Church Women United (CWU) is a national ecumenical Christian women's movement representing

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

and other Christian women. Founded in 1941, as the United Council of Church Women, this organization has more than 1,200 local and state units in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. CWU's members represent 26 supporting denominations and organizations.Church Women United
Official web site. URL accessed on 07/08/2006. Offices are located in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Mission and services

Church Women United's mission is to be a racially, culturally, and theologically inclusive Christian women's movement celebrating

unity in diversity Unity in diversity is used as an expression of harmony and unity between dissimilar individuals or groups. It is a concept of "unity without uniformity and diversity without fragmentation" that shifts focus from unity based on a mere tolerance ...

and working for a world of peace and justice, specifically for women and children. CWU strives to provide for its members resources and information on a range of social justice issues, opportunities for worship and action, and a network of women and women's organizations working to ensure a better world for all. Church Women United holds four annual

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...

celebrations: World Day of Prayer, Human Rights Day, May Friendship Day, and World Community Day. These ecumenical worship celebrations are the centerpiece of CWU's ecumenical life and spiritual thrust. Each is celebrated around an annual theme, written by CWU members. World Day of Prayer takes place on the first Friday in March, and brings together in prayer women from 170 countries. The Human Rights Celebration began as a national event, in support of the UN

Human Rights Day Human Rights Day is celebrated annually around the world on 10 December every year. The date was chosen to honor the United Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Right ...

, and is now celebrated as a local unit event to honor individuals and groups who have done outstanding work in the field of

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

. As a local celebration it can be held at any time during the year. First observed in 1933, May Friendship Day focuses on "creative and healing relationships" that exist in local communities, often including intergenerational activities, ecumenical Bible study and worship, and opportunities for action in one's local community. It is typically celebrated on the first Friday in May each year. On World Community Day, first observed in 1939, Christian women pray and do projects that work towards global peace. It is an inclusive worship service, now adapted to include opportunities for interfaith participation and worship, to further CWU's commitment to peace and justice among all peoples and nations. It is typically celebrated during the first weekend in November. Church Women United History
from CWU official web site. URL accessed on 07/08/2006. The International Fellowship of the Least Coin (FLC) is a worldwide ecumenical movement of prayer for peace and reconciliation. Persons in this movement make a commitment to spend time in prayer, and to uphold in prayer others who are victims of jealousy, hatred, violence, and injustice. Every time one prays, she sets aside a "least coin" of her currency as a tangible token of her prayer. CWU is the custodian for FLC offerings in the United States. Every four years CWU adopts a quadrennial priority to focus its social justice advocacy and action on a specific area or areas of need. The priority is used to guide CWU's work at the local, state and national levels. The priority for 2008–2012 is "Building a World Fit for All God's Children". This theme further breaks down into four "building blocks": health, economic justice, environmental care and peace. The priority for 2017–2020 is "Learning and Leading …Using the Principles of God’s Word," with the four "building blocks" being human rights, hunger and poverty, health and wellness, and diversity and inclusiveness.

History

In 1941, three organizations – the Council of Women for Home Missions, the Committee on Women's Work of the Foreign Missions Conference, and the National Council of Federated Church Women – combined to form one national organization representing women from seventy Christian denominations. The new organization was originally called the United Council of Church Women (UCCW). The founders of Church Women United met in Atlantic City, NJ in December, 1941, while bombs were dropping on Pearl Harbor and the world was at war. Their first action, upon convening, was to circulate a petition signed by 84,000 church women "urging the United States at the signing of the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...

, to join and take its full responsibility in a world organization." The action received wide publicity in the media, encouraging

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

to later involve the leaders of CWU in a conference at the White House on " How Women May Share in Post War Policy Making". Such action remains typical for CWU today, as its quest for informed prayer and prayerful action continues. Women in the movement affirm that prayer and action are inseparable and that both have immeasurable influence in the world.

Current locations

As of 2017, there are CWU units in: Arizon
(State Office)
Californi
(South Bay)(Southern California)(Northern California)
Connecticut Florid
(State Office)
Massachusett
(Cape Cod, MA)
Michigan New Mexic
(State Office)
New Yor
(State Office)(Rochester)
North Carolin
(State Office)
North Dakot
(State Office)
Orego
(State Office)
South Carolin
(Columbia, SC)
Texa
(Austin, TX)
Virgini
(State Office)
Wisconsi
(Madison, WI)
Michigan

Affiliated denominations

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexional polity. The African Methodist Episcopal ...

, Women's Missionary Society * African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Women's Home and Overseas Missionary Society *

American Baptist Churches in the USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainli ...

, American Baptist Women's Ministry *

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...

,Disciples Women
Official web site. URL accessed on 07/08/2006. Christian Women's Fellowship * Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Women's Missionary Council *

Church of God (Anderson) Church of God is a name used by numerous denominational bodies. The largest denomination with this name is the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) Adventist Churches of God * Church of God General Conference (Church of God of the Ab ...

, Women of the Church of God * Community of Christ, Women's Ministries Commission * Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Cumberland Presbyterian Women * TEpiscopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church Women *The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Women of the ELCA * International Council of Community Churches, Women's Christian Fellowship * Korean American Church, Ecumenical Women's Fellowship *The

Mar Thoma Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India'. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar ...

, The Diocese of NA and Europe – Mar Women's Evangelistic Services *The

Mennonite Church USA The Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the United States. Although the organization is a recent 2002 merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church, the body has roots in the Ra ...

, Mennonite Women * Moravian Church in America – North, North Provincial Women's Board * Moravian Church in America – South, South Provincial Women's Board * National Baptist Convention of America, Women's Missionary Union * National Baptist Convention USA, The Women's Department * Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Women *

Progressive National Baptist Convention The Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), incorporated as the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., is a mainline predominantly African-American Baptist denomination emphasizing civil rights and social justice. The headquarte ...

* Reformed Church in America, Reformed Church Women's Ministries *

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

, Society of Friends Women *

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

Women's Ministry
/ref> *

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

,United Methodist Women
{{webarchive, url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20060505204605/http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/ , date=2006-05-05 Official web site. URL accessed on 07/08/2006 United Methodist Women

Archival Collections of Church Women United

Berkeley-Albany Church Women United
Graduate Theological Union Archives

Texas/Dallas History & Archives, Dallas Public Library
Church Women United in Houston Records
1911–2011, University of Houston Libraries Special Collections
Church Women United in Illinois Records
Black Metropolis Research Consortium, University of Chicago
Church Women United In Kansas
Kansas Historical Society
Church Women United Naperville
Women and Leadership Archives Loyola University Chicago

United Methodist Church General Commission on Archives and History

References

External links

Church Women United
Official web site

University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries (UTSA Libraries) The University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries (UTSA Libraries) is the academic library of The University of Texas at San Antonio, a state research university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. UTSA Libraries consists of the John Peace Librar ...

Special Collections. *Church Women United Albuquerque, New Mexico Uni
Web Site
Christian organizations based in the United States Christian women's organizations Christian organizations established in 1941 Christianity and society in the United States 1941 establishments in the United States