wfn.org | First Campus Unit for UMW

[owner-umethnews@ecunet.org]

"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3471 notes).

Note 3471 by UMNS on March 4, 1997 at 16:13 Eastern (2716 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Linda Bloom                            117(10-71B){3471}
          New York (212) 870-3803                    March 4, 1997

Clemson organizes
first campus UMW unit

                 by United Methodist News Service

     The first campus unit for United Methodist Women (UMW) has
been organized at Clemson University in South Carolina.
     Clemson-Wesley Foundation UMW was created under the new
category of "district unit," according to Cheryl Hemmerle,
executive secretary for teens and college/university women, for
the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries' Women's Division.
     Considered "a way for women outside the local church to
organize," a district unit allows young women on campus to form
their own group, Hemmerle explained. It must fulfill the same
requirements as a local church unit but is resourced directly by
district officers.
     The new category melds nicely with UMW's focus on recruiting
more teens and college-age women as members. "We are really trying
to create an intergenerational organization, not a subunit of
United Methodist Women," she added.
     The Rev. Ron Singleton, director of the Wesley Foundation at
Clemson, learned about the new emphasis during the 1996 South
Carolina Annual Conference and saw it as a way to develop better
communication between the church and college students.
     Last fall, he sent two students -- Stacey Utheim, a sophomore
from Summerville, S.C., and Christina Daniels, a freshman from
Kingstree, S.C. -- to a conference UMW meeting. "The women there
were very excited that the students had come and the students were
swept up in that excitement," he said.
     The development of the new unit was encouraged by Ruby Lee
Addison, UMW conference president, and unit members at Clemson
Church, next door to the Wesley Foundation, he added.
     After drawing 10 to 12 students at several preliminary
meetings in the fall, the two women became co-leaders of the new
unit, which was formed officially on Jan. 26. Five women signed as
charter members.
     Sara Shingler, Women's Division president and a South
Carolina resident, attended the ceremony. "The living out of the
purpose of United Methodist Women by these young women will really
strengthen them and bring a new life to mission," she predicted.
     One of the unit's first projects will be a tutoring program
with a local elementary school. "I've encouraged them to broaden
this and involve as many folks as they can," Singleton said.
                              #  #  #

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 To make suggestions or give your comments, send a note to 
 umns@ecunet.org or Susan_Peek@ecunet.org

 To unsubscribe, send the single word "unsubscribe" (no quotes)
 in a mail message to umethnews-request@ecunet.org

-----------------------------------------------------------------------