by Amanda Smith
On Friday the 16th three of Broadway's United Women of Faith (UWF) left for Ankeny, Iowa to attend a banquet celebration of 125 years of Missions Education. We were treated to a lovely string trio ensemble and many shared conversations about the accomplishments and success of our beloved history. On Saturday the 17th we attended the annual Mission u conference.
It's difficult to sum up Mission u in words. On Sunday Pastor Brian quoted scripture from John1:39. "Come and you will see!". That turned out to be the exact scripture I needed. Come to Mission u and you WILL see. If you don't go you won't know. The love of the Lord & so many fellow prayer warrior sisters allow each of us to be surrounded by a powerfull group of women seeking to grow their calling of God's love. It wraps around you like a warm blanket. We share ideas for how we can grow our faith, network ideas for our community outreach, give/receive supportive feedback for BUMC 's UWF to continue to grow and thrive. The shared laughter, the occasional tear of compassion for our sisters, and the bonds forged between all of UWF ladies from every corner of the state is beautiful.
This year's study focused on the book "A Deep Knowing" by . A wonderful way of discussing how to be closer to God in every aspect of your life. This awareness is highly personal and invites you to embrace your whole self—body, mind, and spirit. But most importantly was the bonding of the 3 ladies in attendance. Sharing of stories, laughter & honest feedback between us is priceless. Mission u's retreat for UWF amps up our spiritual batteries & our bonds of sisterhood.
With all this in mind I got to thinking. How can we grow our UWF? After sharing this with my sisters at BUMC I learned of a long forgotten group called Ladies of the Night, a second chapter of UWF that meets at night to better accommodate the ladies that cannot attend the daytime meetings. A younger generation of ladies. So I have decided to explore this opportunity further. If you might be one of those ladies please reach out to me and we'll explore the next steps further together!