Communique’ Summer 2015
Triennial Issue
Welcome to Salt Lake City, Utah – Stir Up the Spirit: Celebremos!
*Only select articles are posted from our archive. The entire publication is viewable within this pdf.
Our center piece, for this our 48th Triennial Meeting is the symbol of Utah, the Beehive State. Originally, the bee skep (hive) was made out of grasses and twigs. They were easily transported from one place to another.
You can find this symbol throughout Salt Lake City, and on their State seal and flag.
According to the Church of Latter Day Saints or the Mormon’s, they carried “swarms of bees” to commemorate the industry of the people as they settled in their new territory. Utah was referred to as “the land of milk and honey.” It was adapted as their symbol for hundreds of years and links today Utahans with their pioneer past. The bee hive represents industry, perseverance, thrift, stability and self-reliance, virtues, cooperation, and work. It represented a new promised land.
The “skep” can be found in the shape of stain glass windows, on Masonic items, and the shape of many state buildings throughout our country. Today, the skeps are used in gardens to attract bees for pollination and for decoration. It has always been a place of great activity and industry.
For us, it may represent many of the characteristics of the Episcopal Church
Message from the President
By Nancy R. Crawford
From November 2014 through May 2015 The President’s Blog found on the ECW website has featured reflections and comments about a variety of the women who speak in the Bible.
This has been based on “Bible Women: All Their Words and Why They Matter” by the Rev. Lindsay Hardin Freeman.
The women have come alive through our readings and reflections and through the illustrations by Claire Elam, a talented young artist who is a graduate of Bennington College, Vermont.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in visual arts with a concentration in painting and ceramics.
The book collaboration between Lindsay and the national ECW Board began in 2012, just following the Triennial Meeting in Indianapolis. Lindsay was our keynote speaker and a workshop presenter. Many of us knew of Lindsay because of her previous book, “The Scarlet Cord: Conversations with God’s Chosen Women.”
Readers become more familiar with women in the Bible by the stories told in their voices. But Lindsay had another idea percolating, a book about all the women who speak in the Bible, and she invited ECW to join in the endeavor.
The ECW board provided a research grant to Lindsay and an easy promise to share her book with our women through networking and a discounted book cost.
Now you are able to meet these two remarkable women on today, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. in the Plenary Room. Stop by one of the convention center vendors and pick up a light breakfast or a cup of coffee.
Then join us as we hear from the author herself about 93 amazing women. Claire will have her original illustrations for us to view before and after the presentation. Other opportunities with Lindsay during the Triennial Meeting include her workshops and book signings in the Exhibit
I had the wonderful experience of meeting Matt during an National ECW board meeting last year on Ender’s Island. We had an old-fashioned sing-a-long that kept me humming, “Lead Me, Guide Me” for weeks. I think you’ll find the music a real treat at this Triennial Meeting. Just to get you in the mood, here are eight quick questions, to introduce you to Mr. Matt Lemmler, Steinway Artist!
Did you have prior knowledge of the Episcopal Church or the Episcopal Church Women?
Yes. I’ve been involved and inspired in the Episcopal Church, mainly due to a creative priest, Father Bill Miller. He created the Jazz Mass at Trinity Church, Houston; St Michael and All Angels, Kauia, Hawaii and now at Christ Church, Covington, Louisiana. At all of these churches, I’ve had the privilege of helping create a new, transformative context for sacred hymns and text by infusing the spirit of jazz while honoring the spirit of the sacred. It led me into my path to form the New Orleans Jazz Revival and travel the world sharing these gifts with churches of all denominations. I was also blessed to spend time with the ECW this past year at Salt Lake City and on Ender’s Island and look forward to our time during the Triennial. […]