Member delegate: Lisa Maupin

Members of United Women in Faith put love into action every day to inspire, influence, and impact their churches and communities. Many of our members live out their faith by serving as leaders in The United Methodist Church.

Meet Lisa Maupin, a United Methodist Women member at South Gate United Methodist Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. She’s chair of the South Central Jurisdiction Committee on Nominations for United Women in Faith and lay leader for the Great Plains Conference. She is also a delegate to General Conference for Great Plains.

How long have you been a member of United Women in Faith?

I’ve been a member of United Women in Faith for more than 20 years.

What called you to be a General Conference delegate?

I believe that it is important for laypeople to be active and engaged in the decision-making body of the church. We are building and laying foundation work for all of us as United Methodists and people of faith to live out our callings and abilities to connect in multiple mission fields. My hope is that I am able to provide a viewpoint and discernment that incorporates the dream that all in our faith community matter.

Also, I kind of geek out with this work. I love it. And while it can break you and make you question things, it is also the opportunity to be engaged in conversations that can move us toward being our best and forging a path where we can truly be who we say we are.

How has being a part of United Women in Faith helped in your role as delegate?

I am proud to be a leader who is United Women in Faith–raised. I am able to be a voice and presence in the church because of United Women in Faith. The best leadership development I have received has been within our organization. I am the conference lay leader and delegate because United Women in Faith provided me with a supportive community who nurtured me, taught me from their own experiences, and cheered loudly with each election and nomination for leadership position. There is nothing more humbling than to step up on the stage at annual conference and see a row of your United Women in Faith mentors and community giving you a thumbs up and nods saying, “You are ours. We have got you.”

I know that I am able to discern and evaluate legislation and decisions through a variety of lenses because United Women in Faith has taught me how to see the world beyond my own small viewpoint. I know that I have learned the impact of what happens when our faith meets the world and what it means to be a social justice advocate and the conscience of the Church. We have been taught we can be loving disruptors of the narrative that wants to exclude, discriminate, and oppress while tirelessly work to re-write that story to embrace all justly in God’s kingdom.

What are your hopes for the church?

I have so many hopes for the church. I hope that we can one day be who we say we are and provide space for all to be allowed to engage fully in ministry in the mission fields as they and their faith community have defined. Not all are called to do the same work, but we must all be allowed to do the work that we are called to do.

Mostly, I hope that The United Methodist Church has created a table of grace that is large enough and has enough chairs for all who need to sit, one that not only provides physical space but also a place where people can speak and where people can listen, one that is never full and is always pulling up one more chair.

Cover photo by GNTV. (Lisa is on the left!)