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Everything Connects

By Lisa H. Towle, NECW President

In January of 2018, 156 years after the then-Hawaiian monarchs personally petitioned Queen Victoria to establish the Anglican Church in their kingdom, the National Board of Episcopal Church Women held a meeting in the Diocese of Hawai’i. During our time in Maui, the Good Shepherd (Episcopal) Women in Ministry along with the Rev. Amy Crowe, Vicar at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Lahaina, provided mental, physical, and spiritual nourishment.

In the picture above I’m with Louise Aloy, who’s from Maui and currently serves as the Province VIII ECW president, and Mike White, general manager of the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel where the Board had its meeting. In 1953 and 1954, Mike’s grandmother was treasurer of the Women’s Auxiliary (the precursor to Episcopal Church Women). In 2018, the national ECW drew from its treasury to fund a $1,000 Province VIII grant to benefit the Ho’oikaika Partnership, a coalition of more than 60 Maui County agencies and individuals committed to preventing child abuse and neglect.

Sooner or later, everything connects.

In April of 2018, the Episcopal Church Women marked another first by meeting in Curaçao. Home to Juditta Ellis, who served as Province IX Representative to the national board this triennium, Curaçao is part of the Diocese of Venezuela. The two Anglican Episcopal congregations on the island came together at the Church of the Resurrection, which is led by the Rev. Louise de Bode-Olton, the first woman priest ordained in Curaçao, to welcome and worship with us.

And we had the gift of time to share our stories. One of the stories had to do with the efforts in Curaçao to address Alzheimer’s disease. To this end, the national board offered a $1,000 Province IX grant to an area non-profit focused on the needs of Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers. The visit created enough buzz to get the attention of local newspaper. That’s certainly one way of addressing the first of the Five Marks of Mission, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom.
Sooner or later, everything connects.

Seventeen years ago, during his speech at Marquette University’s commencement, Fred “Mister” Rogers, beloved cultural icon and ordained Presbyterian minister, said, “I believe that appreciation is a holy thing, that when we look for what’s best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does. So, in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something truly sacred.”

In Maui and in Curaçao and in the Episcopal Church’s seven other provinces where we met over the course of the 2015-2018 triennium, we sought to “GO!” and show in word and deed how much we appreciate and want to encourage the many ministries of the women of the Church.

In July, in Austin, Texas, at the 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, which includes the 49th Triennial Meeting of the Episcopal Church Women, thousands of people will be in the neighborhood and we’ll have the opportunity, individually and collectively, to participate in the sacred acts of loving and appreciating.

Key to planning the Triennial Meeting was answering this question: “What does it mean to be part of a beloved community that, as our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has put it, is ‘committed to living the way of Jesus, loving, liberating, and life-giving.’

• This is why we will be sharing the stories of and fundraising on behalf of two stellar social justice programs based in Austin: Community First! Village and the Trinity Center Shower Ministry, both of which live into the Five Marks of Mission.

• This is why all our workshops will address, in various ways, the Five Marks of Mission and how we “GO!” forth.

• This is why our keynote speakers, the Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston and the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, were asked to bring their prophetic and evangelistic voices to our proceedings.

• This is why our daily BYOB (Bring Your Own Breakfast) speaker series will loop back to the foundational Five Marks and the ways we can be in community.

• This is why the devotions in our gathering space, led by our chaplain, the Rev. Cathy Boyd, and musician, Dr. Linda Patterson, will center us, remind us about whose we are, and what we’re called to be.

All are invited to join us in Ballroom A of the Austin Convention Center. If you can’t be there in person, we’ll share the news of what’s happened in the neighborhood every evening via “Triennial Today” editions of our e-Communique. They will be emailed to subscribers and posted to the Triennial Meeting section of our website, www.ecwnational.org.

We are all connected.

Episcopal Church Women2020-04-27T14:57:16+00:00August 1st, 2018|

A Story of ECW Resurrection at Trinity Church, Watertown, New York

— Submitted by Jennifer Kenna
Province II Representative
NECW Board

In the Fall of 2008, when I was Province II ECW President, the rector at Trinity Church, Watertown, NY, in my home Diocese of Central New York, invited me to speak to a group of retired women at his parish, interested in re-organizing the parish ECW. I wholeheartedly accepted the invitation and spent an evening sharing ECW materials with the women and left encouraged by their enthusiasm. Since that evening nine years ago, this group of women, who call themselves YARN group, has grown and flourished.

The group call themselves YARN, not because they sit around a table telling stories but because their hands are never idle. They are knitting, crocheting, and making fleece blankets, while planning the next event, and discussing the next mission involvement. They meet almost every Tuesday morning year- round, working together and supporting each other.

And this is some of what they do. These women host a luncheon every fall for the 80+ years-old-members of the congregation. They hold two fund-raisers a year: a holiday fair at Christmas and a rummage sale in the spring. Seventy-five percent of the proceeds are distributed to organizations like the Watertown Urban Mission, the El Salvador Medical Mission of the Diocese of Central New York, and Episcopal Relief and Development. They knit and sew chemo caps for the Cancer Treatment Center and baby caps for the Maternity Center at the Samaritan Medical Center. They sew dresses to participate in Dress A Girl Around the World, and provide blankets for the Wounded Warriors project. They make cat mats for the SPCA, and participate in the fund-raiser for the Watertown Urban Mission.

These tireless workers have also joined forces with women of other denominations. They work with Roman Catholic women from Immaculate Heart Central School in knitting sweaters and hats—particularly for Syrian refugees. They have aligned with First Presbyterian Church in supporting “Women of Grace,” a program that offers sewing workshops to create sustainable employment for women living in Malawi, Africa.

Using skills they already possess, the YARN group has found new ways to serve God’s mission and enhance and brighten the lives of others. They have regenerated ECW at Trinity Church, Watertown, NY, and are making a vital contribution to the parish, the community, the Church,
and the world.

Episcopal Church Women2020-04-27T15:07:17+00:00April 1st, 2018|

Mary Ann Fargo

Founder, Church Periodical Club (1858 – 1892)

Near the end of the 19th century Mary Ann Drake Fargo, a member of the Church of the Holy Communion in New York City, founded the Church Periodical Club (CPC). After returning from a trip to the far west she shared— first with her rector and then her bishop—her vision of sending to the missionaries in remote locations in our country used church periodicals, that otherwise were unavailable to them. Upon receiving the blessing of her rector, she called a meeting at her home to interest the women of her parish in her plans for collecting and sending reading materials to aid ministers and lay workers out west. The women at that gathering became the eight charter members of the Periodical Club, January 10th, 1888. After the first Club was established in New York Diocese, branches were created soon in other dioceses.

Until her untimely death—four years after CPC’s founding—Mary Ann guided the Club with a deep sense of responsibility and passion. In particular, she stressed the value of personal service in the wrapping, addressing, and forwarding with a prayer each package of reading material. She sought to imbue the spirit of friendship by her encouragement of a letter-writing exchange between the senders and recipients. By 1892 there were a total of 42 diocesan and 409 parish branches; and more than 4,000 magazines sent regularly.

* * * * * * *

The work of CPC in its earliest years was fostered by the Women’s Auxiliary (now the Episcopal Church Women) which at that time was the strongest missionary agency in the Church. Today CPC conducts a world-wide ministry of the printed word. Its long affiliation with the Episcopal Church Women continues to be maintained in large part by the CPC directors who serve on ECW Boards at the parish, diocesan, and provincial levels.

Episcopal Church Women2020-04-27T15:04:06+00:00April 1st, 2018|

Strive to Safeguard the Integrity of Creation

To Strive to Safeguard the Integrity of Creation and Sustain and Renew the Life of the Earth

Let us pause, breathe, reflect, and live in ways which sustain and renew Creation, life. It starts with us.

–Evita Krislock

Pause? Seriously, who has time for one more task or activity, let alone time spent doing “nothing?” This may well be the infamous “straw that breaks the camel’s back.” There is too much to do with no time to lose. Breathe? Of course, we do it all the time, otherwise we wouldn’t be here. Reflect? Now we’ve gone too far. Seriously don’t tell me to think about my actions. These requests –pause, breathe, and reflect are all a call to action. This call is about life, life on earth, renewal, and growth.

Consider that pausing may, in fact, be our most productive time, a time to renew, to heal, and breathe. Slow deep breaths that fill each cell of our being with life-giving oxygen. Breathing in the good and exhaling the toxic. Each breath begins to clear our thoughts allowing new growth and energy to fill our brain, our heart, and soul. Of course, remember to breathe in the good, not the toxic.

Okay, we are pausing, breathing deep life-giving breaths, then clarity rears its head. “Forgive them Father for they know not what they have done.”

As a person of faith is this my burden, my responsibility? Simply put, yes.

Our Fifth Mark of Mission is about responsibility and action, just like each of the other Marks of Mission. After we take that deep breath, open our hearts and reflect, we see that the Marks fit together perfectly.

Each is important, each is life-giving. When we recognize creation is life in all of its glory and reality, it will not be denied. Life is interconnected, fitting together in a way that allows each of us, if we allow it, to fulfill, renew, and regenerate. When any part of creation suffers, the earth, water, air, plants, animals, fish, insects or people, we all suffer, if not today, then tomorrow and future generations.

Recognizing everything we do has an impact on life and creation empowers, invites, and challenges us. Each of us, without much effort can affect a single change in our life style that can and will support life. A single change, whatever it is, makes a difference; positive or negative. You make a difference, we make a difference collectively.

When we begin to think about actions in long term consequences, we change. Native wisdom often references the Seventh Generation, how we are merely a bridge between the past and the future. How will our actions impact our descendants? When our choices are no longer about an individual’s self-interest, perspective shifts. There are steps each of us can implement to reduce our consumption, in turn, lowering our waste. The first of the three R’s is a good start: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Consider adding another R: Repair. A simple thing we can all do is BYOWB–Bring Your Own Water Bottle to each meeting, outing or adventure. If you sit on another board, encourage others to do the same.

Commit to learning about actions we can take that will improve and support the regeneration of life, the environment, and all of creation. Spread the good news and let the light shine through you and your actions.

Episcopal Church Women2020-04-29T14:56:30+00:00April 29th, 2017|

GO! And Wait

By Lisa H. Towle

FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK

Not to put too fine a point on it, waiting stinks. Except when it doesn’t.

I’ve yet to find someone who actually enjoys waiting; however, there are those who certainly seem to struggle less with it. Perhaps they have attained a higher state of consciousness when it comes to the triplet of graces exhorted in Romans 12:12: joy, patience, and faith.

The preparations for this issue of Communique began, and then the seasons, doing what they do, flowed into one another without regard for deadlines. Meanwhile, at Communique central, we waited for various things to sort out so the work on the magazine could be completed. And God did what God does, offering, again, the learning moment: waiting can be hard but it can also bring clarity.

On June 6th, the Anglican Women’s Australia (AWA) Conference Eucharist and Diocesan Anglican Women’s Service took place at Christ Church Cathedral in the Diocese of Newcastle.

In that splendid, light-filled place, which sits atop a hill overlooking the South Pacific Ocean, 200 people gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of women in ministry in the diocese and continue exploring the theme of the conference, “Thanksgiving for the Ministry of Women & Facing Tomorrow in the Spirit’s Power.”

The “facing tomorrow” part of the five-day, biennial conference was the primary reason I was in the Australian state of New South Wales representing Episcopal Church Women. We all spring from the same taproot of faith, our ministries face similar challenges, and we find clarity about the way forward by being in community, by sharing our stories and practices. [See page 4 for accompanying pictures.]

Three months later, I found myself with six other women gathered in a sacred circle at a small farm in southern New Hampshire. We were the second facilitator training group to make our way to the place called Avalon to remind themselves what the natural world has to say about diversity, communication, and gender, among other things, and to use this knowledge to help revitalize Women of Vision, a leadership program of Episcopal Church Women. (Lots more information will be shared about this renewal.)

The two Women of Vision groups, like the Anglican Women of Australia, recognize that living in the now and preparing for the future requires proceeding in faith and practicing patience. Along the way, there are those rewarding “aha!” moments I first learned to appreciate years ago while participating in the Education for Ministry program.

Aha!: Everything above, below and in-between is connected. Every single thing. For the greatest of gifts is love, and all of what we do is nothing without that, as we open ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit and wait for the changes which lie ahead for us. As Evita Krislock so aptly notes in her article (see page 6) about safeguarding the integrity of creation: “Renewal starts with us.”

Episcopal Church Women2020-04-29T14:43:41+00:00April 29th, 2017|

Pamela Chinnis – Trailblazer

Pamela Chinnis: Trailblazer
(1925 – 2011)

40 Years Ago the passage of Resolution 1976- B005 at the 65th General Convention in Minneapolis amended Canon Title III.9.1 giving the right to women for ordination to three of the four orders of ministry deacons, priests, and bishops.

In 1976 the presiding officer of the 35th ECW Triennial Meeting, held in conjunction with the 65th General Convention, was Pamela Chinnis, a woman in the forefront of the advocacy for the ordination of women as priests and bishops.

In a 1990 interview, when she was contemplating running for Vice President of the House of Deputies, Chinnis reflected upon reaching this point in her journey: “I started 20 or 30 years ago, and I started in my parish, and I certainly had no long-range plan.

When I started out, women couldn’t even be seated in the House of Deputies. You start out where you are, and you do Christ’s mission there.” In July 1991 Chinnis became the first woman president of the House of Deputies by acclamation; subsequently she was elected president for three successive terms.

At the end of her last term Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning, speaking at the 2000 General Convention, acclaimed Chinnis as “a model for lay ministry and an inspiration for the ministry of women and men.”

Episcopal Church Women2020-04-27T16:50:52+00:00January 27th, 2017|

Best Practices – The Third Mark of Mission

The Third Mark of Mission:
To Respond to Human Need with Loving Service

What if you had no place to sleep tonight,
needed soap for a shower or had no diapers for your baby?

—Lucy Perry, St Veronica’s Guild Member
Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, GA
NECW Board Member (1997-2000)

The ministry of St. Veronica’s Guild, a group of about 50 women in a very large parish, has evolved since the early ’70s. It started simply with members filling plastic bags with personal necessities for a mission housing homeless women and those escaping domestic abuse.

In later years the guild enlisted the help of the parish, the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, Georgia, with the collection of hotel-sized shampoo, lotion, and soap. To these items the guild added a washcloth, deodorant, toothbrush, and toothpaste for each woman seeking shelter.

With the parish’s support the project grew immeasurably beyond the early days of filling 20 bags during guild meetings. Then in 2013 the guild decided to make a change and enlarge the focus of its work. To orchestrate this move, a small committee made site visits to four proposed ministries to learn about each mission; evaluate its effectiveness in meeting its goals; and determine if it had needs that could be met by 50 women. The reports were presented to the guild which voted to take on all four:

Crossroads Community Ministries, a nonprofit organization which offers a wide-range of assistance for homeless men, women, and children.
Church of the Common Ground, a project of the Diocese of Atlanta which is an open-air church and ministry at a city park.
Emmaus House, a Jubilee Center of the Episcopal Church that provides advocacy and help for persons fighting poverty.
The Friendship Center of Holy Comforter, a Jubilee Center of the Episcopal Church which offers programs for folk living in group homes with mental, emotional, and physical disabilities. Parish members accustomed to dropping their toiletry samples in the blue plastic tub on Sunday morning adapted well to the guild’s four new beneficiaries in Atlanta. This mission change necessitated the guild members bringing white socks, diapers, and feminine hygiene products to meetings, and voting to provide up to $2,000 from guild funds annually to purchase other items considered vital. Requests of the parish are frequently published in the cathedral newsletter for new, unopened, unexpired toiletries. Lists of needs are printed in bright flyers and left in tract racks, the parish information office, and other gathering spaces.

All bags of donations from the tubs are picked up at least once a week and stored.

On alternate months, eight to twelve women meet to fill requests. The collected items are sorted into labeled boxes atop three large tables. A list of the needs of each beneficiary is posted. For example, the Crossroads Community Ministry at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Atlanta, has a standing request for 100 each of soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, comb, and feminine hygiene products; also 50 each of lotion, washcloths, mouthwash, razors, and emery boards. Shaving cream and sample cosmetics as available are sent.

The guild cannot meet all these needs every time, but the motion to fund the purchase of those things in short supply, and the ability to order large quantities at reasonable prices from Amazon helps the guild minister more effectively. The other three ministries have smaller requests—30-40 soaps, etc. Large shopping bags with color-coded labels for each ministry are filled. These are stored at the Cathedral until picked up by each ministry within the week; repeated contact is made to appraise St.Veronica of any changing agency needs. St. Veronica’s Guild is one of six Episcopal Church Women guilds at the Cathedral of St. Philip. During the last 15 years it has shepherded several large projects which have strengthened and built community, but personal care provision has been an on-going focus for literally decades.

Membership in the guild has grown. New members have joined to take part in a vibrant active group of very mature women who have responsibilities in many aspects of the cathedral’s life. Fellowship is emphasized, so each packaging session is followed by lunch in a local deli. While the guild does not meet during the summer, members who are able will sort and pack on alternate months; e-mail allows members to remain in contact for news of prayer requests. Groups starting small and then developing the awareness of need and possibilities of solutions can replicate this mission project. People of all ages and abilities can take a part. We have had fun doing it and work at making it fun.

Episcopal Church Women2020-04-27T16:46:00+00:00January 27th, 2017|

What It Is, Is ECW

By Lisa H. Towle
President, National ECW Board

In “To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings,” John O’Donohue began one of his poems with a particularly exquisite turn of phrase: “We seldom notice how each day is a holy place, Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens…”

Savor that for a moment. Savor the imagery invoked by the word “eucharist.” Its use wasn’t accidental. In his too short life, O’Donohue, an Irishman, was not only a poet but an author, philosopher, and for two decades a Catholic priest. He certainly understood the different meanings that can be applied to the word: the act of sharing; the intimate fellowship; the common faith and discipline of a body of Christians; the sacrament that is the Eucharist, capital E.

Naturally, all this leads me to the ministry traditionally known as Episcopal Church Women. Whether ECW or a variation of the name now found in some dioceses – Episcopal Women of…, for example, or Women’s Ministries of… – it’s about making space and time for the eucharist of the ordinary to happen. And in those acts of sharing and fellowship, study and worship, extraordinary things happen.

Still, I can hear the question that’s been put to me by clergy and laity alike: Yes, but what IS ECW? I think what people really want when they ask about ECW as a ministry is a tidy answer: we raise money for good works, or we’re dedicated to prayer and spiritual growth, or we advocate for peace and justice. As women of The Episcopal Church (collectively and individually) and as members of the sprawling Anglican Communion we do all those things, and more, because, well, one size does not fit all.

God speaks to each of us and touches our hearts in different ways. Though we are certainly one in the Body of Christ, time and again the people of our fabulously diverse Church make it known we are not always of one mind. That reality can be a welcome one for the 16-member National ECW Board because, among other things, it provides an opportunity to think and act creatively about how best to encourage the ministries of Episcopal Church Women in particular and The Episcopal Church in general.

Helping to ensure that things don’t get discombobulated as we go about casting our nets wide are our structural frameworks. Three of them are especially vital when it comes to engaging with the world at large, and they’re all available on our website as well as in this magazine. Our Vision and Living the Ministry statements are on page 10, and on the back cover are the Five Marks of Mission.

In her opening remarks to the Church’s General Convention in 2015, then-Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori noted the Five Marks, which were developed by the Anglican Consultative Council between 1984 and 1990, “are summed up in the image of pursuing God’s kingdom here on Earth as
it is in heaven.”

Like pursuit, faith requires action. Pam Chinnis, a trailblazer in The Episcopal Church (see page 10), spoke to this when she said, “You start out where you are, and you do Christ’s mission there.” Examples of how Episcopal Church Women are living the faith abound in this issue. Hopefully, what’s shared here will inspire others to go and do a new thing, because it doesn’t necessarily have to be choosing one thing over another, instead it’s very much about both/and.

As we get closer to 2018, the year in which the next ECW Triennial Meeting and General Convention take place, there will be a steady uptick in our message to “GO! Share the Word: Every Day, Comunicamos, EveryWhere.” The hows and whys of the theme and logo for the 2015-2018 triennium as well as news about how the Triennial Meeting is shaping up are in this issue. May we all approach each new day of the new year with an understanding of it as a holy place. May we persist in our witness.

Episcopal Church Women2020-04-27T16:34:06+00:00January 27th, 2017|

My “Reawakening” to the World:

Impressions From My 1st NGO UNCSW

Beblon G. Parks, Member at Large – Social Justice
National ECW Board

Have you ever heard of a Huru Bag? If you haven’t, don’t feel bad! Neither had I. Learning about the role this item plays, along with many other initiatives and projects around the globe, stimulated my social justice conscience and re-awakened my passion during my participation at the 60th Non-Governmental Organizations United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (NGO UNCSW) in March.

So what are Huru Bags? One of the sessions I attended on “Consultation Day” was led by a young activist named Joy Lynn. It was entitled “Huru International Supporting Menstrual Hygiene: Management to Ensure Education and Empowerment of Rural Kenyan Girls.” Funding for this project is provided through the Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action. In Swahili, Huru means free. I never thought before about freedom in the context of what might limit a young girls freedom to go to school each day. I had been unaware that girls in some African and maybe other countries were deprived of an education because they did not have access to personal female care products. Now, thanks to this project over 500 Oqiek girls in Kenya are able to manage their periods and stay in school.

What an eye-opener!

What I saw and heard in the various CSW forums (workshops) and side-bar events were women’s voices, in many languages, sharing their stories and ideas—hand-in-hand working to end violence against women and girls, improve the economic welfare of women and ensure access to education and economic empowerment.

In his letter of welcome to The Episcopal Church delegation, the Anglican delegation, the Episcopal Church Women, Anglican Women Empowerment, and others gathered for the NGO CSW, Presiding Bishop Michael B.

Curry stated: I pray you listen, learn, and work together, focusing on the four on-going challenges to the achievement of women’s empowerment identified in The Episcopal Church’s written statement to UNCSW: enable women to access power and decision-making positions, foster women’s and girls economic empowerment and independence; eradicate violence against women and girls, and access to quality educations, decent work and decision-making; and health. Often when we hear about all that needs to be done—the suffering, the killing, the poverty, the hunger, here in the U.S. and worldwide—it’s easy to feel defeated before one begins saying, “I’m just one person. What difference can I make?” The answer is simple. One ECW member can make a huge difference especially if she/we join hands and work together! Look at the difference made by these “Ones” – Malala Yousafzai, Berta Caceres, and Sabam Naraghi-Anderlini. Will you join me in being “one” working to do just that? Let’s make a difference!

Episcopal Church Women2020-04-29T16:16:06+00:00April 29th, 2016|

Episcopal Church Woman Shall Help Lead Them

A Verger’s-Eye View of the Installation of the 27th Presiding Bishop

By Margaret H. Gordon, National ECW Board

The beautiful and majestic Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. was the setting for Holy Eucharist with the installation of The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry as the 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church and primate, the first African American to serve in this capacity.

The prep work for the event began long before that historic day, Nov. 1, 2015. Most of the vergers arrived for rehearsal on Saturday, Oct. 31. It was a day filled with bright sunshine, and the cathedral was abuzz with excitement as we gathered to do a walk-through of the highly anticipated occasion. Even the “keepers of the castle,” the greeters at the entrance doors, were excited. They recognized some of us and greeted everyone warmly.

On hand were the cathedral’s three full-time vergers and ten volunteer vergers who were going to be responsible for shepherding over 300 participants into the cathedral, including guests from ecumenical and interfaith communities as well as representatives of the Anglican Communion. We met for a general briefing, received our assignments, and then were off to find our briefing and staging areas for the next day. We also worked through any logistical issues we thought might arise. The day ended on a pleasant note and we left feeling confident we could help pull this off!

Sunday morning came with a dreary, chilly mist and the beginning of lines starting to form as early as our arrival time of 9:30 a.m. for a service that was scheduled to begin at 12 noon.

There was a short meeting of the group for any last-minute updates, then we again dispersed to our assigned staging areas, which for me was the visitors lounge in the crypt level.

The vergers’ briefing document consisted of 80 pages. Such attention to detail paid off when some 3,000 people filed into that holy place to witness this holy man taking his vows to be the next leader of The Episcopal Church.

In addition, technology was used to share the magnificent service with those not in the cathedral or even the nation’s capital. For instance, an unprecedented 11 video cameras positioned throughout the cathedral filmed the service for live webcasting.

Due to the number of participants, the procession was done in stages, by numbered procession groups. I was assigned to group four, specifically The Episcopal Church, which included staff from the church center in New York and three committees whose work had to do with getting a presiding bishop in place: the joint nominating committee, and the transition and installation committees. Altogether, group four had approximately 75 people. They knew each other and they were happy to be where they were.

We were the last group to process in before all the bishops, who preceded the liturgical procession. Although we were standing for a long time, the excitement kept the adrenaline flowing and we all made it up the stairs with energy to spare. We had a long walk ahead and we were ready and eager to go.

Overall it was a glorious day, a little long, but well worth the effort expended to be part of that particular All Saints’ Day.

Episcopal Church Women2020-04-29T16:06:06+00:00April 29th, 2016|

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