Key Points:
- During General Conference, the Worldwide Craft Market is open daily except Sunday at the Hilton Garden Inn, a block from the Charlotte Convention Center.
- All profits from the sale of wares from Africa, the Philippines and Palestine go back into the pockets of the individuals selling their goods to support various ministries.
- Volunteers from the Love Your Neighbor Coalition and United Women in Faith of the Western North Carolina Conference are overseeing the shop, allowing delegates to focus on the work of the assembly.
Through sweatshirts and tote bags emblazoned with brightly colored designs and stitchwork, Juliet Nabukalu is empowering women in her rural Ugandan village to develop their own income in a post-COVID world.
And because of a group of committed volunteers from the Love Your Neighbor Coalition and the United Women in Faith of the Western North Carolina Conference Metro District, Nabukalu can focus her attention on serving as a reserve delegate for the Uganda-South Sudan Conference here in Charlotte.
“I’m teaching young girls, young mothers, vocational skills,” Nabukalu said. “I feel like God called me to do this.”
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During General Conference, the Worldwide Craft Market is open at the Hilton Garden Inn, a block from the Charlotte Convention Center, from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily except Sunday. All profits from the sale of wares from Africa, the Philippines and Palestine go back into the pockets of the individuals selling their goods to support various ministries.
“It’s all about building global relations,” said Priscilla A. Muzerengwa, a communicator from the Zimbabwe East Conference, who volunteered to coordinate these efforts. Muzerengwa also serves as a Global Communications Technology field project manager for United Methodist Communications.
Often delegates from central conferences bring items to sell to support ministries of their churches at home. But they have had to negotiate time to do it between worship, committee meetings, voting and other requirements expected of delegates.
“It gives a chance for delegates to focus on the work of the conference floor,” Muzerenga said. “The global market is bringing them relief.”
The Rev. Karen Nelson, a retired elder from the Oregon-Idaho Conference and assistant to the convener of Love Your Neighbor Coalition, said supporters have tried to set up a market like this at previous General Conferences, but for whatever reason, roadblocks kept it from happening.
General Conference photos
Love Your Neighbor Coalition is already using meeting space at the Hilton Garden Inn, so the nonprofit advocacy group was more than willing to dedicate one room to the market. Volunteers from the United Women in Faith staff the room throughout the week.
“We want delegates to be able to take 100 percent of their proceeds home with them,” Nelson said. “It’s important we do this because it gives people a way to sell their crafts to directly support their ministries.”
In addition to ringing up sales and keeping track of inventory, Diann Back and other volunteers have been doing a little shopping.
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“It is in our blood to support missions,” Back said. “It was a way for us to be part of General Conference and meet some interesting people.”
Nabukalu calls this market a “good initiative” for delegates trying to support their ministries at home.
“Someone is doing that work,” she said, “and you’re doing what you’re supposed to do.”
Nabukalu was called into this work after moving from the city to rural villages with her family post-COVID. She had never lived in a small village, and she admits that at first, she was depressed.
“I asked God to help me,” she said.
She grabbed a small speaker and started preaching to people in her village. She noticed that some young women who left school during COVID did not go back. They had small children, they were young, and they often lacked a source of income.
When Nabukalu started running her small business, a resale clothing boutique, she set up one sewing machine. She now has four. And she works with 15 women to create applique-designed sweatshirts using fabric scraps sewn together. The women also make reusable sanitary napkins for girls in nearby schools. They distributed a package to 150 girls at one school last year.
“I think I’m in the village of hope,” Nabukalu said. “This is what I’m supposed to do.”
Caldwell is the communications manager for the Oregon-Idaho Conference.
