Mother’s Day Gratitude Project: GWP’s May E-Links

Current GWP steering committee: Emily, Carrie, Anna Lisa and Kim

When I agreed to serve on the GWP Steering Committee in 2007, I didn’t really know what I was getting into. I had a vague notion of what GWP was all about, but there was one main reason that I said yes: my mother had been on the steering committee. My mom doesn’t go for glory or fluff, she spends time doing meaningful things with the people she loves and in service to justice throughout the world. So I trusted that GWP would be a valuable way to contribute to the Church of the Brethren and women, children and communities all over the globe.

Our work is actually rather simple, though we thoughtfully and frequently reflect on the work we’re doing and how to connect with all of you about it. Our mission is to empower and connect women around the world and contribute to a sustainable distribution of wealth and resources.

In a few more words, GWP seeks to educate about wealth, power and oppression, encouraging one another to live more simply, being mindful of our luxuries, and join in empowerment with women around the world, sharing resources with women’s initiatives.

A key aspect of this work is raising money from those who have extra, and sending it to project partners in Rwanda, Nepal, Uganda, Indiana and Sudan who can do A LOT with the $1500 they receive each year.

Mother’s Day is a beloved time of year for GWP, as we celebrate the legacy of the women who shaped us, and the women who shape their children and communities around the world. With your support, women can find safe and sustainable work, send their children to school, supply their families with food and medicine. These healthy, loved children will become healthy, loving parents, breaking a cycle of dependency and developing vibrant communities.

My practical, compassionate, faith-filled mother doesn’t need any more flowers or chocolate this spring. She has plenty of sweet smells and tastes in her life. The sweetness of being part of women’s and empowerment and economic justice is deeper and doesn’t lead to cavities.

If you choose to honor your mother or another woman through the Mother’s Day Gratitude Project this year, she will receive a lovely, handwritten card from GWP explaining your gift and the work it will do throughout the world.

Send your request and donation to:

Nan Erbaugh
47 S. Main Street
West Alexandria, OH 45381-1243

Include your name and recipient’s name and address. You may also make memorial donations, which are honored here. Send your requests right away for an on-time gift for your mother, but Nan will respond to each request she gets whenever she gets it. Mothers, whether they grumble or not, know that your gratitude is better late than never!

*****

Children learn about Uganda, and about themselves.

As you seek to strengthen your own families and communities, filled with loving and healthy children, consider using GWP’s Children’s Giving Project in Sunday school or VBS or summer camp. You can get everything you need on our website, or we can mail you a CD of the materials.

This educational initiative of Global Women’s Project seeks to introduce children to the learning, giving, and growing nature of empowerment work!

Through this curriculum, children will learn about the country and children of Uganda, as well as about their own lives in the United States.  They will have a chance to give their resources to support the work children, women, and men, are doing in Uganda.  They will also have the opportunity to grow generous spirits and a feeling of connection to children around the world.

Money raised through the Children’s Giving Project will support GWP’s work with SITEAW in Uganda, which educates girls and strengthens communities, as well as our other project partners.

 

On behalf of GWP -

Anna Lisa Gross

What is Global Women’s Project?

Rooted in the Church of the Brethren, GWP seeks to educate about wealth, power and oppression, encouraging one another to live more simply, being mindful of our luxuries, and join in empowerment with women around the world, sharing resources with women’s initiatives. Read more about GWP and our founding in 1978.

Saying Goodbye and Hello

Global Women’s Project’s Steering Committee met recently in W. Alexandria, Ohio to continue the visioning and administrative work of this COB women’s empowerment group, started over 30 years ago. Joined together were Anna Lisa Gross, Emily Matteson, Kim Hill Smith, Nan Erbaugh, and Carrie Eikler.

The weekend began with prayerful focus and ended with worship at Trotwood Church of the Brethren, where GWP helped lead worship. The energy of the weekend was uplifting as the steering committee continues to look towards the possibility of new projects, celebrating our current projects, and brainstorming educational and fundraising opportunities.

We also had the bittersweet moment of saying goodbye to Nan Erbaugh, a dedicated GWP steering committee member of six years. Nan faithfully served as GWP treasurer, as well as traveling multiple times to Southern Sudan, visiting our sister projects there. Her dedication to the work and vision of GWP on the committee will be missed, but we know her passion for the work and vision of GWP will live on as she continues to strengthen this grassroots movement.

GWP also wishes to welcome a new steering committee member, Sharon Nearhoof May. Sharon will join the steering committee for our next face to face meeting in September, when we meet in Morgantown, WV. Welcome Sharon! For these and all women and men who strengthen our movement, we are grateful! We hope that those of you using our Lenten Calendar this season have found it to be meaningful as you move toward Easter. Were any stories, facts, or scriptures particularly moving for you? We’d love to know!

Share gratitude with mothers around the world!

GWP is eager to announce our annual Mother’s Day gratitude project! Read all about it! Please download and share this flyer with any who may be interested! It’s the perfect size for a bulletin insert – who do you know who puts together church bulletins?

International Women’s Day

Happy Valentine’s Day from Global Women’s Project! In addition to showing your love and affection for loved ones today, consider the ways you might better care for all the people of the world. Perhaps you could invite one of your neighbors over for a hot cup of tea on a chilly day, or maybe you are particularly inspired by one of our Partner Projects, and might set aside a little money each week to help pay for the school tuition of a girl in Uganda. Whether supporting neighbors near or far, try to live each day with a caring spirit.

 

If you are interested in learning more about the projects of GWP and other issues of social justice, it is not too late to get one of our Lenten calendars! Please send us an email if you would like to receive a calendar in the mail, or if you would like to receive it in a daily email each day of Lent.

 

Looking for a special prayer for a worship service or community gathering in celebration of women everywhere? Don’t forget to check out our resources for International Women’s Day, which is coming up on March 8th! You can examine our growing collection of resources here.

 

Peace and love,

Emily Matteson

GWP Steering Committee

Lenten resources

Happy Valentine’s Day from Global Women’s Project! In addition to showing your love and affection for loved ones today, consider the ways you might better care for all the people of the world. Perhaps you could invite one of your neighbors over for a hot cup of tea on a chilly day, or maybe you are particularly inspired by one of our Partner Projects, and might set aside a little money each week to help pay for the school tuition of a girl in Uganda. Whether supporting neighbors near or far, try to live each day with a caring spirit.

If you are interested in learning more about the projects of GWP and other issues of social justice, it is not too late to get one of our Lenten calendars! Please send us an email if you would like to receive a calendar in the mail, or if you would like to receive it in a daily email each day of Lent.

Looking for a special prayer for a worship service or community gathering in celebration of women everywhere? Don’t forget to check out our resources for International Women’s Day, which is coming up on March 8th! You can examine our growing collection of resources here.

 Peace and love,

Emily Matteson

GWP Steering Committee

December E-Links

Are you still searching for a meaningful holiday gift for a special child in your life? Are you looking for a gift that would nurture her or his appreciation for other people throughout the world? Global Women’s Project has just the gift idea for you. Sister Stella Santana from our partner project in Uganda has just published a children’s book entitled,We Are The People Of This World. Beautifully illustrated by Andrea Bear, this 39-page paperback inspires children to acknowledge and celebrate our diversity as well as to work at deepening our connectedness with one another. Sister Stella writes, “An appreciation for all people and everything on earth must begin early in life in order for it to take root and grow in each child’s heart.” To order a copy, simply go to www.omukazi.org.

 

GWP would also like to extend its congratulations to Church Women United as it celebrates its 70th anniversary this month. Since 1941, CWU has organized into more than 1,200 local and state units in the United States and Puerto Rico in its quest to create a more just and peaceful world. We are grateful for CWU’s efforts to educate women about the United Nations and global issues and for their work on behalf of women and children worldwide.

Brethren Woman Honored

Church of the Brethren United Nations representative Doris Abdullah was moderator of a Nov. 10 event in the “Sacred Season Series” sponsored by the Subcommittee for the Elimination of Racism of the NGO Committee on Human Rights. Held at the UN Plaza in New York, the event was on the theme “Spirituality, Environmental Justice, and Human Rights.” Abdullah also has called attention
to Nov. 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The day was designated by the UN General Assembly in 1999 as the date of a brutal assassination in 1960 of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic. For more information about the day go to www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday.

From CoB Newsline