I am writing this report of the Fall Meeting of the Women's Division (WD) of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) in the form of a personal letter because it is my heartfelt message to you. Let me preface this report by saying that I love my UMW circle and every woman in it.  I know that local UMW units do great good.  I also love and like the Directors that I know at the WD.  They are bright, sincere and good women.  So, it is a report I wish I did not have to write, but I cannot avoid writing it, regardless of the consequences.

I confess a bad habit of mine is to go into a situation with preconceived ideas. This was no exception. I confided to myself: “There will be no show of patriotism at the WD meeting; no Stars and Stripes waving; no flag or USA pins; no singing of ‘God Bless America’ or ‘America the Beautiful’; no Pledge of Allegiance.”  I almost dreaded going. “Oh, give it a chance,” I argued with myself. “The WD cares as much as you do about America. It will be different from your preconception. They will support the USA this time.” On the way from LaGuardia, driving through the beautiful Connecticut countryside, I was encouraged by the plethora of American flags--flying from almost every home, apartment, condo and car; painted on trucks; sculpted in the fields; shining on almost everyone's lapel. I had my rhinestone USA pin proudly adorning my coat.

But, despite my skepticism, I was not prepared for the total lack of support for the United States government and our military personnel evidenced at the WD meeting. Although a few of the directors and guests wore a red, white and blue ribbon or flag, I began to wonder if I should remove my identifying pin. However, the hotel staff loved it, but then, what did they know? They had not been “enlightened” by the WD.

The opening plenary began with the Treasurer's Report which expressed concern over the billion plus dollars given to relief efforts in the aftermath of September 11th, “while other ongoing needs have been neglected.” The Deputy General Secretary's primary solution, in her letter to all United Methodist Women (UMW), was “prayer, action and financial support through Undesignated Giving for mission.”

The Section on Christian Social Responsibility, where terrorism was the topic, set the tone for the response of the WD to events since 9/11. Two speakers enlightened us about the situation. Dr. Peter Sederberg, a professor in the Department of Government and International Studies at the University of South Carolina, gave a scholarly presentation that reflected his Quaker roots. He told us “this is not a war” and if we continue to use that metaphor it might get us into what we pretend it is. Further, he said, it is not constructive to call people “terrorists”; rather, they are ”perpetrators of terrorism.” “The way we live (Americans) and what we do threatens people around the world as September 11th threatened us.” Dr. Sederberg’s solution:  “We could get out of Saudi Arabia to ameliorate the situation,” and the best course would possibly be to seek justice in an International Court. His final word: “If we respond in kind, if we engage in a monstrous doubling of the fanaticism of death, then we will have betrayed the men and women martyred on September 11.” (Tell that to their grieving survivors.) Dr. Sederberg’s wife is Jan Love, frequent resource person for the WD who has been extensively involved in work through the World Council of Churches (WCC) over the years.

The Section was further enlightened by Ms. Parvina Najibulla, a former U.S. 2 and Intern with the U.N. Seminar Program (UMC) from Tajiskistan, and a former resident of Afghanistan. She was an engaging young woman who passionately compared the violence of Sept. 11th to the bombing of innocent civilians in Afghanistan and asked why we continue to bomb a country already devastated, making military might our god and not using alternatives to violence? We were informed that the “so—called humanitarian aid” from the U.S.A. was being used for political purposes, that our drops of aid probably landed on unsafe mine fields for the women to pick up, and (paradoxically?) that it probably ended up in the hands of the soldiers. The pamphlets dropped to convey friendship were useless, she said, asking, “How many Afghanis read?”. According to Ms. Najibulla the radio broadcasts were laughable because they used the wrong background music, and, furthermore, the U.S. is in many ways responsible for creating the Taliban so we could put the gas pipeline through. (Gosh, cant the U.S. do anything right, I wondered. Apparently not.) 

Further enlightenment came from listening to comments of other participants, as follows:

• “I question this wave of patriotism.” (WD officer)

• “My church voted to display an American flag. I was the only dissenter, saying, ‘A flag doesn't belong in front of the church.’” (WD director)

• “A friend asked, ’Why would the Palestinians be angry with the U.S. anyway?’” (Everyone present gasped and snickered) “People are just ignorant--with backward ideas.”  (These must be people not enlightened by the WD.) “I tried to explain why Palestinian children were cheering in the streets on September 11th. I learned everything from UMW.” (young WD director)

• “Lets get rid of the red/white/blue ribbon theme for use at a UMW meeting.” (Then, in response to a suggestion from another.) “Let's use the image of plowshares.” (officer WD) (Whatever happened to the Scripture in Joel 3:9-10: "Prepare for war ... Beat your plowshares into swords.")

• "I'm upset with the Bush campaign asking children to send $1 for the relief effort." (WD director)  (I wonder if this director would approve of the President's new initiative for school children to write letters of friendship and tell Muslim children about America?)

• "Under the guise of 'patriotism' Americans are urged to support military action.  We should use an International Court--not war." (CSR Ass't. Gen. Sec.)

• "At our School of Missions after 9/11, we had to sing patriotic songs.  And, for the first time, received a negative evaluation of the Vietnam Study." (WD director)

• "The violence of hunger, poverty and injustice breeds the violence of retaliation and the violence continues as retribution and retaliation becomes the goal. Our reaction ... as a nation can plunge the world into more violence, or it can be a step to turn around continuing violence." (Deputy General Secretary of WD)

Disparaging remarks about John Ashcroft, our Attorney General, were frequent, as were many about the Bush Administration.  A repeated phrase was, “The chickens have come home to roost.” And, the U.S. drive for “profit and wealth” was often blamed.

One staff person admitted, “We will be called NOT patriotic or Christian.” (She was somewhat prophetic, although “unpatriotic” doesn’t even begin to describe it. You, dear reader, choose your own word for it.)

To further enlighten us, all were given the following resources:

1. "A Century of U. S. Military Interventions: from Wounded Knee to Afghanistan"

2. Scriptures from the Torah, New Testament & Islamic Koran--compiled by Janice Love

3. "The Lessons of Blowback" by Chalmers Johnson. Here are some excerpts: September 11th… --directed against American foreign policy-- "We should listen to the grievances of the Islamic peoples…protect Israel’s security but denounce its apartheid practices in Palestinian areas… If the U.S.’s only response to terrorism is more terrorism, it will have discredited itself and can expect to be treated as the rogue state it will have become." (Comment by a director: “Don’t send this to local churches that don’t think.”)

4. “Why do they Hate Us?” by Peter Ford, Christian Science Monitor. An excerpt: “To many people in the Middle East, the carnage of Sept. 11 was retribution. Mr.Bin Laden’s statements of the injustice done to the Palestinians, the cruelty of continued sanctions against Iraq, the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia…win a good deal of popular support. And they know that the U.S. sends more than $3 billion a year…to Israel. Resentment rises, a radical is born. A Palestinian born couple maintains that the devastating attack (Sept. 11th) was a result of America’s ‘arrogant’ policies in the Middle East and elsewhere.”

5. A Quick Guide to Your Rights when Dealing with Law Enforcement, from the Center for Constitutional Rights! Excerpt: “You do not have to talk to or cooperate with law enforcement officers.” “You are not required to tell the police, the INS or other law enforcement agencies your immigration status.” The following were recommended for further assistance: American Civil Liberties Union, U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, etc.

The result of all this ”enlightenment” was: “A Resolution on Terrorist Attacks,"--calling on United Methodist Women to “Urge the President to use diplomatic means to bring the perpetrators of terrorists acts to justice and to end the bombing of Afghanistan." Also to “reach out to persons of other faiths and become educated on the beliefs of Islam.” (Resources: the '89-'90 mission study on the World of Islam and the Nov. 2000 issue of Response magazine on "Interfaith Challenges, Interfaith Understanding” This issue of Response was charged by the RENEW Network with promoting interfaith syncretism while ignoring the unique claims of Christianity and the supremacy of Jesus Christ.)

Dear reader, is this WD enlightenment your worldview? Don’t all of us mourn the deaths of the innocent in war?  But “war is hell” according to the General who helped stamp out the injustice of slavery in the South.  And, don’t we all believe that America is, and should be, at war against terrorism?

The Women's Division plans to implement a “Mobilization Against (the Anti-) Terrorism Act.” As of this writing the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Anti-Terrorism Act by 357-66, the Senate by 98-1, and President George W. Bush has signed it into law. The WD has pledged to challenge it in the courts. The directors all agreed. Isn’t it incredible that the bipartisan House and Senate of the U.S. have come together to overwhelmingly support this action? From the far left--to the far right--to the center--an almost unanimous front? Except for the WD. Apparently the elected representatives of the American people have failed to be “enlightened” by the Division. However, one might hope that the opposition of the WD to the war against terrorism will result in the same debacle as that of their opposition to the Gulf War, when thousands of letters of protest were delivered to Capitol Hill two weeks after the war was successfully over.

Isn’t it wonderful that we live in a country where critics can express themselves as the WD always chooses to do? God Bless America! The irony of it all is that the Muslim countries the WD would embrace allow no criticism--especially not from women.  And where is the pluralism and diversity, so celebrated by the WD, that would call for the opposing view to the Division's position to be presented to UMW in the process of their enlightenment?

I could write the rest of the report of the WD blindfolded. The truth is I have been reporting these WD meetings for some ten years now.

Nothing has changed.

The 2002 WD budget is $20,113,241, with the usual expenditures that reflect their political agenda rather than true support for missions.  Undesignated giving from UMW is the primary source of these funds.

The United Methodist Church Center for the United Nations, where the anti-US policies of the UN are supported and implemented, has a budget of $1,471,763 for 2002.

In other action: 

• The WD voted to send a letter of congratulations to Nancy Pelosi (D.CA) for being elected the new democratic whip, the 1st woman to hold that post. UMW might inquire if a similar congratulatory letter was sent to Condoleezza Rice on her appointment as National Security Advisor, not only as the 1st woman but as an African-American woman as well.

• A report of the UMW delegation to the World Conference Against Racism held in South Africa was given by a director who told of the embarrassment of their delegation, along with that of the GBGM and GBCS, over the absence of the U.S. government. They had stickers made which said:

Then they held a press conference and stated “United Methodist Women are taking a stand against the injustices of our country.”  (The U.S. Administration decided not to attend due to the harsh and biased charges of racial injustice in Israel while overlooking truly egregious discrimination in other countries.)

I love the United States of America. I sing and pray for “God to mend her every flaw” But must we always be against everything she does, as enlightened by the WD?

Nothing changes!

I dusted off my old book by Roy Beck, On Thin Ice, published in 1988, where he tells of attending a Conference on Southern Africa in 1981 at Columbia University and Riverside Church in NYC in his role as a self-avowed “liberal” reporter for The United Methodist Reporter. The WD was a sponsor and every piece of paper was printed “c/o United Methodist Office for the U.N." (Heretofore mentioned as recipient of $l.5 million annually from UMW.)

Beck was amazed at the Communist/Marxist theme of the conference  where the crowd cheered a harangue against “U.S. imperialism.”  Comrade Unison Whitman was introduced by the moderator as being from the new Marxist government of Granada, which he described as a tiny island saying to the “terror of this planet, (the U.S.) ‘Go to hell’!” (His government was later overthrown by U.S. intervention.)

The junior staff person responsible for this conference was Mia Adjali who defended WD participation in this event to the next meeting of WD directors telling them they should be proud of their role in the conference. They were convinced by her “enlightenment” and voted unanimously to consider a rebuttal by their president to Beck’s story, though nobody even attempted to refute any of his facts. (Get this book and read it for yourself--you will find many other interesting stories there.)  Ms. Adjali is now Senior Staff, directing policy and activities at the United Methodist Office for the U.N. and in the section of Christian Social Responsibility, where most of the anti—U.S. sentiment is prevalent.

Nothing has changed!

I then revisited Re-Imagining, the infamous gathering supported by the WD, never repudiated by them, and further supported by some staff and directors who helped draft and signed "A Time of Hope, A Time of Threat” in its defense. Re-Imagining is still a presence in WD programs.

1. In response to an inquiry by Faye Short of RENEW regarding a district unit of the California—Nevada Conference UMW, who call themselves the “Sophia Circle” and who study Re-Imagining literature, the Policy Committee took the following action:

“The Women's Division affirms that the naming of units, sub—units and circles is the responsibility of the individual groups. Units are encouraged to use resources that affirm the Purpose of UMW… The district unit of the California-Nevada Conference UMW, called Sophia Circle, continues to be a part of UMW.” 

(Are we then to assume the WD accepts Re-Imagining material as a resource that “affirms the Purpose of UMW.” The WD called “unofficial” anything from RENEW/Good News, and several other sources, in a memo handed down some years ago and indicated that resources from these groups were to be shunned. Are evangelical resources more dangerous than R-I resources?) 

This recommendation from the policy committee was unanimously affirmed by the WD directors after being brought to the floor by the president, without a reading or a reporting of the contents, at the end of a break when directors were returning to their seats.

2. The 16th UMW Assembly will convene in Philadelphia, PA. in April, 2002. One of the featured speakers will be Barbara Lundblad, of Union Theological Seminary. She will best be remembered as a speaker at the 1st Re-Imagining Conference, who bragged, to the cheers and applause of the audience, “We did not last night name the name of Jesus. Nor have we done anything in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Jesus was not named much as this WD meeting either, although He did appear a number of times in the report of the Deputy General Secretary.

Nothing has changed!!

Sunday morning worship was a Service of “Children’s Sabbath” and, as every year, “Racial Justice.” These are both most worthy of our attention, but on the Lord’s Day I long to “sing of my Redeemer” and “worship my King.” I also longed to honor and pray for the brave firefighters, policemen and their families in NYC; to pray for our military endangered in conflict; to pray for our leaders; and to pray for our country to keep turning to God for help; to ask God to bless America.

I am weary of hearing America bashed instead of blessed.

I am weary of Sophia worship instead of Jesus worship.

I am weary of "empowering women" instead of the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

I am weary of Re-Imagining instead of Re-vival in Christ.

I am weary of "enlightenment" by the WD staff instead of enlightenment by the Word of God.

I'm shaking the dust off my feet, and I'm going to just follow Jesus.

And you, dear Reader, how about you?  Will you continue to send your Pledge to Mission to Undesignated Giving because you are a loyal member of United Methodist Women, so that your unit can boast a 5-star rating and enable the wheels of WD "enlightenment" to grind on? Will you continue to say "Count Me In" without calling the Division to accountability?

Or, will you join me in saying, "No more Undesignated Giving--Count Me Out!!!"