Quynh-Hoa Nguyen, a UMC missionary in Viet Nam, shares how patriarchal hierarchy, sociopolitical vulnerability, and an otherworldly, deterministic theology have reinforced fear and silence among the evangelical Christians in Viet Nam. She uses the Exodus story to challenge Vietnamese Christians to embrace courage and freedom, to find their voice, and to speak truth that has been silenced in the presence of power.

The Rev. Dorothy Macaulay, of the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, tells how God protected her family during the Liberian Civil War and then inspired her to overcome illness and adversity to become a leader in the Methodist Church in Africa.

The Rev. Dr. Patience Kisakye, from Uganda, serving in the Upper New York area of the United Methodist Church, and the Rev. Dr. J. Kabamba Kiboko, President of the African Clergywomen Association (from CongoDR serving in the West Ohio Conference), explain the purpose of the African United Methodist Clergywomen Association, and how it is helping build and shape African congregations and the communities while enhancing the participation of women, children, and youth who make up the majority of the population on the continent and across the church.

Dr. Hwa-Young Chong, of the Northern Illinois Area of the United Methodist Church, shares how the incarnation of God in human flesh liberates us from all dehumanizing systems and structures of the world, so that we may freely and joyfully participate in creating our world as a more loving, compassionate, and peaceful place to be.

In 1984, there were only two ordained clergywomen in the Zimbabwe Annual Conference. Today, Africa has more than 300 clergywomen. Beauty Rosebery Maenzanise, of the East Zimbabwe Area of the United Methodist Church, shares the struggles of the Rev. Anne-Grace Chingonzo, one of the first Zimbabwe clergywomen, and her struggle to gain acceptance, and how the words in a dream provided the inspiration to persevere.

Carmen Manalac-Scheuerman. Images of giving birth in the Philippines can be inspiring or traumatic. Let me quickly bring you to a few concepts, my personal experience of giving birth, pose some questions for reflections, and then connect these to this question: How does the metaphor of childbirth help us inform and transform our understanding of Birthing a Worldwide Church?

By Helen Manalac-Cunanan. This was the theme for our UM Clergywomen Convocation of the Manila Episcopal Area (MEA) held July 1–3, 2015 at the UM Mission Camp in Tagaytay City. Gatherings of clergywomen like this one address that desire within us to meet with sisters in the ministry. It also satisfies the hunger to meet with kindred spirits coming from the wider United Methodist connection.

By Rosanna C. Panizo. I am originally a Peruvian woman who grew up as a Methodist in Callao, the main port of Peru, where the first Methodist church was established in 1889. I remember spending the summers at Luisa’s house, my Methodist grandmother who used to live a couple of blocks from the beach, the Pacific Ocean. We used to walk to the beach almost every summer day after lunch and stay there to enjoy the sunsets. My other grandmother, Lastenia, was a fervent Roman Catholic, as was 90 percent of the Peruvian population.

By J. Kabamba Kiboko. This article will discuss the decision of the General Conference to create and fund a Global Theological Education Fund, to be administered by The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM), and the impact of this decision on central conferences in Africa. I maintain that this decision will keep us on the road to increasing the number of clergy members throughout Africa and especially the formation of clergywomen on the continent.

By Joaquina Filipe Nhanala. African sayings, stories, recalling to memory conversation of the elders in my family, are among my sources for self-education to aid in understanding what is important, as well as the expectations of my fellow African Christians as I use them as a source for the communication of the Gospel. Coupled with this are the informative thoughts that come from my participation in young people’s meetings as well as visits I have received from them.

By Nerissa Palafox. Accountability is the after- the- fact ownership of the results of all our endeavors. It is the commitment to honestly explain why things were done in a particular way. Accountability also includes accepting the consequences of decisions made to meet a specific agreement, ministry, or mission.

By Joaquina Filipe Nhanala. African sayings, stories, recalling to memory conversation of the elders in my family, are among my sources for self-education to aid in understanding what is important, as well as the expectations of my fellow African Christians as I use them as a source for the communication of the Gospel. Coupled with this are the informative thoughts that come from my participation in young people’s meetings as well as visits I have received from them.

By HiRho Y. Park. The first United Methodist Clergywomen’s Consultation occurred in 1975. Held approximately every four years, consultations provide a support system for clergywomen. In 2006, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) sponsored the International United Methodist Clergywomen’s Consultation in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the granting of full clergy rights to women in the Methodist tradition.