RENEW Network
Press ReleaseOctober 13,2011
Women's Division Directors
"Occupy Wall Street" 

 

WD Directors at Fall 2011
 
On Sunday, Oct. 9, during the Women's Division annual fall board meeting, a group of directors headed down to Wall Street to show their support for the "occupiers".  Their public show of solidarity was expressed through signs with scripture, slogans and a brief interview.  View the video HERE.
 
With net assets of 60 million dollars and a stock portfolio that would marvel any Fortune 500 company, it seems ironic that the leaders of United Methodist Women would be outraged at the very entity that provides such fruitful returns on their investment dollars.  The generous annual giving of United Methodist Women combined with the financial prowess of the Women's Division has enabled the organization to become the most wealthy within the church. They receive no apportionment monies from the general church budget.
 
With a declining membership and aging demographic, the organization will rely heavily on their financial portfolio of stocks, properties, and endowment funds.
 
At General Conference 2012, the Women's Division will introduce legislation that would structurally separate the organization from the General Board of Global Ministries and become a free-standing agency within the United Methodist Church.
 
The Women's Division directors join a growing list of religious leftists participating in the loosely defined movement, including Jim Wallis of Sojourners and Shane Claiborne, who has compared the "occupiers" to St. Francis of Assisi.
 
Signs carried by the directors included quotes taken from the 2008 Book of Resolutions #4056 on Greed which included:
  • "Reduce concentration of wealth in the hands of a few."
  • "Eliminate government support programs for the wealthy at the expense of the rest of us."
  • "There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but there is not enough for everyone's greed."--Gandhi