The History of CWU
At its founding, women of faith from three Christian women’s groups – Council of Women for Home Missions, the Committee on Women’s Work of the Foreign Missions Conference, and the National Council of Federated Church Women – representing 70 denominations convened in Atlantic City, New Jersey in December 1941 while bombs were being dropped and the world was at war. The movement was originally named the United Council of Church Women (UCCW). Their first actions advocating for peace in the world received publicity that reached Eleanor Roosevelt who requested the involvement of the UCCW in a conference at the White House on “How Women May Share in Post War Policy Making.”
In 1961, UCCW focused on the challenge of racism in a work named Assignment Race. It spoke to the vestiges of racism within the movement, the church, and the larger society. As a result, many members of the movement participated in the US Civil Rights Movement at leadership and background support levels. Until 1966, the movement remained under the umbrella of the National Council of Churches of Christ, at which time they became autonomous and chose the name Church Women United (CWU) in order to encourage a more diverse outreach to Christian women.
CWU began as a movement of prayer, action and advocacy by Christian women who demonstrated their willingness and eagerness to work together for mission and unity. In its Quadrennial Priorities for 2021-2024, CWU recognizes its position “to use its collective, regional and local influence to mobilize human, economic, legislative, and educational capital for the focused purpose of cultivating mutual good for all human beings.” Through prayer, study and worship, CWU continues to celebrate a diverse community of Christian sisterhood and action.
Our Roanoke Story
Formed in 1943, women of Roanoke working with the World Day of Prayer committee organized the Citywide Council of Church Women. They stated a two-fold purpose "to spread the gospel of Christ and to make Roanoke a better place to live." The first official act of the new organization was to participate in the Christian Mission on World Order held in Roanoke on November 12, 1943.
Today, Church Women United in Roanoke is a diverse group of women with 68 active members representing 35 congregations, 9 denominations, and four racial/ethnic groups.
CWU Roanoke holds five celebrations a year: Annual Meeting, World Day of Prayer, May Friendship Day, Fall Forum and World Community Day. During COVID 19, we formed a weekly prayer circle on Zoom. Our mission is organized into four kingdom-building action groups addressing different aspects of homelessness and hunger: Ten Commandments Walk, Family Food Assistance Team, End Homelessness Collaboration, and Community Engagement/Advocacy.
