Latest News
Mar./Apr. response: “For Generations to Come”
Day of Giving 2025
by Christi Campos
On a recent visit to the Rio Texas Conference, I had the opportunity to sit down with two generations of the Briones family—Minerva Briones, president of the Rio Texas Conference, and her daughter, new United Women in Faith Board Member Abby Gutierrez.
generations of active and generous United Women in Faith members.
Photo: Christi Campos
“Of course I’m extremely proud of her,” shares Briones in reference to Gutierrez. “I remember when she was a child running around at meetings. She went everywhere with me. As she got older, I could see her interest in United Women in Faith and our work grow. She loved going to Mission u and learning about other cultures from the studies. She was still in college when she was asked to be the youth study leader.”
“From there, I continued to get more and more involved,” adds Gutierrez. “I appreciated the leadership training United Women in Faith provided. As a young working mom, I was asked to be the treasurer of my local unit. I have since served on the program advisory group and on the committee for the new branding. My daughters are 12 and 16, and they are already socially aware. I think they see me advocating for special causes. They have seen how ugly this world can be. However, they see that even as a child they can make a difference. They are moved to put their love and faith in action just as I was by watching my mother.”
Both Briones and Gutierrez were born in Mexico and came to the United States in 1983 when Briones’ husband was offered a job at a Spanish-speaking church.
“One of the volunteer jobs that I do is to meet new immigrants as they arrive at the Greyhound station in downtown San Antonio. After they are released from the detention center, they are just dropped off and often don’t know where to go or what to do next,” explains Briones. “I try to assist them in any way that I can. As an immigrant myself, they connect with me. I always tell them that the process ahead of them will not be easy.”
Briones is also active in prison ministry. She says that she is grateful for the gift of being bilingual because she can use it to do God’s work.
Like mother like daughter, Gutierrez has worked for JFON (Justice for Our Neighbors), a United Methodist ministry that offers free or affordable immigration legal services.
“My mother has always led by example,” Gutierrez states. “Like her, I try to be sensitive to God’s call.”
Both women are happy to support The Legacy Endowment Fund and urge their sisters in United Women in Faith to join them.
“I give because I know it is important to support the future of our work,” says Briones. “Our mission work must keep going!”
The theme for this year’s Day of Giving on March 23 is “For Generations to Come,” which is exactly what The Legacy Endowment Fund is all about—making sure that future generations of United Women in Faith members are financially equipped to continue to take on the issues of the world by putting their faith in action.
“I want all young girls to have the positive experiences I have had through United Women in Faith,” adds Gutierrez. “It plants a seed to look outside of ourselves. I want the organization to go on for generations to come with even more options to serve and bring in new members.”
Gutierrez ended our time together by sharing a quote from the late Catholic Cardinal John Dearden that she has found impactful and that she wants us all to remember on this Day of Giving: “We are prophets of a future not our own.”
Deaconess Christi Campos is the executive for Development and Donor Relations for United Women in Faith..
