It was the winter of 1881, when Eliza A. Cox learned that many women from the Friends had joined a Woman's Foreign Missionary Society that had just been organized in the village by another church. A thought seized her. If our women were joining a missionary society of another denomination, it indicated a willingness and desire on their part to engage in such work, but there was no provision in our denomination for the expression of this desire. Eliza suddenly found herself in the grip of a beautiful vision. The Woman's Missionary Society was formed.

In 1917 the name was changed to Women's Missionary Union allowing the word missionary to cover the enlarging work of Friends at home and abroad. At the conference held in May 1948, one item of business was to change the name once again. There was fear lest our concern for missions would be neglected. A spirit of harmony prevailed. From that year on our organization was to be known as the UNITED SOCIETY OF FRIENDS WOMEN.

USFW Meetings 2008

• Sunday, March 2: Luncheon 12:30 PM: "Costa Rica"
• Thursday, May 1: Luncheon, Noon: Writing Group shares their stories
• Thursday, October 2: Luncheon, Noon: "Hidden in Plain View"–Harriet Kittle
• Thursday, December 4: Luncheon, Noon: Christmas Program, Music by Whittier Friends School
  

Interest Groups

• Spiritual Growth Group - Tuesday (weekly) 6:30 a.m. - Smith Fellowship Hall
• Senior Sneaks - Monthly: see church bulletin or ask in the office
• Quilting/Needlework Group - Fourth Monday of the month 10 a.m. - Smith Fellowship Hall
• Morning Reading Group - Second Thursday 10 a.m. - In homes of members, Sabron Newton, chair
• Card Crafters - Third Thursday 9 a.m. - noon, Smith Fellowship Hall
• Shawl Ministry -Third Thursday 1-4 p.m. - Smith Fellowship Hall
• Cookies for Youth - Watch Church bulletin for information
  

Mission Projects

• Friends United Meeting field representatives in Ramallah, Kenya, Belize, Jamaica, Chicago Fellowship of Friends.
• Mowa Choctaw Friends Center - McIntosh, AL
• Friends Lugulu Hospital - Kenya, East Africa
• Rehard-Nugent support, FTC, Kenya

Local Missions

• Women's and Children's Crisis Center
• Whittier Area First Day Coalition
• H.O.W. House
• Interfaith Food Center
• Whittier Friends School
• Bridge of Faith

USFW Reading Books for 2008-09

• Celebrating Whittier…America’s 1907 Centennial - by Pamela Fenner
• Compassion, the Painful Privilege - by Dan Nolta
• EarthLight; Spiritual Wisdom for an Ecological Age - edited by Cindy Spring and Anthony Manousos
• First Mothers: The Women Who Shaped the Presidents - by Bonnie Angelo
• Levi’s Will - Dale Cramer
• Plain Living, A Quaker Path to Simplicity - by compiled by Catherine Whitmire
• Prayerbook for Spiritual Friends, - by Madeleine L’Engle and Luci Shaw
• Quaker Summer - Lisa Samson
• Swimming In It - Patricia Wild
• This Side of Peace, A Personal Account - Hanan Ashrawi
• Two Old Women, An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival- Velma Wallis
• View of the Ocean- Jan DeHartog
• Weedflower- Cynthia Kadohata
• Women and Quakerism in the 17th Century - Christine Trevett



USFW Reading Books for 2005-2006

• Broken By You: Men's Role in Stopping Woman Abuse - Morton Paterson
• Broken We Kneel: Reflections on Faith & Citizenship - Diana Butler Bass
• Deep Wells, Dry Springs and Crooked Creeks - Willie Frye
• Every Thursday: A Warm, Loving Look at Grandparenting - Bill and Pat Coleman
• Lives that Speak: Stories of 20th Century Quakers - edited by Marnie Clark
• My American Eden: Mary Dyer, Martyr for Freedom - Elizabeth S. Brinton
• Naked Fruit: Getting Honest about the Fruit of the Spirit - Elisa Moegan
• No Shame, No Fear - historical fiction by Ann Turnball
• Walk Worthy of your Calling - Stories of Quakers today, edited by Margery Post and Peggy Senger Parsons
  
• Pamphlets from Kenya:
• Acacia Reflections: The First Year in Africa - Mary Kay Rehard
• Quaker Origins, Worship & Identity: Reflections from Kenya - Donald B. Thomas
• Signs of a Healthy Church: Pathway to the Future for Friends - Mary Kay Rehard
• Simple Gifts: Household Ecology in Africa - Mary Kay Rehard
• Stars in Africa - Mary Kay Rehard
• Widows and Orphans: "True Religion" for Friends - Simon Bulimoh and Patrick Nugent