Regional WAW Model. The group adapted ideas from the previous WAW experiences and made the following changes to the model:

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Regional WAW Model. The group adapted ideas from the previous WAW experiences and made the following changes to the model:"

Betty Sparks
5 years ago
Views:

1 Regional WAW Model The Women's Action Web is a mission experience designed to help women look at their own communities with new eyes and fill the part of the women s ministries purpose statement that says we are to take personal responsibility for the mission of Jesus Christ in the world. WAW is a five to ten day long experience traveling through one or two regions which exposes women to a wide variety of service ministries to the least, the last and the lost in a community with foci on homeless issues, literacy, hunger, abuse, farm and migrant workers, etc. (this last piece not full sentence so I combined it with the other sentence) One of the training components of WAW is to help women evaluate needs and identify where to find or create resources to address and transform communities when they return home to their home regions. The women who attended the National WAW events returned to their regions renewed and transformed. They began ministries and became more involved within their communities. This experience has sparked the birth of teams of women hosting and planning WAW experiences within their own regions. Women are finding and creating resources to transform their communities and regions. The Oregon WAW 2009 experience is an excellent example of this new generation of WAW. The Oregon women s circle paid for two women to attend the 2006 trip based in Denver and two younger women to attend the 2008 trip based in Chicago. One woman from each of these trips and four other women ages plus met over six months to create the July 2009 Oregon WAW. The group adapted ideas from the previous WAW experiences and made the following changes to the model: we met for five days Friday evening Tuesday afternoon to allow weekday workers/students to take only 2 days off to participate we balanced our membership intentionally intergenerationally we stayed in a rustic setting rather than in hotels/hostels we used church vans for transport we did volunteer work each day as well as learning and observation we focused on one issue only hunger. The Oregon WAW was funded by a generous grant from the Women s Endowment Fund, a grant from the Oregon Regional Women s Circle, and from the $125 fee to attend the event. Most women received financial help to attend the event from their local congregations. Participants stayed on the far edge of the Portland metro area, ate their meals communally, started and ended their days with worship, and traveled each day together on two church vans, one driven by the father of one of our teenage participants. The group was made up of four teenagers, one young adult, five midlife Page 1 of 8

2 adults, and three senior women. Our members included a grandmother/granddaughter team, a mother/daughter team, and a daughter/father (van driver) team. We made the following visits: Friday: Portland First, making 350 sandwiches for feeding ministry Murray Hills Christian Harp Concert to benefit food pantry on site, $100 donation Saturday: Corvallis First Stone Soup, morning meal soup kitchen, serving, learning, donating $100 Murray Hills Christian Food Pantry, learning history of pantry, $100 donation Viewing movie Food, Inc. to learn one view of the food system in United States Dinner out at Café Yumm, restaurant begun at a farmer s market booth Sunday: Calvary Christian (new church start in Portland) worship and tour of the area for serving meals to the homeless, $100 donation Portland to deliver the 350 sandwiches to lunch in the park for homeless Salem First to prepare dinner for the Interfaith Hospitality Network program in Salem, co-sponsored by Salem First, ate at shelter and spent evening with the families there Monday: Silverton First to learn about the Wednesday night community dinners they host that serve people weekly, $100 donation Salem First Meals on Wheels program to learn about senior hunger and feeding programs, $100 donation Salem churches community garden to learn how to set up a church based community garden for the hungry Albany First to learn about a large community wide fundraiser with multiple congregations participating to meet needs of hungry neighbors, $100 donation Lebanon First soup kitchen, a 20 year ministry of 3 meals a week for hungry neighbors. Ate at the soup kitchen and heard from one of the organizers of the kitchen, a local author, Nancey West, who has written a prize winning book about the soup kitchen. We purchased 15 copies of the book, all proceeds going to the soup kitchen. Page 2 of 8

In our final session, our leaders told the group they would each be eligible for a $50 grant to do something new in their home congregations to meet hunger needs locally.

local homeless teens; and $200 to The View Christian to purchase dishes and shelving in a local shelter where they routinely donate dinners.

3 In our final session, our leaders told the group they would each be eligible for a $50 grant to do something new in their home congregations to meet hunger needs locally. Three grants to clusters of participants were granted several months after the WAW: $200 to launch a community garden at Medford First Christian; $200 to Salem First to help in a feeding program with local homeless teens; and $200 to The View Christian to purchase dishes and shelving in a local shelter where they routinely donate dinners. The Oregon Women s Circle hopes to do another WAW in 2011 and is now creating a team to plan the event. Women from neighboring regions will be invited to participate. Contact Cathy Myers Wirt, or odmail@oregondisciples.org for further information. bulletin board at Salem FCC Stone Soup Kitchen Corvallis Billie Watkins and Abby Perry Page 3 of 8

4 Stone Soup, Corvallis Susan Leip and Abby Perry serving at Group minus one member Vanessa Gorski and Liz Cronin Making sandwiches at Portland FCC, Page 4 of 8

5 fun on the bus Hospitality network Making dinner for Interfaith Getting food read to serve Page 5 of 8

6 Interfaith Hospitality Network Quiche we made from farm fresh ingredients for Learning about Calvary Ministries Susan and Vanessa Page 6 of 8

7 Alison Lasher Alison Lasher/Evelyn Harry, granddaughter/grandmother both on planning team Cathy Myers Wirt behind them opening up van for next leg of the journey Page 7 of 8

8 At the community garden learning the process from Susan Latham, one of the planners and member of the Denver WAW trip Page 8 of 8

COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS

The Columbia Food Bank COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS For over 40 years, Saint Paul Episcopal Church has been feeding people. We began with a daily hot lunch program, which over time developed into a food