[By Leanne Nakanishi, President of UMW]

Over 350 participants were present for the California-Pacific Conference United Methodist Women’s “Mission u” (formerly known as the School of Christian Mission) this past week at Biola University.

This 3-day spiritual and educational weekend offered classes focusing on deepening one’s spirituality and engagement in mission, The People of Roma (the largest minority group in Europe), and Poverty (understanding the realities of poverty and commitment to advocacy).

Cal-Pac is proudly the only Conference in the world offering classes in English, Korean, Spanish, and Tongan for adults, young people, youth, and children, facilitated by top clergy and lay scholars.  Cal-Pac UMW also created a “bridging class” for young women 18-23 offering one on one intergenerational learning and growing together spiritually, which was being used as a model for other Conferences.

There were 3 incredible plenary sessions filled with worship and music led by Rev. Greg Norton, giving an overview of our 3 studies and how they connected to our 4 top initiatives:  Climate Change, Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking, and Immigration.

In addition, a fun part of the weekend was “Interest Groups.”  These were 45-minute workshops designed to be educational as well as entertaining.   They included:

• our 4 National Mission Projects – David and Margaret, Neighborhood House of Calexico, Susannah Wesley Community Center, and Toberman
• our 4 initiatives – God’s Love Languages (prayer and meditation), Praise Hula, Sacred Spa, Self Defense, and Social Media

This time was surely a gift from God as women from across the Conference had the opportunity for reconnecting and making new friends while being spiritually renewed and energized to make a difference in the lives of others.

There is so much to share, so do not hesitate to invite UMW to present a program on Mission u.

Please check out our website at www.cal-pac.org/UMW for more information.