Women's Division addresses Middle East, immigrants

By Linda Bloom*

STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) - The Women's Division of The United Methodist Church, which went on record in 2002 opposing the war in Iraq, issued a new call for withdrawal of all U.S. troops there.

In a resolution focusing on Iran and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, directors of the Women's Division of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries also supported legislation to end funding for the war in Iraq, except for resources that guarantee safe withdrawal of troops.

The action took place during the division's April 20-23 spring meeting in Stamford, where directors and staff also held a noon prayer vigil on April 20 outside the Marriott Hotel.

As shoppers and downtown workers walked and drove past the vigil, participants held signs proclaiming "Blessed Are the Peacemakers," "Support Our Troops: Bring Them Home Now!" "No U.S. Attack on Iran!" and "Pray and Act for Peace."

Recommendations adopted April 23 by directors "toward a just peace in the Middle East" follow resolutions adopted in 2001 to press for peace in the Middle East and a 2002 resolution opposing war "as the instrument for resolving the continuing conflict in Iraq."

Since the beginning of the Iraq war, UMW members have posted prayers for peace at the Web site for United Methodist Women (www.umwmission.org). UMW members will participate in a 2007-2009 mission study on Israel and the Palestinian territories.

New recommendations
The new recommendations also call upon the United States to provide humanitarian aid and reparations for Iraq; observe the Geneva Convention and end the practice of torture by any group; and close Abu Graib prison in Iraq and the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Women's Division directors -- the organization's administrative arm -- opposed any U.S. intervention or military action regarding Iran and supported United Methodist participation in peace delegations to Iran.

The division also called for an end to "uncritical" U.S. support of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights. It asked both the U.S. and Israeli governments to support cleanup of unexploded cluster bombs in southern Lebanon.

UMW members are being encouraged to actively participate in a June 10-11 action for mobilization called "The World Says No to Israeli Occupation." The rally, teach-in and lobby day in Washington is being organized by the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation, of which the Women's Division is a founding member.

Women's Division directors also endorsed the "Liberty & Justice for All Campaign" of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and will ask UMW members to sign a pledge and act in defense of the civil liberties of immigrants living in the United States.


Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, UMW members have been encouraged to help establish civil liberties safe zones in their neighborhoods to ensure the preservation of freedom of speech, religion, assembly, privacy, rights to counsel and due process, along with protection from unreasonable searches and seizures. The Women's Division also has an emphasis on immigrant rights and civil rights and became part of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights last fall.

Finances and personnel
In other business, treasurer Andréa Bryant Hatcher reported that operating revenues for 2006 were up by $1.4 million from the previous year. While expenditures increased by $2.6 million - mostly due to the closing of the division's Service Center in Cincinnati - the shortfall was covered by an appreciation in investments and sale of property.

Hatcher said the division changed investment managers at the end of 2005. In her report, she pointed out that 20 percent of operating expenditures cover pensions for retired missionaries and deaconesses sent by the division and its predecessor organizations.

"This expenditure is covered by restricted funds," she said. "Actuaries from two sources have assured us that our plan is fully funded and we have ample resources to meet future needs."

The Women's Division is continuing to rectify recent financial issues by identifying all sources of income together in a comprehensive way, "which is a different way of looking at the budget," according to Hatcher.

Fund development is now a priority. Two retired staff executives, Barbara Campbell and Betty Letzig, helped the division create a new endowment through a gift of property which was then sold. The $170,179 raised from the sale provided the opening principal balance for the Legacy Fund, which will offer ongoing financial support for administrative needs.

Kyung Za Yim, Women's Division president and chairwoman of its search committee, gave an update on the hiring of a new chief executive to replace Jan Love, who left the division in December. Lois Dauway currently serves as the interim chief executive.

Prospective candidates are being identified, and interviews will be conducted in May and June. A recommendation from the search committee is expected in late July for action by division directors at their August meeting.

In other personnel matters, resignations were accepted for Jorge Obando, executive secretary for communications, and Dana Jones, director of communications and editor of Response Magazine. Obando will leave on April 30 and Jones will leave Aug. 31.

Two new positions were filled. Esmeralda Brown, a resource specialist for the Women's Division at the United Methodist Office for the United Nations, will be the executive secretary for global justice, effective May 1. Carol Van Gorp, a consultant for both the Women's Division and United Methodist Committee on Relief, will become the executive secretary for international ministries on June 1.

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.