Celebrating "W"
By Amy Stapleton, MFSA Field Organizer
There
has been a great deal of talk lately about “W”. Post
election, I want to redefine “W.” As your field organizer,
I have come to associate “W” not with the “W” but
rather with three MFSA chapters that are alive and growing.
While all 33 active chapters deserve recognition for their prophetic witness,
I
want to take this opportunity to highlight the work of
three of great “W”s—the
Wisconsin, Wyoming and West Virginia chapters.
The Wisconsin MFSA chapter has produced their 2004 Advent
Devotional. The chapter has created new devotionals each
advent for the past several years and it has become a
favorite resource for many MFSA
members across the country. You can download the devotional
on the chapter’s
website site by clicking here, then selecting the Advent
2004 link. The current devotional is in a PDF format
but check back for the
opportunity
to read the devotional day by
day. This resource is a gift to all from the Wisconsin
MFSA chapter. They have created it to share, so you are
invited to copy and distribute it
widely. If you do use the material, please take time
to send the chapter a note or email letting them know
how it was used and
any dialogue it
encouraged.
Let’s be clear about the Wyoming MFSA chapter. Although they might
feel like they are in the west blazing new frontiers, geographically
they are a part of the northeast jurisdiction, specifically in New York
State.
Last month they gathered to hear the Honorable David Wenzel,
former mayor of Scranton, chair of United Nations Association of Northeastern
Pennsylvania,
Vietnam veteran and member of the National Council on Disability,
talk about ongoing struggles for gender equity. This month the chapter
will
host Bishop Susan Morrison and consider the pressing issue
of human rights and our response as people of faith.
The mountains are moving in West Virginia. The cause
is not mountain top removal as you might imagine, but is instead due
to the
work and energy of the West Virginia MFSA chapter. Chapter
leaders have boldly embraced increasing visibility within the conference
and growing
membership. In mid-November the chapter will be meeting
with the newly assigned Bishop Ernest S. Lyght. They are also planning
a gathering and
time of reflection for the beginning of Epiphany.
And finally, because “W” is more powerful with an “e” (as
in WE the people), the East Ohio MFSA chapter has had a busy year. Last
November the chapter hosted a retreat entitled “Because It Matters” that
focused on justice issues to be faced at General Conference.
This year, in an effort to highlight an important national and local issue,
the East
Ohio MFSA chapter has chosen to make poverty a priority.
This month the chapter hosted a day of discussion with local community
and church leaders
to identify ways the church can respond to this ongoing
crisis. In the spring, the chapter will continue their emphasis on poverty
at their annual
spiritual life retreat by exploring Spiritual Poverty.
Wisconsin, Wyoming and West Virginia—three “W”s that
make us proud, and East Ohio, an “E” that can hold its own
as well. MFSA chapters are dealing with poverty, struggles
for gender equity just to name a few. Helping us prepare for Advent and
Epiphany,
from west to east, MFSA chapters continue to be a witness
in their own conferences as well as to the entire nation.
Social Questions Bulletin, October-December 2004
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