WOMEN

Cumberland Presbyterian Women’s Ministry (CPWM) seeks to accept the love and joy of Jesus Christ through the ministry of women in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. We seek to do this as we pray, study God’s Word, and reach out to others through missions, service, encouragement, and fellowship opportunities. This goal is accomplished through diverse ministries on local, regional, and global denominational levels.

CPWM Convention – This annual event is held during General Assembly. It is a time of worship, education, fellowship, and business. During Convention, women worship together, engage in Bible study, participate in local outreach projects, elect new officers, learn about new projects and offerings, hear from Cumberland Presbyterian missionaries about their work, and award the CPWM Scholarship to a Bethel University student.

2016 Convention – This event was held in Nashville, TN, with more than 133 people present. There were 24 regional delegates, 1 youth delegate, 2 representatives from Japan, and 1 representative from Colombia. Field trips were available to Still Waters Single Parent Ministry (Murfreesboro), Jean Crowe Center, and Sacred Sparks. In-kind gifts were donated to all three ministries. The offering ($13,345) was for “Building a Promising Future,” a three-year focus to raise awareness of domestic violence in the Guatemalan public school system. This focus will continue through Convention 2018. Two projects were selected for the 2016-2017 program year: Missionary Furniture and Sacred Sparks. Cumberland Presbyterian Young Women – This new initiative seeks to invite and engage young women (post-high school up to age 35, in women’s ministry) activities unique to their needs and interests. In addition to the young women, this initiative is designed to involve and include women outside this age group as mentors, guides, and advocates at events, in regions, and presbyteries. A retreat was held in West Tennessee in February 2017 with 26 young women present. A similar retreat was planned for the fall of 2016 but did not take place due to low interest. The Rev. Abby Prevost is the consultant for this ministry. Mexico Immersion Trip – In March, a group of women from the United States traveled to Mexico to visit with and support the ministries of the Women’s Ministry in Mexico. The group participated in a women’s conference, joined in worship services, took part in a service project, and presented the women with the 2015 special project offering ($12,894).

First-Ever Latina Retreat – In March, Women’s Ministry sponsored the first-ever retreat for Latina women. It was held at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, AL (near Jasper/Birmingham). More than 25 women from five churches came together for an overnight retreat to build relationships, worship God, and learn together. We hope that this will become an annual event or that we can hold a similar retreat in another area of the church.