Women’s Division to Move Service Center
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Dana E. Jones, 212-870-3755
djones@gbgm-umc.org
The Women's Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries is moving distribution of resources for United Methodist Women from the Service Center in Cincinnati to the new Mission Resource Center in Dallas. The new center will be established by Jan. 1, 2007, in partnership with UMR Communications of Dallas.
All 25 staff positions at the Service Center will be eliminated. Service Center staff will continue working into the fall with some staying on until year's end to facilitate the transition. There will be no gap in service, and the Service Center toll-free number - 800-305-9857 - will remain the same during the transition and beyond. The e-store, accessible on the division's website - www.umwmission.org -- will continue.
Jan Love, Women's Division chief executive, thanked Service Center employees for their years of service.
"The Women's Division is deeply grateful to all those who faithfully staffed the Service Center across more than 60 years," Ms. Love said. "Their dedicated work to provide United Methodist Women and others in The United Methodist Church with resources to undergird our commitment to mission has been exemplary. Without the staff's personal attending to the needs of members and leaders of United Methodist Women, the organization's work would not have been possible. For these decades of remarkable service, we give thanks to God."
The Service Center was established in 1940. The current building, located at 7820 Reading Road in Cincinnati, was built in 1951.
The move comes after an evaluation of the Service Center found continuing operations at the Reading Road facility with current production processes was no longer financially sustainable, Ms. Love said. The partnership with UMR Communications will reduce overhead and move resource production and distribution to UMR Communications' state-of-the-art facilities.
A celebration of the center's history and current staff is being planned for Cincinnati, and professional staff will be honored at the Women's Division's meeting in Stamford, Ct., in October.
"This is a time when we need to feel the power of United Methodist Women's entire supportive community as we pray that God will continue to strengthen and uphold Service Center staff at this time of change," Ms. Love said. Messages of appreciation to Service Center staff can be sent to:
Service Center Staff
c/o Robert Bray
7820 Reading Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45222
The Women's Division is the national policy-making body of United Methodist Women, an organization of approximately 1 million members, whose purpose is to foster spiritual growth, develop leaders and advocate for justice. United Methodist Women members raise about $18 million each year for programs and projects related to women, children and youth in the United States and around the world. Members place nearly 35,000 orders for resources per year.
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