The 2010 Nebraska Mennonite Women's Retreat will be held March 6 & 7 at Leadership Center in Aurora, Nebraska.  Cindy Hostetler from Phoenix Arizona is the speaker.  Her topic will be "Prayer: A Lifestyle and Legacy."

"Ah, retreat!  The very word relaxes..."
Read an account of the September MW retreat at Swan Lake.


Central Plains Mennonite Conference
Mennonite Women
2009-2010 Officers

President          
Edie Tschetter (2010)
Freeman, SD
letschettergwtc.net
                          
Vice-President      
Carol Janzen (2010)
Henderson, NE
janzroycmainstaycomm.net

Secretary          
Phyllis Hofer (2011)
Marion, SD
                                                  
Treasurer          
Lauralee Kauffman (2010)
Iowa City, IA
ndkauff448pol.net

Member-at-Large      
Eva Harder (2010)
Mt. Lake, MN
                          
Member-at-Large      
Bethany Shetler (2011)
Wellman, IA

Women in Conversation: Living a Life of Gratitude is coming to Crosswind Retreat Center in Hesston, Kansas, April 30-May 2, 2010. Featuring keynote speaker Megan Ramer of Chicago Illinois, and worship leader Treva Greaser of Wichita, Kansas, this women’s retreat is an opportunity to focus on your spiritual journey - body, mind, soul and spirit. Women of all ages and walks of life are invited for a time of conversation, worship, laughter, prayer and renewal.

Keynote sessions have Spanish translation headsets available. One workshop will be given in Spanish with English translation headsets.
Register by March 1 to receive early discount, visit www.laurelville.org or call 800.839.1021  

Commuter registration is $110 and includes all meals; additional rooms are blocked at Econo-Lodge. A limited number of scholarships are available and requests will be processed after March 1, with priority given to young women and women of color.

The retreat will also be held at Laurelville in Mt Pleasant, PA, April 9-11, 2010.  Women in Conversation retreats are co-sponsored by Mennonite Women USA and Laurelville.

Financial Support for Mennonite Women
To be able to continue the important work that is now in place, the executive committee of Central Plains Mennonite Women strongly encourages each woman to contribute $20 to support Mennonite Women USA projects.   Where is that money used?

    * Sister-Link relationships help to connect with our global church.
    * International Women’s Fund scholarships support women studying for church leadership training around the world.
    * Leadership resources provide for conference MW executives who plan area retreats, nurture and outreach for women.
    * timbrel magazine, to expand the voice of women in the Mennonite Church.
    * Women in Conversation retreats will be offered in the Midwest and the East.
    * Sister-Care Seminars (one is scheduled for Southeast Iowa in November 2010) develop new circles of care for women – perhaps these are a new type of Sowing Circle – sowing seeds of compassion.
    * Expand the web site at www.MennoniteWomenUSA.org and support our Postcard & Prayer monthly e-letter.
    * Speak to many issues in the church.

Please note:  Mennonite Women USA receives no funding from the larger church.  All of the funding for the above comes from group and individual contributions and subscriptions to timbrel magazine. 

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Thank You to all the Mennonite Women groups who are supporting the offering projects!  We have had such a good response to the MEDA project (see below).  Thanks too for supporting Mennonite Central Committee projects in cash and material aid and all the local projects that your groups are doing.   Your support is helping so many people in need.                                               --Lauralee Kauffman, Treasurer

2009-2010 Central Plains MW Project
At the June Central Plains MW annual meeting in Freeman, SD, it was decided to support the two projects that relate to women through MEDA that are listed below.  Last year we raised over $8,000 for African and Latin American women theologians to travel to Mennonite World Conference in Paraguay.  The recipients very much appreciated our efforts.  Thank you to each one of you who helped make that possible.

Pathways & Pursestrings
Life is hard for poor, marginalized women in Pakistan, where more than a third live on less than $1 a day. MEDA's Pathways & Pursestrings project is helping 16,000 women in the embroidery, glass bangle, dairy and seedling businesses access valuable markets for their goods so they can increase their standard of living using skills they already have. With a gift of only $70, you can help one woman start and grow her own business, so she can lift her family out of poverty!

"Through the Garden Gate" Kitchen Gardens
Despite immense challenges, women in war-torn Afghanistan are eager to earn a living through horticulture. Kitchen gardens are ideal for Afghan women: They allow them to remain in their home compound, where they can care for their children while they work. By learning better agricultural techniques, they are able to improve their yields, feed their family and sell the surplus in their community. Your gift of $50 can provide seeds and tools for one woman to grow a simple kitchen garden.
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We’d like to hear what the women’s group in your congregation is doing throughout the year?  All of us would like some new ideas to bring renewed energy to our work.  We would like this website to be a place to share ideas and activities that have worked in your group.

Please send your information to letschettergwtc.net or janzroycmainstaycomm.net