By Loretta Fulton

United Women in Faith, a national organization with regional chapters, will meet in Abilene Nov. 8-9.

The unifying conference will be held in two parts, Friday and Saturday. The Friday portion of the meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at St. James United Methodist Church, will be the last for the Northwest Texas Annual Conference chapter of United Women in Faith. Saturday’s meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the McMurry University campus center, will be the first for the Horizon Texas chapter of United Women in Faith.

The Horizon Texas Conference was formed from three previous United Methodist annual conferences–Northwest Texas, Central Texas, and North Texas. A unifying conference to form the Horizon Texas Conference was held at the Abilene Convention Center on Sept. 28. 

The new conference officially comes into being on Jan. 1, 2025. That also is the date that the Horizon Texas chapter of United Women in Faith takes effect. On that date, the former Northwest Texas Annual Conference will become known as the Northwest Texas District of the Horizon Texas Conference. 

For Friday’s meeting at St. James UMC, 3100 Barrow St., women are asked to bring fruit, snacks, juice boxes, and arts and craft items for for children whose parents are in classes offered by PADRES (Parenting Awareness & Drug Risk Education Services). 

“The target population is parents with children under 6 years of age or expecting parents who have risk factors of a substance use disorder,” a flier says. 

United Women in Faith is the women’s mission organization of the United Methodist Church whose membership is open to Christian women from denominations. The conference on Saturday will be a combination of worship, official business, lunch, and luncheon speaker.

“Together we’ll sing and celebrate our new unified conference,” a message on the Horizon Texas United Women in Faith website says.

Sally Vonner

Saturday’s conference will include lunch and keynote speaker Sally Vonner, national General Secretary and CEO of United Women in Faith. Carolyn Cobb is president of the Northwest Texas Conference UWF and will be a member of the Program Advisory Group (PAG) in the Horizon Texas Conference chapter. 

“I will be one of a number of PAGs across the nation who help connect our conference and the national office so that there is more regional understanding,” Cobb said. 

Purpose of the conference, Cobb said, will be the unification of the three conference chapters to become the Horizon Texas chapter, election of officers, and a celebration of the United Women in Faith’s 2024 work to improve the lives of women, children, and youth across the world. 

Two Abilene women, both members of St. James UMC, are among the candidates for office in the Horizon Texas Conference United Women in Faith. Brenda Breeden is a candidate for vice president and Donna Watkins is a candidate for the Committee on Nominations Class of 2026.