Lake Junaluska Housing Reservations:

• Download our 2022 Annual Celebration Flyer for complete housing information!

COVID-19 Safety Measures

Click to download a PDF of our COVID-19 Safety Measures & Instructions – Annual Celebration 2022

The health and safety of our members and attendees is a top priority for United Women in Faith. We all want to meet in person, and experience the special gift of sharing time together for our annual celebration. To do that, we all need to lean hard into doing no harm, and making efforts to keep everyone safe. With that in mind, the following COVID-19 safety measures will be in place for our retreat:

• ALL participants are required to be fully vaccinated and up to date (boosted), and will need to provide proof of vaccination as part of our online registration. Click to see CDC Guidelines related to being fully vaccinated and up to date. As of May 24, 2022, “up to date” means you have received all doses in the primary series and all boosters recommended for you, when eligible, as defined by the CDC at this link. For many of you, that means all doses in the primary series AND BOTH boosters. Further, here is a link to the CDC Booster Tool to determine your “up to date” status.  Please be sure that the proof of vaccination that you provide shows that you are up to date, with all doses in the primary series and all boosters recommended for you, when eligible.
• Masks will be required for ALL participants while inside buildings. Appropriate social distancing will be encouraged.
• Participants agree that they will stay home if they have any symptoms of illness, have tested positive, or have a known recent exposure.
• Online registration will include confirmation by each participate of their commitment to follow our COVID-19 Safety Measures.

Instructions to upload your proof of vaccination:

• Take a picture of your vaccination card(s) with your phone.
• Click the share icon (see image at right) on the bottom left of your photo and email the picture to yourself. Select the mail icon, type in your email address, and send.
• On your computer, open the e-mail, download the photo, right-click on the photo, select save as. Save the photo to your desktop.
• Click the “Attach file” button on our online registration form just below the COVID-19 Safety Measures, select desktop folder, select your vaccination card photo, click open.
• Your photo will upload, and when it is complete you will see the file name below the attach file button.
• It is also ok to upload a PDF or a Word file with images of your vaccination card(s) if you have it that way. And, you can upload more than one file if you need to do that.
• Proceed to question confirming you will follow our COVID-19 Safety Measures.

Thank you for your understanding and help as we work to provide the safest possible environment and live out this covenant with all in-person attendees at the 2022 Annual Celebration.

Program Highlights:

Keynote Weekend Speaker:  Tamara Clark, Treasurer and CFO, United Women in Faith

Mission Speaker:  Tracey Owens, Deaconess serving at Brooks-Howell

Music Leader: Richard Ramsey

Other highlights:

• Workshops
• Hosting Missionaries for Lunch
• Late Night Entertainment
• Fellowship with your United Women in Faith Sisters
• Walks along the Lake and Gardens!

Hostess District:  Blue Ridge

Keynote Speaker:
Tamara Clark
Treasurer/CFO, United Women in Faith

Tamara Clark is a peacemaker at heart. She was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, into a nurturing and close-knit family that was and still is active in the community and church. At a young age she became involved in the ministries of Mid-Town Parish United Methodist Church, where she sang in the choir, helped lead the youth ministry, and was secretary for the local United Women in Faith’s group. She credits her church and women’s group with helping her to develop spiritually and telling her not to be afraid to lead.

Clark is a graduate of Temple University’s Fox School of Business. She is a certified public accountant who started her career in public accounting. She has since worked for two United Methodist annual conferences—in Eastern Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—and was elected treasurer and CFO of United Women in Faith in October 2019. She is grateful for the opportunity to work for an organization whose work she is passionate about.

Mission Speaker:
Tracey Stout Owens
Director of Activities, Brooks-Howell Home

Tracey was born and raised in Greensboro, NC. Her home church is Tabernacle United Methodist Church. Tracey is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro, with a degree in Business Administration & Economics. She is a member of First United Methodist Church in Marion, NC. She is active in the Psalter Choir and United Women in Faith, where she is the Vice-President & Spiritual Growth Coordinator. She is also active in United Women in Faith in the Western North Carolina Conference and the Blue Ridge District, where she serves as the Mission Education & Interpretation Coordinator.

Tracey is employed at Brooks-Howell Home in Asheville. Brooks-Howell is a Continuing Care Retirement Community, owned by the National United Women in Faith. She is on the Leadership Team there as the Director of Activities and is a Certified Dementia Practitioner.

Tracey is also a Deaconess in the United Methodist Church, where she is called to ministries of love, justice, and service. She was consecrated in 2014 at the UMW Assembly in Louisville, Kentucky and is appointed to Brooks-Howell Home as her ministry for and with older adults.  She resides in Marion with her son Samuel and two cats, Opal and Diana. Hobbies include shopping, traveling, Christmas decorating (particularly gingerbread décor), and ACC basketball (she is an avid Duke fan!)

Music Leaders:

Our music leaders for 2022 will be: Amy Johnson and Donna Cooke

Amy Johnson: Amy Johnson is no stranger to United Women in Faith. She has served in various offices on the local, district, and conference level, including Conference Treasurer and Conference President. Amy is the Music Director of Faith United Methodist Church in Rural Hall where she and her husband, Paul, are members. She has previously led music for Mission u, as well as for three national conferences of PAUMCS (Professional Administrators of The United Methodist Connectional Structure). Amy enjoys selecting music to go along with worship themes and seeing scripture come alive through music. Amy and her husband, Paul, make their home in Tobaccoville. They have one daughter, Jill; son-in-law, AJ; and two grandchildren, Dylan and Karley. Amy is retired and enjoys time with the family, playing the piano, cross stitching, traveling,

Donna Cooke: Donna Cooke began her career in traditional church worship at Central UMC in Mt. Airy where she served as Organist and Music Director for 28 years. She then worked for seven years in the Yadkin Valley District as Coordinator of Age Level Ministries and Vitality Strategist. Following retirement from that office, she continued her career in Traditional Worship Arts at Mt. Tabor UMC in Winston-Salem where she “re-retired” in June of 2019. Currently she is organist at Wesley Memorial UMC, in Winston-Salem.

Hands On Mission – Annual Celebration 2022:

• Our Hands-On Mission Opportunity for the 2022 Annual Celebration will be: UMCOR Hygiene Kits and the NEW UMCOR Menstrual Hygiene Kits.
  • UMCOR Hygiene Kits provide basic necessities to people who have been forced to leave their homes because of human conflict or natural disaster. Hygiene kits are also used as learning tools in personal hygiene, literacy, nutrition and cooking classes.
    • Kit Value: $12 per kit
    • Download: UMCOR Hygiene Kit Assembly Instructions (PDF) | UMCOR Page about UMCOR Hygiene Kits
  • UMCOR Menstrual Hygiene Kits provide basic necessities to support vulnerable menstruating populations. Menstrual Hygiene Kits are distributed during disasters, whether socio-economic or as the result of a natural occurrence.
    • Kit Value: $14 per kit
    • Download: UMCOR Menstrual Hygiene Kit Assembly Instructions and Information | UMCOR article about the NEW Menstrual Hygiene Kits
• Gift to Mission Cards – A Gift to Mission card honors someone in her or his name with an undesignated Gift to Mission of at least $5.00. Gift to Mission is one of the five channels of Mission Giving. Mission Giving supports the total program of mission carried out by United Women in Faith. With your gift, you honor someone, and you make a difference in the lives of women, children, and youth…around the world. Gift to Mission cards will be available in the registration room during Annual Meeting. [More information about Gift to Mission Cards] Celebrate someone special, brighten someone’s day, say thank you…send a Gift to Mission card!
• Gift in Memory Cards – A Gift in Memory honors the memory of a much-loved family member or friend by making possible additional mission work in the United States and around the world. Gift in Memory cards represent a gift of a minimum of $5.00. The cards can be obtained for free, so that they are readily available when needed. [More about Gift in Memory]

Other Information

• Registration will open at 2:00pm, upstairs in Harrell Center.
• Check in time at the Lake hotels is 4:00pm. You are encouraged to register before going to your accommodations, especially if you are arriving before 4:00PM.
• Singing will begin 15 minutes before each session.
• Again in 2022: Lunch on Sunday will NOT be included in the meal plan.
• Dress comfortably, wear good walking shoes. Bring a warm sweater and rain gear, just in case the weather is cool or rainy.
• Emergency Telephone Number: The Assembly’s switchboard number is 828-452-2881. Please leave this number with your family in case of an emergency.

Lake Junaluska is a beautiful place where you can spend some quiet time in reflection, study, and prayer with your United Women in Faith sisters.

Other Opportunities for Spiritual Growth and Reflection During Your Stay:

• The Memorial Chapel will be available for personal prayer time.
• The Susanna Wesley Gardens
• The International Prayer Room
• The Junaluska Cross
• Walking by the lake and enjoying the roses.