GCSRW Board welcomes new staff, approves 2026 budget, and advances strategic initiatives

Glenview, Ill — The General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW) convened its Fall 2025 Board of Directors Meeting on September 18–19 at Wespath Benefits and Investments in Glenview, Ill. Led by Rev. Stephanie York Arnold, GCSRW’s general secretary, and Bishop Delores J. Williamston, board president, the board gathered for worship, organizational updates, and business actions aligned with GCSRW’s four pillars -- monitoring, sexual ethics, leadership and education -- to continue challenging The UMC for the full and equal participation of women.

Prior to the start of the meeting, board members and staff visited the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum in Chicago, a gathering place where immigrants from diverse backgrounds found a place of community, support and assistance. The visit highlighted the pioneering leadership of women in the late 1800s who demonstrated social reform by providing housing, childcare, education, arts programming, and more. The visit set the tone and theme for the board meeting.

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Your Data Matters: Share Your Conference’s Monitoring Report

Did you know that GCSRW is mandated by the Book of Discipline to monitor the programmatic and administrative functions of the UMC for inclusiveness? One way that we do this is through monitoring at Annual Conferences.

The data gathered at these conferences helps us to have a fuller understanding of the voices that are being heard and those that are less present.

Have you submitted your Annual Conference's Monitoring Report yet? Send them to [email protected] so that you can be part of the larger narrative that GCSRW shares about the participation women in the church.

Happy Birthday, GCSRW!

On September 18, the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW) celebrated 53 years of ministry. Sixteen years after women were granted ordination rights in 1956, The United Methodist Church recognized the ongoing need to strive for women’s full equality within the Church—work that continues today.

Join us in continuing the celebration! In honor of 53 years, we invite you to give a gift of $53 to support and sustain GCSRW’s mission.

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Why it matters to take complaints seriously

By: Rev. Dr. Tyler Schwaller, GCSRW's director of sexual ethics

I think a lot about complaints. I think about what gives rise to complaints, how easy it is to complain about some things, while it can feel impossible to name what hurts us most. I think about who hears complaints and what they do with them. And I think often about processes for addressing complaints.
It’s my job to think about these things. Before becoming the director of sexual ethics for the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women (GCSRW), I was the Title IX Coordinator for a public PK–12 school system, where I facilitated the district’s response to reports of harassment and discrimination. For years, I’ve been hearing a lot of complaints.

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Bakery ministry empowers women in Zimbabwe

By Eveline Chikwanah
Sept. 19, 2025| CHITUNGWIZA, Zimbabwe (UM News)

Women in Chitungwiza Marondera are rising in their communities through a new baking initiative funded by United Women in Faith.

Divine Grace Bakery is one of four baking projects in the Zimbabwe Episcopal Area funded by a $20,000 grant from the women’s organization of The United Methodist Church.

An initial group of 52 women was trained in October of 2024; 30 members continue to meet twice a week to bake buns to sell in their communities. Divine Grace Bakery comprises women of all ages and backgrounds — youth, married women, single parents, seniors and widows. Read the UM News story.