Episcopal Church Women

Summary

Sojourners – 11 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2021 – Celebrate Women’s History Month with a roundup of women faith leaders who are bringing us hope…

GoErie – Rev. Melinda Hall: Unbinding our buried selves is best done in relationship with God –  As the light grows each day and the promise of spring dawns…

Lake Norman Citizen – Hope is cooking in St. Mark’s new building – The Flyin’ Lion Transition to Employment Program teaches underserved women how to cook and bake, with the goal of preparing them for jobs in the food-service industry. The eight-week program will cover basic cooking techniques.

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11 Christian Women Shaping the Church in 2021

Sojourners

For the past five years, Sojourners has celebrated Women’s History Month with a roundup of women faith leaders who are bringing us hope and inspiring us to action. This year’s group includes pastors and seed-keepers, authors and theologians, activists and organizers. Collectively, they envision and work toward a wide and bold church community — a community that cares for creation and for those who are suffering, that centers those who the church has historically marginalized, and that holds both political and faith leaders accountable. Pray alongside these leaders and learn their vision for growing justice this year. […]

Rev. Melinda Hall: Unbinding our buried selves is best done in relationship with God

GoErie – Erie, PA

Lately, I am aware of a tightness bound inside me. The wintery gray, the drudge of the pandemic, have left me tense, less spontaneous, more wary. As the light grows each day and the promise of spring dawns – and the hope brought by vaccines – this tightness is making itself known, wanting to unfold.

The Rev. Melinda Hall is dean of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul in Erie.
Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet, writes in one of his poems: “I want to unfold./ Let no place in me hold itself closed/ for where I am closed, I am false.” (translation by Barrows and Macy). […]

Hope is cooking in St. Mark’s new building

Huntersville – NC

While the finishing touches are being made to a new building, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church has been preparing for a culinary-based ministry.

The Flyin’ Lion Transition to Employment Program teaches underserved women how to cook and bake, with the goal of preparing them for jobs in the food-service industry. The eight-week program will cover basic cooking techniques, terminology, scaling of recipes, and weights and measures. Participants also will complete the ServSafe food-handling safety course.

“A potential employer will know they have a good handle to safely work with food, how to keep food safe and work with the public,” said Sue Bartlett, Flyin’ Lion’s lead culinary instructor. “We will give them a leg up on the competition. We want to give them as many measurable skills as we can.”

Applicants are identified through community agencies like the Ada Jenkins Center and Mecklenburg County Social Services that provide full-scale support.

Bartlett said typical program candidates often found themselves as heads of household through homelessness or domestic violence, and lack marketable job skills. […]

Some Faith Leaders Call Equality Act Devastating; For Others, It’s God’s Will

NPR – National Public Radio

A potential revision of federal civil rights law to extend protection to LGBTQ people could soon get a long-delayed vote in the U.S. Senate, but concerns about its implications for religious freedom cloud its prospects for final passage.

The Equality Act, which would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, has twice passed the House. Republicans in the Senate have until now blocked its consideration, but Democratic control there should finally ensure at least a hearing. […]

‘From Many, One’ Webinars to Fuel Practice of Conversations Across Difference

Episcopal News Service

A set of upcoming webinars promises to prepare Episcopalians to effectively listen, honor difference, and help to heal families, congregations, communities, and nations.

“From Many, One: Conversations Across Difference” will host three webinars introducing individuals and ministries to what Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls “the spiritual practice of love in action” – one-to-one listening and sharing across the differences that separate us. The webinars will cover basics like invitation and attentive listening, as well as the theology, tools, gifts, and challenges related to this critical spiritual practice. Register for each date below.

• Friday March 12, 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST: The How and Why of Conversations Across Difference (Register here)
• Thursday, March 25, 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST: How We’re Practicing and What We’re Learning (Register here)
• Thursday, April 8, 6:00-7:00 p.m. EST: From Many One “Listen-In” – Sharing Our Stories and Growing Our Practice (Register here) […]

Summary

Episcopal Church News – Historically Black Raleigh church emphasizes African American and African culture at its essence – One of the great moments in 11-year-old Arri Davila’s life was hearing prayers of thanksgiving for the beauty of dreadlocks…

The Destine Log – ENGAGING THE DIVINE: Doing church during Lent – Like all leaders of the Jesus Movement we have struggled to engage the Divine…

The Villages Daily Sun – Villagers take varied paths to pastorhood – When Beth Hall arrived in Florida’s friendliest hometown in 2013 as a retired United Methodist Church minister, she presumed she and her husband would be enjoying a full-time life of leisure. But something was missing. “Friends told us about St. George Episcopal Church,”

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Historically Black Raleigh church emphasizes African American and African culture at its essence

Episcopal Church News – Raleigh, NC

One of the great moments in 11-year-old Arri Davila’s life was hearing prayers of thanksgiving for the beauty of dreadlocks – hair like hers – at St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“They were talking about blessing people with locks, and me and my sister were really happy. It was very comforting because when we are at my mom’s church, we are the only two brown-skinned people there,” Davila told Episcopal News Service recently.

St. Ambrose, a historically Black congregation founded in 1868 on the city’s southeast side, intentionally incorporates Afrocentric icons and art, lively jazz-inspired music and inclusive prayers. The church also gives permanent recognition – even on needlepoint kneelers – to Raleigh native Anna Julia Cooper, the Rev. Pauli Murray, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and other Black Americans who are commemorated in The Episcopal Church’s calendar of saints, as a way to “disrupt,” or separate, Christianity from a legacy of white supremacy, said the Rev. Jemonde Taylor, rector. […]

ENGAGING THE DIVINE: Doing church during Lent

The Destin Log – Destin, FL

I share the position of rector with my husband at St. Andrew’s By-the-Sea, the Episcopal Church in Destin, which is part of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. Our presiding bishop calls us the Episcopal Branch of the Jesus Movement.

Like all leaders of the Jesus Movement we have struggled to engage the Divine this last year. We have learned new ways to “do” church even when we can only see one another’s eyes.

Recently we have been blessed to do in-person worship with social distancing wearing facemasks. We now can have organ and piano music and sometimes vocal music from soloists and our handbell choir. How we miss congregational singing, when we sing we pray twice. But we are not bereft of ways to engage God. […]

Villagers take varied paths to pastorhood

The Villages Daily Sun – Villages, FL

When Beth Hall arrived in Florida’s friendliest hometown in 2013 as a retired United Methodist Church minister, she presumed she and her husband would be enjoying a full-time life of leisure. But something was missing. “Friends told us about St. George Episcopal Church,” the Village of Glenbrook resident said. “Once we stepped into the sanctuary, I immediately felt a connection with the church. It felt like coming home.” Hall quickly got involved in church activities, participating as a lay eucharistic minister, as well as serving as a leader for Alpha, a course designed to explore the validity and relevance of the Christian faith to newcomers to Christianity. But coming home to the church meant attending Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Jacksonville, completing the yearlong classes necessary to complete the Anglican Studies requirement for the priesthood. Gordon-Conwell is one of 276 schools in the U.S. and Canada that are accredited or under consideration for accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), which recognizes graduate schools that cater to students wishing to practice ministry or teach theology. The schools differ by denomination, but all share in the goal of training and educating new pastors, ministers, priests and rabbis.

There are other theological schools and colleges not under the ATS umbrella that provide similar education. College Factual, a data-driven website aimed at helping people make good college choices, reported that Florida is the ninth most popular state for students majoring in religious studies. […]

Summary

13-ABCtv – Michigan teen makes history as one of the first female Eagle Scouts in the nation – Once girls were allowed to join the Boy Scouts, April’s goal was crystal clear…

The Oklahoman– St. Paul’s Cathedral came up with a creative way to help parishioners observe Ash Wednesday, Lent in spite of COVID – St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral’s efforts are literally in the bag…

The Living Church – 1 Peter: Real-Life Biblical Focus of Lambeth 2022 – The First Epistle of Peter, a text that speaks to “immediate pastoral problems” while also “rais[ing] an utterly compelling and inspiring vision of the call of God” will serve as the Biblical focus of the 2022 Lambeth Conference, says Archbishop Justin Welby in a video introduction launched in early February on the conference’s website.

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Michigan teen makes history as one of the first female Eagle Scouts in the nation

13 ABCtv – Muskegon, MI

Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America. The coveted achievement must be reached before the age of 18, and usually takes six years for scouts to meet all of the specific requirements.

A female scout from West Michigan wasn’t allowed to join the Boy Scouts until 2019, but earned Eagle Scout status in two years flat, allowing her to become one of the rare members of the nation’s inaugural class of all female Eagle Scouts, as well as the first female Eagle Scout in Muskegon County.

I’ve always just seen people in scouting,” said April Bowlin, 17. “I remember watching my older brother become an Eagle Scout and thought, ‘Oh, that’s cool, but I can’t do that though’ because I was a girl.” […]

St. Paul’s Cathedral came up with a creative way to help parishioners observe Ash Wednesday, Lent in spite of COVID

The Oklahoman – Oklahoman City, OK

With in-person services suspended in many local churches, religious leaders have found creative ways to observe Ash Wednesday and Lent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral’s efforts are literally in the bag.

The church, led by Dean Katie Churchwell, is offering parishioners “Holy Lent Bags,” which include items that individuals and families need to observe the Lenten season at home. The church, 127 NW 7, is distributing the bags in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday on Wednesday.

“Our goal with the Holy Lent Bags is that people will have a holy Lent, and a global pandemic doesn’t necessarily have to get in the way of that, regardless of whether people feel comfortable doing things in person,” Churchwell said. […]

1 Peter: Real-Life Biblical Focus of Lambeth 2022

The Living Church

The First Epistle of Peter, a text that speaks to “immediate pastoral problems” while also “rais[ing] an utterly compelling and inspiring vision of the call of God” will serve as the Biblical focus of the 2022 Lambeth Conference, says Archbishop Justin Welby in a video introduction launched in early February on the conference’s website.

The book, Welby says, helps the Church grapple with “real life” issues like “climate change, conflict, gender, identity, modern slavery, poverty.” He continued, “Many of our sisters and brothers experience these pressures on a daily basis. And when we meet in Canterbury, we must listen to the voices, to the testimonies, to each other.”

“The focus on the Bible and 1 Peter in particular, really will drive much of the Lambeth Conference and has been a huge part of the preparation for it,” said the Rev. Canon Jenn Strawbridge, who is playing a central role in developing Bible study resources for the bishops who will gather in Canterbury in the summer of 2022. […]

Local pastors ask for more changes to the revised Use of Force Policy

South Bend, IN

Leaders from Faith in Indiana gathered on the steps of the Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church on Thursday, calling on the city’s Board of Public Safety to reject the current draft of the Use of Force Policy.

The leaders feared the new Use of Force Policy is not clear enough, and want the board to ban officers from shooting at unarmed or fleeing suspects before the vote takes place.

“The policy as we see it is insufficient,” stated Reverend Gilbert C. Washington, of St. Paul Bethel Missionary Baptist, “If they don’t know what to do and when to do it, then it becomes a prerogative, and we don’t want the police acting on their own prerogative.”

The effort to reform the South Bend Police training manual, policy handbook and Use of Force Policy started a year and a half ago, after the deadly police shooting of car break-in suspect Eric Logan.

The incident sparked widespread protests and community meetings designed to reform the department, all to restore the public’s trust.

Faith in Indiana has taken an active role in the talks but remain concerned the policy allows lethal force against unarmed or fleeing suspects, explicitly wanting this to be prohibited. […]

Summary

News & Record – Biden deportation moratorium blocked. What does it mean for 2 immigrants with Greensboro ties in sanctuary? – When President Joe Biden put a 100-day hold on most deportations after taking office last month…

The Living Church – Prison Ministry Adapts to COVID Challenges – Episcopalians in prison ministry are adapting their work during the coronavirus pandemic…

Episcopal News Service – Church volunteers help elderly parishioners make vaccine appointments – With COVID-19 vaccine rollouts varying widely from state to state, some states have been criticized for their confusing and dysfunctional vaccine appointment systems. One of those states is Massachusetts

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Biden deportation moratorium blocked. What does it mean for 2 immigrants with Greensboro ties in sanctuary?

News & Record – Raleigh, NC

Summary

The Villages Daily Sun – Prayer chains gain popularity in villages – there are a group of women who are ready to pray at a moment’s notice. They are the “prayer chain”…

Cincinnati Magazine – Rev. Olivia Hamilton Ministers to Children and Families – Rev. Olivia Hamilton helps people make sense of difficult situations through faith…

San Diego Reader – Trinity Episcopal: rising to the challenge –  In our world, religion by now is getting a bad name because it’s easy for it to be distorted into a self-centered and superstitious way of managing life. Our world, our society, everyone is tossing faith out as something that is not good for life or necessary for human flourishing. It worries me that faith and religion are being tossed out

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Prayer chains gain popularity in villages

The Villages Sun – The Villages, FL

In and around The Villages, there are a group of women who are ready to pray at a moment’s notice. They are the “prayer chain” at St. George Episcopal Church in The Villages, and members admit that the requests have grown sharply in recent months given the coronavirus pandemic. It’s one of several examples of the role prayer chains and ministries are playing in and around The Villages. “I’m part of the Order of the Daughters of the King, which is a group of women who have pledged to be faithful to their ministry and prayer to the church,” said Leila Mullis, a Summerfield native who helps lead the St. George Episcopal prayer chain. “I see what I do with the prayer chain as an outgrowth of that.” […]

Rev. Olivia Hamilton Ministers to Children and Families

Cincinnati Magazine – Cincinnati, OH

Through her work at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Program, Rev. Olivia Hamilton helps people make sense of difficult situations through faith. She describes her role of Episcopal Priest and Staff Chaplain and the value it provides the community for our February 2021 Cincinnati At Work issue. […]

Trinity Episcopal: rising to the challenge

San Diego Reader – San Diego, CA

Pastor Meg Decker: In our world, religion by now is getting a bad name because it’s easy for it to be distorted into a self-centered and superstitious way of managing life. Our world, our society, everyone is tossing faith out as something that is not good for life or necessary for human flourishing. It worries me that faith and religion are being tossed out – or being distorted into something that should be tossed out. The faith shouldn’t be a holding onto the past and never changing, but a way of moving into the future – a good future for everyone.

What is the mission of your church? […]

White Supremacy and Deradicalization

The General Convention of the Episcopal Church – New York, NY

Resolved, That the Executive Council, meeting virtually from January 22, through January 25, 2021, acknowledges and repents its past support for white supremacy and the sins of the Church’s past in being complicit and upholding white supremacist ideologies and systems; we are called to notice and remove these sins from our current and future Church as we grapple with having benefitted from these sins;

Resolved, That the Executive Council is alarmed that white nationalism is increasingly on the rise and violent white supremacist groups are increasing in the number of those who believe in dangerous conspiracy theories, including members of Congress, high-level government officials, and influential media personalities; […]

Our Responsibility to Stand Against Christian Nationalism: Executive Council Opening Remarks

House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church – New York, NY

President Jennings gave these opening remarks to an online meeting of Executive Council on January 22:

Hello, and welcome to this online meeting of Executive Council. We’re beginning to get good at meeting this way!

I’m grateful for this technology that allows our work to continue, but just because it has become routine, I don’t want to minimize the strain that it places on many of us and the staff who support our work. Thank you for your continuing perseverance in the face of Zoom fatigue, barking dogs, children home from school, glitchy home wifi, and the endless challenges of the mute button, not to mention economic uncertainty, spiraling COVID infection rates, and an existential crisis in the democracy of the United States. We see you, and we are grateful. […]

Summary

WJLA/ABC – Va. artists donate paintings to food center volunteers to show gratitude for their service – A group of artists wanted to show their appreciation for the charitable work of volunteers…

Homewood Star – Community comes together to craft crozier for new bishop – When the Rev. Glenda Curry was named the first female bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama…

The Brunswick News – Hello Goodbuy donates funds to community – Charities like to tell donors or customers their money is going to a good cause. In the case of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church’s hello Goodbuy thrift store, it goes to good causes, most recently 14 of them.

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Va. artists donate paintings to food center volunteers to show gratitude for their service

WJLA/ABC – Culpepper, VA

A group of artists wanted to show their appreciation for the charitable work of volunteers at a food organization in Culpeper, Virginia.

And true to form, these creators did it in their own unique way, they gave them the gift of art. Artists with the Blue Ridge Art League (BRAL) based in Culpeper donated several of their works of art to volunteers with the Food Closet.

The Culpeper Food Closet is an outreach ministry of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, operating as a full community effort with the work of over 90 volunteers from the area. The organization started in 1984 and receives food and monetary donations from local businesses, organizations, churches, and individuals. According to its website, the donations provide 3,500 meals weekly for families and individuals in Culpeper. […]

Community comes together to craft crozier for new bishop

Homewood Star – Homewood, AL

When the Rev. Glenda Curry was named the first female bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama, she asked one of her fellow parishioners, Danny Whitsett, if he could make her crozier.

Whitsett had just one question: What is a crozier?

“I didn’t even know what she was talking about, but it’s basically the wooden staff,” Whitsett said. “It looks like a big shepherd’s hook.”

Whitsett does specialty paint finishes and woodworking, but he doesn’t do very detailed woodworking, he said.

“So this was a little bit beyond my comfort level,” he said. “But I was so honored, so I said I would basically just figure out how to do this.” […]

Hello Goodbuy donates funds to community

The Brunswick News – Brunswick, Ga