ST. CLOUD — "When I walked into this church, I saw a congregation only able to minister to older people," said the Rev. Deborah McKown, pastor of First United Methodist Church, St. Cloud. "They were hungering for a way to minister to the younger people that came into the church."

Three years later, McKown and church members are reaching younger people through the United Methodist Women (UMW) and a series of teas that allow women under the age of 55 to meet each other and become familiar with ministries the UMW offers.

The idea for the teas was born when McKown and several other women started listing names of younger women in the congregation. "We shocked ourselves with how many names of younger women we had," she said.

The group invited the women listed to an informal social event that would give them a chance to talk with each other in a relaxed atmosphere. McKown said the format for the events came from teas her grandmother used to hold with "lots of good food and loud talking."

Twenty of the 22 women invited attended the first event.

Each one introduced herself, explained where she was from and shared one fact about herself that nobody else in the group knew. The personal revelations stimulated conversations, McKown said, and soon the larger group had divided into several smaller groups.

The groups talked about parenting books, attending spiritual renewal programs together and starting Bible study groups. "They were coming up with ideas on their own," McKown said, adding that many of the suggested activities are programs the UMW already offers.

After someone suggested the group meet every month, McKown distributed forms on which each guest wrote the types of programs they would like to attend, days they could meet, and whether they needed child care. By the end of the evening all 20 women had joined UMW.

Four teas later the St. Cloud UMW has grown by 70 members, nearly doubling its membership, according to McKown, who says there is the potential for more than 50 additional members.

The women who attended the teas formed five UMW circles that meet either monthly or quarterly. The circles are built around common interests and the nights members are available.

Now, interest in the teas and UMW has spread to other groups of women, says McKown. Retired women who could not be involved in UMW because meetings were normally held during working hours want to join groups. McKown said she also received a request from middle- and high-school girls to have their own tea.