WESTERN YEARLY MEETING USFW

2023 wESTERN yEARLY mEETING usfw oFFICERS

President/Presiding Clerk: Lynn Mills and Pam Ferguson

Recording Clerks: Peggy Hollingsworth and Sarabeth Marcinko

Local/National Outreach: Dinah Geiger and Ellen Craig

Treasurer: Brenda Irelan and Andrea Long

Quaker Haven Camp - WYM USFW: Brenda Irelan

Global Outreach: Jan McVay and Shirley Wentz

Children & Youth/Adult Literature: Betty Heshelman and Lynn Guyer

           In the late 1800s, while living in Mooresville, Indiana, Eliza Clark Armstrong Cox (1850-1935) caught a vision of the part Quaker women should contribute to God’s plan for world evangelization.  Sharing the Gospel around the world was a new and important aspect of Christianity at that time, but because Quakers did not have any formal way to do that, Friends women were joining with other Christian groups to spread the Gospel

In the fall of 2021, a new group affiliated with the United Society of Friends Women, International, Inc., (USFWI) was formed from the previous groups, Indiana USFW and Western Yearly Meeting USFW. Because the Indiana USFW group included women from Indiana Yearly Meeting and the New Association of Friends, this means that we have women from Indiana, Ohio, and Iowa who participate in the MR-USFW. USFWI consists of women from US yearly meetings and regional groups who are part of Friends United Meeting (FUM) and women from various FUM-affiliated yearly meetings from around the world. As such, we support Friends’ work in Africa, Belize, Cuba, Jamaica, and Palestine.

We have had hybrid gatherings in the fall and spring of each year since our founding, with Zoom only meetings in between, and a gathering during the Western Yearly Meeting sessions in the summer. These meetings consist of fellowship and inspiration with updates on the projects sponsored by USFWI and therefore by us as well. Sometimes we have work projects as part of our time together. Our most recent project was sewing reusable sanitary pads for girls in Africa. Currently, we have helped African women leaders who are teaching local women to make the pads themselves. These are the parts of our “old” groups that we have chosen to keep. We are attempting to determine what directions to go in the future that will make the group relevant to younger women. We’re considering what days of the week might be best for gatherings, what activities at these gatherings might be meaningful, and what other activities, such as retreats, would provide meaning and inspiration to other women. Anyone who has questions about this group or suggestions for activities that might be meaningful to a wider group of women, please feel free to contact us at midwestregionusfw@gmail.com.

            USFWI has two publications available to members.  Every other month, The Advocate shares updates on the work of USFWI worldwide.  And Blueprints is an annual publication containing lessons from various Quaker women writers around the world to be used in local Meeting groups.

            Every woman who is a member of a Meeting in Friends United Meeting is considered a member of USFWI.  You are invited and encouraged to find the USFW group in your local Meeting or to join one at a nearby Meeting if your Meeting doesn’t have one.