September's MW Retreat:

"Ah, retreat!  The very word relaxes..."
Read an account of the September MW retreat at Swan Lake.

Upcoming Event

Southeast Iowa Fall Meeting

6:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 4

at West Union Mennonite Church

Jane Yoder-Short will speak on "Sifting in a Lumpy World: Learning from feisty, faithful, sifting sisters."  Learn from sisters that were sifters of culture in the Bible, the 16th century and in today's culture.  How are we sifters in the world around us?  How do we learn to sift through culture for what is holy?

Here is the flyer and reservation form.  The cost is $10 per person ($12 after October 28).

Central Plains Mennonite Conference
Mennonite Women
2009-2010 Officers

President           
Edie Tschetter (2010)
Freeman, SD
letschettergwtc.net
                           
Vice-President       
Carol Janzen (2010)
Henderson, NE
janzroycmainstaycomm.net

Secretary           
Phyllis Hofer (2011)
Marion, SD
                                                   
Treasurer           
Lauralee Kauffman (2010)
Iowa City, IA
ndkauff448pol.net

Member-at-Large       
Eva Harder (2010)
Mt. Lake, MN
                           
Member-at-Large       
Bethany Shetler (2011)
Wellman, IA

Updates from the Central Plains MW Executive Committee

As the economy struggles in our nation, our church agencies are also struggling financially.  We want to be able to continue the important work that is now in place so we strongly encourage you to support MW USA projects by each woman contributing $20.  Where is that money used?

• Sister-Link relationships - help to connect and build our global church
• International Women’s Fund scholarships - support women studying for church leadership training around the world 
• Leadership resources – provide for conference women executives who plan area retreats, nurture and outreach for women
• timbrel magazine - to expand the voice of women in the Mennonite Church
• Women in Conversation denominational retreats - to be offered in the Midwest and the East
• Sister-Care seminars (one is scheduled in S.E. Iowa, Now. 2010)- develop new circles of care for women – perhaps these are a new type of Sowing Circle – sowing seeds of compassion
• Expand Web site at www.MennoniteWomenUSA.org and send our Postcard & Prayer monthly e-letter
• Speak to many issues in the church

Please note:  Mennonite Women USA receives no funding from the larger church.  All of the funding for the above comes from group and individual contributions and subscriptions to timbrel magazine. 

THANK YOU  for the support that Central Plains MW groups have shown to Central Plains Mennonite Conference, Mennonite Women USA as well as to other Mennonite organizations such as Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), and local projects.

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2009-2010 Central Plains MW Project

At the June Central Plains MW annual meeting in Freeman, SD, it was decided to support the two projects that relate to women through MEDA that are listed below.  Last year we raised over $8,000 for African and Latin American women theologians to travel to Mennonite World Conference in Paraguay.  The recipients very much appreciated our efforts.  Thank you to each one of you who helped make that possible.

Pathways & Pursestrings
Life is hard for poor, marginalized women in Pakistan, where more than a third live on less than $1 a day. MEDA's Pathways & Pursestrings project is helping 16,000 women in the embroidery, glass bangle, dairy and seedling businesses access valuable markets for their goods so they can increase their standard of living using skills they already have. With a gift of only $70, you can help one woman start and grow her own business, so she can lift her family out of poverty!

Kitchen Gardens
Despite immense challenges, women in war-torn Afghanistan are eager to earn a living through horticulture. Kitchen gardens are ideal for Afghan women: They allow them to remain in their home compound, where they can care for their children while they work. By learning better agricultural techniques, they are able to improve their yields, feed their family and sell the surplus in their community. Your gift of $50 can provide seeds and tools for one woman to grow a simple kitchen garden.
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We’d like to hear what the women’s group in your congregation is doing throughout the year?  All of us would like some new ideas to bring renewed energy to our work.  We would like this website to be a place to share ideas and activities that have worked in your group. 

Please send your information to letschettergwtc.net or janzroycmainstaycomm.net

From Hutterthal Mennonite Church, Freeman, S.D.  "For the past number of years, our Mennonite Women group has held a Christmas Cookie Walk in Freeman.  We bake lots of cookies and make candies which are sold to raise money for a specific project.  The local people love it because they don’t have to bake so many cookies to have a variety on hand for the holidays.  A very good fund-raiser and fun, too!"