By Virginia M. Barney

Executive Director

The Neighborhood Center, Inc.

Utica, New York

I noticed with a special feeling of affinity that the program for the Mohawk District UMW’s fall meeting was Women Transcending Boundaries. In many ways, that has been the history of the Neighborhood Center.

As many of you know, we were founded in 1905 by the Women’s Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. All of the Center’s executive directors, for 102 years, have been women.

And without meaning to slight all the good menfolk in the Church and at the Center, it is safe to say that when it comes to nurturing the human spirit, women historically have taken the lead.

In reading about the Mohawk District fall meeting, I also took note that Women Transcending Boundaries is a Central New York group that was organized after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and continues to bring women of diverse faiths and cultures together.

As director of a human services agency, I also feel a special affinity with that group’s mission. For although nothing we encounter on a daily basis in serving people’s needs can compare to those horrible terrorist attacks, it is important to remember that other “attacks” on people’s spirits and well-being require the same coming together with a shared sense of mission:

Continuing a heritage of combating poverty, discrimination and other social ills;

Having a positive impact by breaking down barriers to peace and justice;

Helping to build a better future by helping people find the strength, skills and opportunities they need to help themselves.

Women — and Men — Transcending Boundaries. That describes the partnership in mission of the United Methodist Church and the Neighborhood  Center.