the School to Prison Pipeline ministry project affects students here in Arkansas. Also, the Mission u planning team was able to offer a hybrid Mission u at Hendrix College in 2021 and go to a full gathering of Mission u on campus this year. Many other conferences were still only offering Zoom meetings for Mission u, and we were able to work together and offer more ways to gather.
Amy: Tell me how you became involved with United Women in Faith.
Cathy: I was a young mom with a two-year-old and was invited to a Hannah Circle meeting. They met in the evening to accommodate younger, working women, and I was interested in connecting with the women in my church (Pocahontas First UMC). Through that group of women, I started learning what United Methodist Women’s mission was – ministries with women and children. I liked that we were supporting women around the world with the ministries that were being funded through UMW.
Amy: That is exactly how I got involved with UMW. I had a toddler, and I needed an evening meeting time. I was also craving more connection with other women in my church. These women became my sisters through Christ. What is your favorite mission of the Arkansas Women in Faith?
Cathy: I think we have two great ones. Our sponsorship of Mission u is a great way to bring the whole conference together, laity, clergy, women, and men, young and old. It’s an event that can help feed us spiritually and to look beyond our backyards. I love that Mission u allows us to bring what we’ve learned to our local churches.
The cooperative event (UWFaith, AR Conference Board of Global Ministries, and Methodist Foundation for Arkansas) helps involve more people in our Conference to learn about the social justice issues affecting those with no voice. Our Conference MIWATCH ministry (Ministry to Incarcerated Women and Their Children) is one ministry that people have only heard a little about since Covid shut things down. We help women who are in prison have visits with their children. Our coordinator, Helen Emerson, stays in touch with the prisons to find out what ways we can keep mothers and their children connected.
Amy: You’ve led so well, Cathy. We are all so grateful for your service of time, passion, and grace, and it has been a challenging time navigating Covid. Do you have any last words to share?
Cathy: The great leadership team I worked with over the past four years helped make many things happen during 2020 and 2021. I was so impressed that our mission coordinators offered Zoom gatherings for spiritual growth and how the School to Prison Pipeline ministry project positively affects students here in Arkansas. Also, the Mission u planning team was able to offer a hybrid Mission u at Hendrix College in 2021 and then go to a complete in-person gathering of Mission u on campus this year. Many other conferences were still only offering Zoom meetings for Mission u, and we were able to work together and provide more ways to gather.
I look forward to seeing what the Leadership Team plans and implements for our United Women in Faith sisterhood in 2023.