United Women in Faith Board of Directors Meets at Scarritt Bennett

Directors Celebrate a Hopeful Future

by Audrey Stanton-Smith

United Women in Faith Board of Directors met March 6 at Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The event marked the organization’s first in-person board of directors meeting since early 2020 and celebrated a hopeful future while addressing business issues within the official women’s organization of The United Methodist Church.

“I am so glad that we are here together in this sacred space,” said United Women in Faith President Jana Jones as she opened Thursday’s meeting.

General Secretary and CEO Sally Vonner echoed Jones’ sentiment, calling Scarritt Bennett “the place of our legacy.” Owned by United Women in Faith, the campus is formerly home to United Methodist-related Scarritt College for Christian Workers and Scarritt Graduate College.

Scarritt Bennett Executive Director Sondrea Tolbert welcomed the board as she noted the facility’s rich history and recent preservation efforts. Scarritt Bennett has provided learning and training in Nashville since 1924, when the college relocated from Kansas City, Missouri. It continues its focus on women’s empowerment, racial justice, spiritual formation, and transformative education. The center has applied for a historical marker to commemorate its centennial anniversary.

“We are still here and still making an impact,” Tolbert said.

The impact of Scarritt Bennett and United Women in Faith is far reaching, said Bishop David Graves, episcopal leader of the Tennessee-Western Kentucky, Kentucky, and Central Appalachian Missionary conferences.

During his greeting, Graves called the host facility “holy ground,” mentioning not only the beauty and history of Scarritt Bennett but a personal connection to its work through the involvement of his mother and grandmother in Women’s Society of Christian Service and United Methodist Women.

“Thank you for your support all over the world,” Graves told the board, noting recent flooding in Kentucky and the recovery efforts of Red Bird Mission, which United Women in Faith helps to support. “I stand here today before you as a bishop and a pastor in The United Methodist Church, really because of the women now called United Women in Faith.”

Graves credited the organization with helping him raise money to attend Candler School of Theology.

“I want to thank you for those that have come before you that believed in me and believed in people and helped me come to this point, and I’m just one of thousands. There are still many more to reach,” Graves said. “I give thanks for your leadership and all that you’re doing. … If you just seek God in these moments, there is great hope for tomorrow.”

Board members approved hope for tomorrow through several business actions and reports.

Grants

Corporate Secretary Susan Moberg presented a report on mail ballots which included approving a total of $115,000 in grants to The Neighborhood Center in Utica, New York; MacDonnell United Methodist Children’s Home in Houma, Louisiana; Bethlehem Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Imayam Social Welfare Association in India; ministry with women, children, and youth in Zimbabwe; Myrtle Social Welfare Network in India; Pasumai Ulagam in India; United Methodist Women’s Organization in Sierra Leone; and the Women’s Desk of The United Methodist Church of South Congo.

Indigenous Boarding Schools Initiative

Vonner briefed board members with an update on an Indigenous Boarding Schools initiative.

“Part of the dark history of the United States and the Church, including The United Methodist Church and its predecessors, is their intent to erase Native American culture, traditions, languages, and more by taking their children and attempting to assimilate them into the dominant culture. The truth is the children were socially, emotionally, spiritually, and culturally devastated by their experiences in these boarding schools,” Vonner said. “Today the truth continues to unfold.”

To that end, United Women in Faith, the General Board of Global Ministries, and the General Commission on Archives and History are working together to fund and investigate more deeply to get to the truth regarding church roles in Indigenous boarding and mission schools. Candidates are being interviewed to continue this important research.

“We hope it will lead us deeper to truth,” Vonner said. “The timeline is one year with the possibility that we may renew for one more year.”

International Ministries

Connectional Officer Sung-ok Lee updated the board on international mission work, which includes grants and scholarships, leadership development and economic empowerment, member-facing opportunities such as podcasts and interactions with missionaries, and networking within the denomination and ecumenical sisters around peace and gender equity work.

“This year marks 25 years since we started the regional missionary initiative,” she said. “Since then, a whole lot of women leaders have been trained, developed, and have engaged actively. So, we are now transitioning to a new way of continuing our international ministries work.”

The new structure involves a team concept with a regional missionary or mission liaison as team leader.

“The work does not decrease; it just functions more efficiently and robustly,” Lee explained.

Treasurer’s Report

In a treasurer’s report, Assistant Treasurer Amanda Choi reported on behalf of Treasurer/CFO Tamara Clark.

The prior year comparison between 2023 and 2024 showed total conference giving down by $800,000 or 11.51 percent compared to the prior year. Total conference giving for 2024 was $6,152,168.

“We have seen decreases in giving across all jurisdictions,” Choi reported.

Still, she noted, there have been increases in giving in some conferences, with the largest amounts coming from Central Texas, North Georgia, South Georgia, California-Pacific, and Upper New York.

The organization also made successful efforts to decrease operating expenses. Those decreased by $2.68 million or 10.54 percent from 2023 to 2024.

Sustainable Investment

Board members also heard reports from Crosslin, whose audit report is scheduled for completion in May, and an investment report from Wespath.

“We are delivering competitive and strong returns for you all, which helps you fulfill your obligations and fulfill your mission and your ministry,” said Karen Manczko, Wespath’s director of Institutional Relationships.

Manczko reported a strong start to the current year with gains from all investments, including social values investments that exclude fossil fuels and comprise 22 percent of United Women in Faith’s portfolio. None of United Women in Faith’s investments involve alcohol, tobacco, gambling, or adult entertainment.

“All of the returns are positive,” she said.

Jake Barnett, managing director of Wespath’s Sustainable Investment Strategies, assured the board that Wespath is not aligning with corporations who are rolling back on inclusion, climate, and human rights.

“That is not the perspective of Wespath,” he said. “We are standing our ground on these commitments because we think that they make good economic sense and because they align with United Methodist Church values. … It’s important for us to not be naïve in how we’re pursuing these actions but also to do so with a heart full of love.”

Barnett also emphasized the firm’s commitment to Net Zero, which aims to reduce and remove carbon emissions by 2050.

Board Action

After hearing a report that Navajo United Methodist Center terminated the Covenant Agreement  with United Women in Faith and, in doing so, lost its status as a National Mission Institution, board members voted to modify the designated use of income from the Navajo Methodist Mission School Endowment Fund. Navajo United Methodist Center had been the recipient of the income from this endowment. With the board’s decision, United Women in Faith shall distribute income from the fund to support national educational programs, with a preference for serving Native Americans.

The board also:

• Approved a total endowment spending rate of 7 percent from which 1 percent will be allocated for administrative expenses in managing and administering the endowment fund portfolio.
• Ratified a property grant of $7,925 to support the replacement of a concrete walkway with galvanized tube railings and new front steps at the United Methodist House in Chautauqua, New York. The home had already raised $11,500 toward the $19,425 project.
• Approved the 2026 Reading Program book list.
• Approved 17 deaconesses and home missioner candidates for consecration on May 3, 2025, in New York City.
• Approved updates to national bylaws.
• Approved a nominee for the Scarritt Bennett Center Board of Directors.
• Shared updates to the program advisory group membership.
• Committed to goals for membership growth and justice priorities.
• Supported being good stewards of mission dollars by reporting that Assembly 2026 will receive no subsidy from the national office to support expenses, as has been done in the last 20 years. Assembly 2026 will instead pay for itself through registration. (Early online registration for the May 15-17, 2026, event in Indianapolis opens Sept. 1, 2025, and will be $365 until Nov. 30, when the price changes to $395.)

Following the board meeting, members of United Women in Faith continued to arrive at Scarritt Bennett for the weekend’s scheduled program advisory group meeting.

Audrey Stanton-Smith is editor of response.