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Episcopal Church Women in the News 04-10-21

Summary

Episcopal News Service – Episcopal priest goes viral for wearing the same dress for 100 days as a fashion sustainability challenge – “I’ve always been concerned about fast fashion anyway and the impact on the planet…

Tap Into Hawthorne – Episcopal Church Condemns Anti-Asian Racism; Rev. Soldwedel of St. Clement’s Calls for Justice – We need to embrace our covenant of baptism and the last commandment, which is to love one another as we were loved…

Our Town – St. Mark’s Cross Memorial in a Pandemic Year – Guided by the Christian moral compass of “love thy neighbor” and treating others equally as children of God, St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery has been working towards racial justice and human rights for over 50 years.

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Episcopal priest goes viral for wearing the same dress for 100 days as a fashion sustainability challenge

Episcopal News Service – Holliston, MA

For many who have worked from home during the pandemic, wearing the same clothes for more than a day has become a normal occurrence. But one Episcopal priest is doing it to the extreme, on purpose.

In 2020, the Rev. Sarah Robbins-Cole, rector of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Holliston, Massachusetts, and chaplain at Wellesley College, wore the same dress for 100 days in a row as a challenge to counter “fast fashion” – the now-ubiquitous practice of buying cheap, mass-produced clothing and throwing it away or donating it to charity when it’s no longer fashionable. […]

Episcopal Church Condemns Anti-Asian Racism; Rev. Soldwedel of St. Clement’s Calls for Justice

Tap Into Hawthorne – Hawthorne, NJ

“As Episcopalians and as Christians, we need to embrace our covenant of baptism and the last commandment, which is to love one another as we were loved,” Reverend Erik Soldwedel told TAPinto Hawthorne. Soldwedel is the deacon-in-residence at both St. Clement’s Episcopal Church on Lafayette Avenue and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church found at the corner of East 18th Street and Broadway in Paterson. He said that Christians need to stand for justice and spoke of the church’s own history on race—and what he thinks should be done in light of recognizing its own failings. […]

St. Mark’s Cross Memorial in a Pandemic Year

Our Town – Manhattan, NY

Guided by the Christian moral compass of “love thy neighbor” and treating others equally as children of God, St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery has been working towards racial justice and human rights for over 50 years.

The 250-year-old church is known for its annual Cross Memorial to honor the year’s victims of gun violence. The memorial has been a constant at St. Mark’s since 2013, a former rector’s response to the shootings in Aurora, Colorado and at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Dolores Schaefer, a parishioner of the church for 28 years, has worked on the memorial for years and led this year’s installment. […]

Episcopal Church Women2021-04-09T14:43:48+00:00April 10th, 2021|

Episcopal Church Women in the News 04-03-21

Summary

Laguna Beach Independent – St. Mary’s Episcopal women give back to Laguna Beach nonprofits – Last summer, ECW started a series of five small, socially-distanced concerts held at the parish’s ocean view terrace…

The Northern Light – Women’s rights trailblazer joins Christ Episcopal Church as pastor – Christ Episcopal Church recently welcomed the church’s new reverend, Susan Mills, a trailblazer for women’s rights…

The New York Times – At least 36 states give clergy vaccine priority, for the risks they face and the example they set – The vaccines come at a critical time: As religious leaders continue to work on the front lines of the pandemic in hospitals, mortuaries and long-term care facilities, many are now working with health officials

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St. Mary’s Episcopal women give back to Laguna Beach nonprofits

Laguna Beach Independent – Laguna Beach, CA

The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) of St. Mary’s parish annually holds fundraisers including bake sales, bingo, bazaars, and chili cook-offs to contribute philanthropic causes locally and around the world. The pandemic quarantine made all those events unsafe and unworkable at a time when the need was the greatest, the group said in a press release

Last summer, ECW started a series of five small, socially-distanced concerts held at the parish’s ocean view terrace. Every event was sold out and the group far exceeded its fundraising goals.

“It is that effort and community support that has made this year’s donations possible,” ECW’s leadership said in a press release.

Past recipients of the grants included the youth program at an Alaskan church north of the Arctic Circle and a rural church in Muhangi, Uganda, to assist in the building of their church. […]

Women’s rights trailblazer joins Christ Episcopal Church as pastor

The Northern Light – Blaine, WA

Christ Episcopal Church recently welcomed the church’s new reverend, Susan Mills, a trailblazer for women’s rights being one of the first women ordained by the Episcopal Church back in 1976.

“These are people who care about the community,” Mills said of Christ Episcopal Church. “The community of Blaine, but also the greater community. These are people who are involved in the world and caring for the world. They’re thoughtful, kind and hardworking people and I’m grateful to be a part of this community.”

Mills started her journey with the church in the mid ’70s. Through her time in ministry, Mills worked in small churches from the east coast to the Diocese of Southeastern Mexico, where she spent nine years of her retirement serving in a small congregation. After serving in Mexico, Mills served as an associate priest at two small congregations in Berkeley, California, and then moved to Indiana before finding her position in Blaine. […]

At least 36 states give clergy vaccine priority, for the risks they face and the example they set

The New York Times – National News

At least 36 states have made some members of the clergy eligible for a vaccine before the rest of the population, according to a New York Times survey.

The vaccines come at a critical time: As religious leaders continue to work on the front lines of the pandemic in hospitals, mortuaries and long-term care facilities, many are now working with health officials to help combat vaccine hesitancy in their communities.

In Utah, mosques are sharing videos on social media of imams receiving the vaccine. In Michigan, a rabbi is weaving messages of support for vaccination into his sermons and conversations with his congregation. And at the Washington National Cathedral this month, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease specialist, and other health officials joined 25 faith leaders from across the D.C. region as they received their vaccines on camera. […]

Episcopal Church Women2021-04-02T13:00:14+00:00April 3rd, 2021|

Episcopal Church Women in the News 03-27-21

Summary

Tapinto.net – Bowie Snodgrass Becomes First Female Rector at Vestry of Christ Church – The Vestry of Christ Church in Short Hills has called The Rev. Bowie Snodgrass as its 12th Rector…

The Living Church – Filling People with God – Once a month, 15 people roll out yoga mats inside their homes and hop on Zoom for a session with YogaSoul…

Los Angeles Sentential – Tutu Connects with God’s People Through Gift of Pastoral Care – Nontombi Naomi Tutu’s approach to ministry. After years of ignoring God’s call, she finally became ordained in 2016, and has been astounded by her deep love of pastoral care. While admitting that she has always enjoying speaking and preaching in public

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Bowie Snodgrass Becomes First Female Rector at Vestry of Christ Church

Tapinto.net – Short Hills, NJ

The Vestry of Christ Church in Short Hills has called The Rev. Bowie Snodgrass as its 12th Rector, effective immediately.

Rev. Bowie, as she is known, has served as the Priest-in-Charge at Christ Church in Short Hills since January 2019. She is the first woman to be called as Rector of this historic Episcopal church.

Snodgrass joined Christ Church in Short Hills as Curate in 2016 and subsequently assumed the role of Associate Rector, focusing on spiritual formation, newcomers and outreach. She is active in the Coalition of Religious Leaders of Millburn and Short Hills and launched a monthly Interfaith Bible Hour in collaboration with Temple B’nai Jeshurun, Short Hills, and St. Stephen’s, Millburn. She serves as the Chaplain at Christ Church Nursery School and has been a guest preacher at Saint Rose of Lima. Rev. Bowie also is a member of the Diocese of Newark’s Commission on Ministry on the Priesthood. […]

Filling People with God

The Living Church – Casper, WY

Once a month in Casper, Wyoming, 15 people roll out yoga mats inside their homes and hop on Zoom for a session with YogaSoul. It’s a gathering for people who love yoga, appreciate sacred texts, and don’t attend church.

“We always start with a centering practice that could be both yogic and Christian,” said Jessika Girod, an aspirant to ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church who coordinates YogaSoul and leads traditional worship at Christ Church in Douglas, Wyoming. “The stillness, the quietness. … There’s nothing you have to do or be. Just dwell in the presence of God.”

As the body loosens up, so does the spirit. Regulars at YogaSoul look forward to gathering in person as they used to before the COVID-19 pandemic. Then they’ll sit on their mats in a circle, have what Girod calls “an embodied experience,” and share in the Eucharist with a priest who practices yoga. […]

Tutu Connects with God’s People Through Gift of Pastoral Care

Los Angeles Sentential – CA

Surprising herself is one way to describe the Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu’s approach to ministry. After years of ignoring God’s call, she finally became ordained in 2016, and has been astounded by her deep love of pastoral care.

While admitting that she has always enjoying speaking and preaching in public, Tutu believed she was an introvert and was never inclined to get close to people. But, since joining the staff of All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills and being assigned as the minister of pastoral care, she realized that God had blessed her to spiritually bond with hurting people.

“It felt like a gift to me that people were allowing me into their lives in times of real difficulty and darkness that I could sit with people at hospital beds, when they were dying, or even celebrating the birth of a child” recalled Tutu.

“That is such an honor to be able to be with people at those times and I had not realized that until I was actually doing the work. Since then I have come to truly love pastoral care and the opportunity it gives for a truly meaningful connection with people.” […]

Episcopal Church Women2021-03-26T12:37:31+00:00March 27th, 2021|

Columbia Food Bank at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Columbia, PA Province III

Over 60 years ago, in the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Women served free, hot lunches to the community six days a week. It quickly became evident that many of the people who came in for lunch did not have food to start or end the day. Community members were living in hunger. The ECW started sending groceries home with them after each lunch. And the food bank was started.

The food bank was partially supported by state and federal programs, which provided free food and equipment. Additionally, food and monetary donations, and volunteers from the local area, helped the food bank meet the community’s people in need. In order to receive free food, people could sign up for a voucher at the local Community Action Program (CAP) office, present it to the food bank, and take their groceries home.

In 2006, St. Paul’s discovered that the voucher system was no longer including a screening process. After a number of meetings, the church elected to forego all government support and become self-sufficient even though it meant losing free food and government-provided refrigeration equipment. The food bank instituted a screening and qualification system that was still in force prior to the pandemic.

In 2013, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church decided it was in the best interest of the church, the food bank, and the community to have the food bank become a separate corporation with its own 501 (c) (3) designation. On September 18, 2014, The Columbia Food Bank received its nonprofit status as a charitable organization.

In 2020, the food bank served 1,043 households, or 2,053 individuals, which equates to 41,657 meals. From 2019 to 2020 there was not a dramatic change in the number of people they served but more the demographics. There was a shift of the 61 and older population that stayed home, and therefore those numbers dropped while the working force numbers rose.

Community giving of both money and food has skyrocketed. Financial organizations outside their normal territory are giving. A Chicago-based company sent them a donation because an owner who was originally from the Columbia area had decided that the Columbia Food Bank would be their charity of choice. In 2019 their food distributions were 66,000 pounds, and in 2020 distributions rose to 69,000 pounds.

The food bank staff feel fortunate as even in the midst of COVID, they continue to receive donations. At times they needed to go on scouting missions, like all of us, for certain items like jelly and hot dogs. The day we spoke they received 35 $25 gift cards to a local grocery store for perishables. They have never had to turn anyone away. “We adapt and persevere.”

Information provided by Danielle Peters and Sue Ollar and the Columbia Food Bank columbiafoodbank.org

Episcopal Church Women2021-03-26T13:45:30+00:00March 26th, 2021|

Desmond Tutu: Una Biografía Espiritual del Confesor de Sur África

Rev. Michael Battle, Ph.D.
Herbert Thompson: Líder de la Iglesia y Sociedad:
Director del Centro Desmond Tutu
Seminario Teológico General, New York

Seria hipócrita de mi parte si no ofrecería esta reflexión acera de la reconciliación racial si no promoviese a un agente anglicano de la reconciliación racial. Lo hago, no porque quiera ufanarme de vender libros; en cambio, como una manera de ofrecer un artículo introductorio acerca del tema de reconciliación racial. Muchos de nosotros hemos pasado por la era apocalíptica del virus COVID-19, agitación social, y la polarización política. Un prominente líder dentro entre las mujeres de la Iglesia episcopal me escribió que ella había trabajado como una guardiana designada por la corte de aquellos con discapacidades mentales y por consiguiente observo de primera mano situaciones graves sobre la humanidad en necesidad de sanación y reconciliación. A pesar de ello, para algunos de nosotros, debido a nuestro estatus socioeconómico, nos damos cuenta de que estamos “resguardados” de estas tormentas apocalípticas, pero queremos ser parte de la solución y no del problema. Bueno, el agente anglicano que mencione arriba es una guía maravillosa para educarnos en lo atinente a estos tópicos, especialmente sobre el ministerio de reconciliación.

El Agente Anglicano que describí es, de hecho, una santa bajo mi perspectiva. Él es arzobispo Desmond Tutu, reconocido por su ministerio de reconciliación en Sur África y el resto del mundo. Por mi parte yo voy un poco más allá y lo catalogo como místico cristiano en mi nuevo libro, Desmond Tutu: Biografía Espiritual del Confesor de Sur África (Westminster John Knox Press, publicación el día 16 de marzo de 2021). Por más de 25 años, yo he visto de cerca la espiritualidad profunda que ayudo a Tutu a desmantelar el “apartheid”, tras haber vivido con Tutu en los años 1993 y 1994. Su espiritualidad esta enraizada en la práctica Cristiana Antigua a la vez que el concepto africano de Ubuntu, interdependencia Humana. En este libro yo examino como el misticismo Cristiano de Tutu forma su compromiso para la justicia restauradora y conciliatoria.

“La vida de Tutu y su trabajo son cruciales tanto para el bienestar del mundo como para la supervivencia de la iglesia que parece estar parcializada hacia la crisis y las guerras culturales,” Escribo. La pelea de Tutu en contra del “Apartheid” es una batalla espiritual, la cual engloba lecciones de como resistir el auge del nacionalismo cristiano de hoy. “Sometiendo al opresor para vea a Dios en la cara del oprimido fue su contribución más grande.” Concluyo. Para que el opresor pueda confesar que su Dios fue ultimadamente disminuido en la religión del “Apartheid’ fue un milagro que debemos replicar.”

En cualquier ministerio de reconciliación, necesitamos entender la fuente de la que fluye dicha reconciliación. Aunque yo puedo argumentar que las mujeres son más una fuente de reconciliación que los hombres, la última fuente de reconciliación es Dios mismo. Entendiendo a Tutu como un místico cristiano es esencial para comprender la siguiente perspectiva: “El objetivo de la vida de un místico es alcanzar la unión con Dios,” Yo explico en mi biografía sobre Tutu. La manera en que Tutu trato de alcanzar su meta no solo esta animada a través de su liderazgo en la iglesia, pero a través de su liderazgo político también. Tutu ofrece a la Iglesia Episcopal de mujeres inspiración y a la misma vez estrategia para ser una fuera política y espiritual para ser conciliatoria en un mundo apocalíptico. Al cultivar tal fuerza del alma la Iglesia de Mujeres Episcopales contrarresta el sistema de racismo y de falta de humanidad y establece en un mundo que carece de autoestima la practicidad de construir comunidades y redes de contactos que apoyen a todos los marginados en el mundo.

Acerca del autor

Michael Battle es profesor de Herbert de la Sociedad e Iglesia y director del Centro General Teológico Desmond Tutu en Nueva York, y presidente y Jefe Estratégico del instituto PeaceBattle. El autor de 11 libros, incluyendo Reconciliación: La Teología Ubuntu de Desmond Tutu, el enfoca su ministerio en la no violencia, reconciliación cristiana, espiritualidad humana, y Ubuntu (La comunidad africana a nivel mundial) Battle vivió en residencia con el arzobispo Desmond Tutu en Sur África por dos años y fue ordenado sacerdote en Sur África por Tutu en 1993. En el 2010, le fue otorgado una de las condecoraciones más distinguidas en la Iglesia Anglicana como lo fue “Six Preacher.”

Para más información, visita su página web: michaelbattle.com

Episcopal Church Women2021-03-26T13:41:35+00:00March 26th, 2021|

Desmond Tutu: A Spiritual Biography of South Africa’s Confessor

Desmond Tutu: A Spiritual Biography of South Africa’s Confessor

The Rev. Michael Battle, Ph.D.
Herbert Thompson Chair of Church and Society
Also, Director of the Desmond Tutu Center
General Theological Seminary, New York

I would be remiss in offering this reflection on racial reconciliation if I did not promote a primary Anglican agent of racial reconciliation. I do so not out of the aggrandizement of selling a book; rather as a sort of introductory article to the subject of racial reconciliation. So many of us have waded through an apocalyptic era of COVID-19, racial unrest, and political polarity. One prominent leader among the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) wrote me that she worked as a court-appointed guardian for the mentally ill and therefore saw firsthand grave situations of inhumanity in need of healing and reconciliation. And yet, some of us, due to our socioeconomic status, are more “sheltered” from these apocalyptic storms but want to be part of the solution rather than the problems of our world. Well, the Anglican agent I mentioned above is a wonderful guide to educate us all about such topics, especially the ministry of reconciliation.

The Anglican agent whom I describe above is in fact a saint in my perspective. He is Archbishop Desmond Tutu, renowned for his ministry of reconciliation in South Africa and the rest of the world. I go further and describe him as a Christian mystic and saint in my new book, Desmond Tutu: A Spiritual Biography of South Africa’s Confessor (Westminster John Knox Press, launching on March 16, 2021). For more than 25 years, I have seen up close the deep spirituality that helped Tutu dismantle apartheid, having lived with Tutu in 1993 and 1994. His spirituality is rooted in ancient Christian practice as well as in the African concept of Ubuntu, human interdependence. In this book I examine how Tutu’s Christian mysticism shapes his commitment to restorative justice and reconciliation.

“Tutu’s life and work are crucial for both the wellbeing of the world and the survival of the church that seem equally bent toward crisis and culture wars,” I write. Tutu’s fight against apartheid is a spiritual battle, one with lessons for resisting the growth of Christian Nationalism today. “Getting the oppressor to see God in common with the oppressed was Tutu’s greatest contribution,” I conclude. “For the oppressor to confess that their god was ultimately diminished in the religion of apartheid is a miracle that we all need to replicate.”

In any ministry of reconciliation, we need to understand the source from which reconciliation flows. Even though I would argue that women are more of a source of reconciliation than men, the ultimate source is not from human beings but from God. Understanding Tutu as such a Christian mystic is essential to understanding this often-neglected perspective. “The aim of the mystic’s life is to achieve union with God,” I explain in Tutu’s biography. The way that Tutu tried to reach this goal is not only animated through his leadership in the church but through his political leadership as well. Tutu offers the ECW inspiration as well as strategy to be both a spiritual and political force for reconciliation in an apocalyptic world. By cultivating such a soul force the ECW counteracts systems of racism and inhumanity and establishes in a world that lacks self-esteem the practicality of building communities and networks that support so many who are marginalized in this world.

About the Author

Michael Battle is Herbert Thompson Professor of Church and Society and Director of the Desmond Tutu Center at General Theological Seminary in New York, and President and CEO of the PeaceBattle Institute. The author of 11 books, including Reconciliation: The Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu, he focuses his ministry on nonviolence, Christian reconciliation, human spirituality, and Ubuntu (the African worldview of community). Battle lived in residence with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa for two years and was ordained a priest in South Africa by Tutu in 1993. In 2010, he was given one of the highest Anglican Church distinctions as “Six Preacher.”

For more information, visit his website at michaelbattle.com

Episcopal Church Women2021-03-26T13:36:17+00:00March 26th, 2021|

Grace Episcopal Impacts City of Alvin: Province VII

by the Reverend Suzanne Smith

How one small church has made a big impact in her community by feeding souls and hungry bellies…

Grace Episcopal Food Drive It started with a little blessing box beside the church and has become a major ministry to the community, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The blessing box evolved into a weekly Houston Food Bank distribution site. Then, in the middle of the third month of operations, the pandemic hit. At this time, the organizers pivoted to a drive-through distribution, which at its peak has been visited by over 400 families a week. The parish hall, previously used for Christian formation and fellowship, became a food storage warehouse for pallets upon pallets of non-perishable food items.

The mobile food pantry has been providing food in Alvin on a weekly basis since December 6, 2019. We partnered with the Alvin/Manvel and Houston Food Bank in order to bring fresh food and produce to Alvin, an area that struggles with food insecurity. 51.7% of Alvin Independent School District (AISD) students qualify under Title 1 for Free or Reduced-Cost breakfast and lunch. The district has 18 Title 1 campuses.

Every Thursday morning, the Houston Food Bank brings a refrigerated truck containing 8,000 to 10,000 pounds of fresh food and vegetables. The truck is set up in the Grace Church parking lot. Before COVID, volunteers from Grace and other community organizations unloaded the food from the truck, bagged it, and then the guests would shop each fresh food station.

When COVID began, in one week, Grace seamlessly transitioned to a drive-thru mobile food pantry underneath the beautiful oak trees in front of our church. Our first attempt provided food for 281 families. The families were given 35-40 pounds of food, and we estimate around 1,000 people were fed in Alvin because of these efforts!

The drive-thru option allowed food to be given out in a safe way by the volunteers boxing up the food and then guests driving through the parking lot and the food delivered to their trunks. Some of these folks waited in the car line for up to two hours to get their food. It was calm and ordered, and all who received food were profoundly grateful.

Since the first mobile food pantry, the people of Grace, along with other churches and members of the community, have distributed nearly 500,000 pounds of food through the mobile food pantry to over 30,000 people in Alvin.

We have also expanded our Blessing Box ministry to include an outside Blessing Refrigerator. A team of parishioners keep the fridge stocked with cold items such as milk, juice, butter, cheese, and eggs. Combined, the Blessing Box and Fridge see between 65 and 100 visitors a day.

Grace has long been a beacon in the Alvin community, and over the last year it has become a vital component to the well-being of her citizens through our food initiatives. We said “YES” to God in one way, and the doors kept opening, so we have continued to walk through them. This ministry is more than a blessing to Grace. It is a blessing and gift to the Alvin community.

Episcopal Church Women2021-03-26T13:27:24+00:00March 26th, 2021|

Serving the Community with Love as Christ Teaches Us

Mónica Elías Orellana My name is Monica Elias-Orellana. I was born in California and moved to Chelsea, Massachusetts, when I was 11 years old. It was then that I was introduced to the Episcopal Church, where I found myself embraced by God’s call to “serve thy neighbor.” I was taught early in life that I must help others even if I possess little.

As a teenager I volunteered at the soup kitchen and pantry at St. Luke’s-San Lucas. I also got involved with the youth group at what I began to call my church. The Rev. Edgar Gutiérrez -Duarte, who is the priest there, encouraged my sisters and me to reactivate the youth group, and with his support we were incredibly happy to lead it.

After I graduated from high school, I attended the University of Massachusetts in Boston, where I graduated with a degree in Biology and a minor in Asian American Studies.

I thought I wanted to be a physician, but my call and my passion has always been serving the community. While in college, I volunteered at a local nonprofit, The Neighborhood Developers, where soon after I was hired, I became the Chelsea Community building manager, a position I still hold. My role is to organize the Chelsea residents who have been most impacted by the housing crisis. Together, we work to create systemic change. Other areas of my work include relationship building, leadership development, and creating opportunities for empowering residents to participate in municipal decision making.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic started, we have seen a high rate of infection and sadly many deaths in Chelsea. Families are forced to live in a single apartment because rents are awfully expensive in the city. Chelsea has a housing crisis, and the community has an ever bigger and immediate need for food and other urgent necessities.

When I found out that my church was the center of food distribution for the city of Chelsea, I offered to help. Soon after, I started volunteering my time at St. Luke’s-San Lucas. The Neighborhood Developers saw value in the service I was offering the Chelsea community. So, since March 2020, they have allocated some of my hours to St. Luke’s-San Lucas as their volunteer coordinator.

In my work as community organizer, I am fortunate to work with a strong base of community members. I am able to constantly recruit volunteers to help run the operation of St. Luke’s, where every week we receive more than 19,000 pounds of food, serving more than 500 families.

Mónica Elías Orellana at the pantry For me it is an honor to work with community members who, with love and dedication, serve families in need. My heart is full of joy and my eyes rejoice at seeing the beauty of local community members coming together to help one another. I have met incredible people who have worked many hours unloading boxes of food into the church, unpacking them, and distributing the food and other necessities given to the community. I admire that labor of love despite fears of exposure to the deadly virus. I am moved as I watch families come to the pantry for food and sometimes see tears and expressions of gratitude as they receive what they need to survive these difficult times.

It has been a blessing to work in my childhood church along with amazing individuals like Rev. Edgar Gutiérrez-Duarte. I am filled with joy now as an adult working with my childhood leaders! Now, I lead with them and call them my peers. Although sometimes it has not been an easy journey, I have met amazing people along the way. My hope is to be able to similarly inspire others to serve the community and to serve as mentors to young women of color.

Episcopal Church Women2021-03-26T13:17:08+00:00March 26th, 2021|

Subvención Universal otorgada por El Salón de Clase Espiritual y la Búsqueda de lo Salvaje

Escrito por Lisa Bortner

Es obvio que Dios ha promovido la vida de la Rev. Dorothy Gremillion en varias formas. Ordenada sacerdote en la iglesia Episcopal en el año 2000, ella ha servido diversas Iglesias a lo largo de cuatro diocesis. Ella piensa que Dios ha creado a cada ser humano -en este caso, cada mujer- a ser no solo totalmente única, pero a tener un camino único hacia la santidad de acuerdo a los dones y circunstancias de la vida de cada persona. En su blog SpiritualityClassroom.com, ella llama a ese camino único hacia la santidad su “Creatividad potenciada en Cristo.” Su creatividad potenciada en Cristo sale a relucir cuando tú has descubierto tu camino único hacia la santidad.

El Salón de la Espiritualidad tiene esta misión especifica: “Empoderar a las mujeres que han sido abusadas espiritualmente por alguien en sus Iglesias para descubrir su camino a través de la sanación y así poder desatar su “Máxima creatividad potenciada en Cristo.”

La Rev. Gremillion ha experimentado abuso espiritual personalmente, lo cual es definido como “un evento(s) de cuando una persona con autoridad utiliza la misma para maltratar a un miembro de la iglesia.” La Rev. Gremillion es una sobreviviente de abuso espiritual. A través de mucho sufrimiento, ensayo y error, terapia, dirección espiritual y la oración, ella ha encontrado la sanación. Ella ha tenido atisbos de lo que es vivir una vida de “Máxima creatividad potenciada en Cristo.” Ella ahora esta apasionada en su cruzada por ayudar a otras mujeres a encontrar su sanación, mujeres que han sufrido a manos de miembros de la iglesia. Por ello creo su blog spiritualityclassroom.com. Pero la Rev. Gremillion tiene una visión más grande que un blog para desarrollar la espiritualidad de estas mujeres que han sido abusadas espiritualmente.

Su visión ahora incluye La búsqueda de lo Salvaje, lo cual será un área de membresía pagada, segura, privada dentro de su Salón de Clase Espiritual. Toda vez que te unes a La Búsqueda de la Espiritualidad, serás impulsado a descubrir y profundizar tu sanación espiritual y a encontrar tu propia historia en Cristo, tras interactuar comunitariamente con los demás, participando juntos en cursos en línea, y recibiendo dirección espiritual de la Rev. Gremillion.

Lo “salvaje” es una metáfora para que la vida sea más llevadera, con sus altas y bajas, deseos, éxitos, retos, y obstáculos. Planes actuales para La Búsqueda de lo Salvaje son siete cursos a través de los cuales los miembros pueden aprender herramientas específicas para crecer espiritualmente de los clásicos cristianos espirituales, sagrada escritura, himnodia, e investigación.

Las areas de lo salvaje incluye:

Epicentros de Cabeceras
Un modelo de oracion
Salon de Spa Espiritual
Ejercicios para el Alma
Lanza tu bienestar
Caverna de la intriga interna
Caidas de peldanos
Punto de Alegria

Cada una de estas áreas de La búsqueda de lo Salvaje tendrán su propio contenido que es diferente a los demás. Las Herramientas de crecimiento espiritual son extraídas del contenido original, de investigaciones, de las sagradas escrituras, y de otros elementos de textos clásicos de espiritualidad cristiana.

Por ejemplo, un Modelo de Oración, tiene la Espiritualidad del desierto entretejida en derredor, aunque no es el principal tópico de sus 6 módulos. La oración lo es. Este curso incluye videos introductorios por escrito para cada lección, el contenido de la lección, 13 maneras para orar, meditaciones de audio sobre textos de himnos, ejercicios para aprender cómo llevar un diario espiritual, y una página privada en facebook – Todo con la finalidad de engendrar sanación de abuso espiritual y dar herramientas espirituales para ayudar a lo largo del camino.

Las otras áreas de la Búsqueda de lo salvaje incluirán herramientas espirituales de la espiritualidad benedictina, espiritualidad celtica, espiritualidad ignaciana, espiritualidad Carmelita, y la espiritualidad Franciscana, mientras extrae creativamente de otras fuentes como la Psicología, Sagradas escrituras, investigación, y experiencia personal.

Visita spiritualityclassroom.com y suscríbete al blog gratis, el cual te capacitará para recibir blogs gratis de manera semanal; También recibirás notificaciones sobre cuando la búsqueda de lo Salvaje estará disponible.

El Grupo de Mujeres de la Iglesia Episcopal a nivel nacional, se complace en anunciar que le han otorgado el premio de la Subvención Universal a la Rev. Gremillion para ver el Proyecto de la Búsqueda de los Salvaje manifestarse en la realidad. La Rev. Gremillion espera tener su primera clase en línea disponible empezando en marzo de 2021. La junta directiva del Grupo de Mujeres de la Iglesia Episcopal estaba ansiosa de aprobar la subvención ya que había cumplido con todos los requerimientos que la junta directiva patrocinaba. La subvención Universal es un mecanismo Amplio que permite establecer organizaciones que promueven el mensaje de Cristo a lo largo del mundo. Cada aplicación es revisada para asegurar que puedan empoderar a las mujeres de la Iglesia Episcopal y proveer servicios que el Grupo de mujeres de la Iglesia Episcopal encuentra importantes.

El Grupo de Mujeres de la Iglesia Episcopal a nivel nacional tiene programas de subvenciones, la Subvención Universal y la subvención de mujer a mujer. Para más información sobre ambas subvenciones se puede encontrar en la página web ecwnational.org/resources/donations-grants/

Le deseamos a la Rev. Grimillion mucho éxito con su Clase de Espiritualidad y la Búsqueda de lo Salvaje, y nosotros le pedimos a Dios que bendiga todos sus proyectos dirigidos a ayudar a los demás.

Episcopal Church Women2021-03-26T13:12:05+00:00March 26th, 2021|

Universal Grant Awarded for Spirituality Classroom and Wilderness Quest

By Lisa Bortner

It is obvious that God has moved in Rev. Dorothy Gremillion’s life in many ways. Ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in 2000, she has served churches across four dioceses. She believes that God has created each human being—in this case, each woman—to be not only totally unique, but to have a unique path to holiness according to the gifts and circumstances of each person’s life. In her blog at SpiritualityClassroom.com, she calls that unique path to holiness your “Ultimate Creative Potential in Christ.” Your Ultimate Creative Potential in Christ comes alive when you have discovered and are living into your unique path to holiness.

Spirituality Classroom empowering women who have been spiritually abused by someone in their church to discover their path through healing toward unleashing their Ultimate Creative Potential in Christ.”

Rev. Gremillion has personally experienced spiritual abuse, defined as “an event(s) when a person in authority uses that authority to maltreat a member of the church.” Rev. Gremillion is a spiritual abuse survivor. Through much struggle, trial and error, counseling, spiritual direction, and heart-felt prayer, she has found healing. She has begun to catch glimpses of what it would be like to live life from within her Ultimate Creative Potential in Christ. She’s now passionate about helping other women find their healing, women who have suffered the same fate by someone in their church. That’s why she created a free blog at spiritualityclassroom.com. But Rev. Gremillion has a bigger vision than only a blog to further help spiritually abused women.

Her vision now includes Wilderness Quest, which will be a paid, private, and secure online membership area inside her Spirituality Classroom. Once you join the Wilderness Quest, you will be launched into discovering and deepening your spiritual healing and to finding your most life-giving story in Christ, by building community with each other, participating together in online courses, and receiving spiritual direction from Rev. Gremillion.

The areas of the wilderness include

Headwaters Epicenter
Spirit Spa
A Prayer Sampler
Inner Intrigue Cavern
Soul Crunch
Launch Your Well-being
Joy Point
Stepping Stone Falls

This “wilderness” is a metaphor for wending your way through life, with its ups and downs, desires, successes, challenges, and roadblocks. Current plans are for the Wilderness Quest to contain seven courses in which members can learn specific spiritual growth tools gleaned from Classical Christian Spirituality, Holy Scripture, hymnody, and research.

Each of these areas of the Wilderness Quest will have its own content that is different from that of any of the others. Spiritual growth tools are gleaned from the original content, from research, from Scripture, and from different eras of Classical Christian Spirituality.

For example, the course A Prayer Sampler has Desert Spirituality interwoven throughout, even though it is not the main topic of the 6 Modules. Prayer is. This course includes written introductory videos to each lesson, the lesson content, 13 ways to pray, audio meditations on hymn texts, journaling exercises, and a private Facebook Page—all geared to engender healing from spiritual abuse and to give prayer tools to help along the way.

The other areas of the Wilderness Quest will include spiritual tools from Benedictine Spirituality, Celtic Spirituality, Ignatian Spirituality, Carmelite Spirituality, and Franciscan Spirituality, while creatively weaving insights from psychology, Holy Scripture, research, and personal experience.

Visit spiritualityclassroom.com to subscribe to the free blog, which will enable you to receive weekly blogs, as well as news as to when the Wilderness Quest becomes available.

The National ECW is pleased to announce that they have awarded a Universal Grant to Rev. Gremillion to see her Wilderness Quest project through to fruition. Rev. Gremillion hopes to have the first of the online classes available starting in March 2021. The National ECW board was eager to approve the grant as it met all of the criteria that the board endorses. The Universal Grant is a broad-spectrum grant that enables organizations to foster Christ’s message throughout the world. Each application is reviewed to ensure that it empowers the women of The Episcopal Church and provides support services the ECW finds important.

The National ECW has two grant programs, the Universal Grant and the Women to Women Grant. More information on both grants can be found on our webpage at: ecwnational.org/resources/donations-grants/

We wish Rev. Gremillion much success with her Spirituality Classroom and Wilderness Quest, and we ask God to bless her endeavors to help others.

Episcopal Church Women2021-03-26T13:06:21+00:00March 26th, 2021|

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