Communique’ Spring 2020

Articles appearing within the Communique’ do not necessarily represent the opinions of the National Episcopal Church Women nor the Episcopal Church. The organization strives to provide a platform for women to present ideas and opinions that affect women’s issues. The editor may be contacted for comments or questions at: editor@ecwnational.org

Greta Thunberg Compels Us All to Be Prophets

By the Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas
and Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade

The picture of Greta Thunberg on the cover of Time magazine as its 2019 Person of the Year is both inspiring and sobering. Standing on an outcropping of rocks at the ocean’s edge, she gazes toward the sea. The splashing waves at her feet are a poignant reminder that signs of the climate crisis are all around us.

The world’s oceans are rapidly losing oxygen — it’s as if they are beginning to suffocate. Many of the oceans’ vital ecosystems are at risk of collapse. And new research indicates that rising seas, due to global warming, could affect three times more people by 2050 than previously thought. Some of the world’s […]

NECW Committees 2018-2021

Policies and Procedures
Lynn Fitzgibbon – chair; Samar Fay, Lisa Bortner, Cindy Mohr, Pat Wellnitz – Executive Committee liaison

Social Justice
Ema Rosaro-Nordalm – chair; Martha Estes, Cindy Mohr, Connie Sanchez, Pat Wellnitz – Executive Committee liaison

Communications
Karen Patterson – Executive Committee liaison, Martha Estes, Mary Beth Welch

Bylaws
Lisa Bortner – chair; Samar Fay, Lynn Fitzgibbon, Karen Patterson – Executive Committee liaison

Worship
Jan Goossens – chair; Jennifer Kenna, Margaret Noel, Ema Rosero-Nordalm, Connie Sanchez, Pat Wellnitz – Executive Committee liaison

Finance
Jeanne Plecenik – chair; Lisa Bortner, Jennifer Kenna, Margaret Noel, Mary Beth Welch, Karen Patterson – Executive Committee liaison

Greta Thunberg nos llama a ser profetas

Escrito por las Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas y Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade

La foto de Greta Thunberg en la portada de la revista Time como la persona del ano es tanto inspiracional y como aleccionadora. Parada en el afloramiento de las rocas al borde del océano, ella divisa el mismo. El romper de las olas bajo sus pies es una señal inequívoca de que el cambio climático está a nuestro alrededor.

Los océanos del mundo están rápidamente perdiendo oxigeno – Es como si empezaran a sofocarse. Muchas de las señales vitales del ecosistema de nuestros océanos esta al punto del colapso. Y nuevas investigaciones indican el alzamiento del océano, debido al calentamiento global, podría afectar hasta tres veces más a las […]

Bellwether Farm

Bellwether Farm is the new camp, retreat and education center in the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio. As the farm manager, one of my main goals when I walk the farm with young folks is to facilitate an encounter with where our food comes from, an experience with the earth herself. Sometimes I get nervous thinking that I need to communicate some deep truth about the universe, how we’re all connected or how we literally eat ourselves into existence each day. And then I realize that all I need to do is let them be on the farm […]

Learn About Our Food – Bellwether Farm

“Thank you for this food. This food. This wonderful, glorious food. And the animals. And the vegetables. And the minerals that make it possible.”

I remember entering the dining hall during the fourth week of our very first summer of camp, and the echoing voices of 70+ young people singing grace struck me in a new light. We had sung these words weekly since the beginning of staff training, and yet the reverence they were expressing struck me deeply.

Our summer camp hosts campers ranging from ages 5-18, many of whom experience there a sustainable farm for the first time. Thinking back to my childhood, I felt a twang of jealousy […]

WANTED – 1988 Detroit Cross

The National ECW Triennial Planning Committee is looking for the Triennial cross from 1988 (Detroit). A display is being made for the 2021 Triennial as well as a donation shadowbox of Triennial crosses for the Episcopal Church Archives. This is the only cross that we are missing. If you would like to donate your cross from this Triennial, please contact National President Karen Patterson at  president@ecwnational.org

Las Granja de Bellweather

La Granja de Bellweather es un Nuevo cam-pamento, lugar de retiro, centro de educacional de la diocesis episcopal del Ohio. Al fungir como el ge-rente de la granja, una de mis metas principales cuando recorro la granja con los jóvenes es el facili-tar un encuentro con el sitio desde donde extrae-mos la comida, lo cual se traduce en una experiencia con la tierra misma. […]

Aprendiendo Sobre La Comida En La Granja Bellweather

“Gracias por esta comida. Esta comida. Esta gloriosa y maravillosa comida. Y los animales. Y los vegetales. Y los minerales que lo hacen posible.”

Recuerdo haber entrado al salón durante la cuarta semana de nuestro primer verano de campamento, y las voces de más de 70 jóvenes cantando me abrumo de una manera distinta. Habíamos cantado estos versos semanalmente desde el comienzo del entrenamiento del personal, y a pesar de ello, la reverencia que expresaban al cantar me maravillo profundamente.

Un campamento de verano alberga a campistas en el rango de edades de 5-18 ano de edad, muchos que experimentaron una vida sostenible en la granja por primera vez. […]

Tried-and-True Ideas for Earth Day Sunday Celebrations

Pray—Plan an Earth Day-themed worship service. Find a wealth of Earth Day Sunday worship resources at www.creationjustice.org/educational-resources.

Educate—Have bulletin inserts or handouts for congregation members. Most of Creation Justice Ministries’ Earth Day Sunday worship resources have bulletin insert handouts included, but you can also opt for something your congregation is currently working on. For instance, “Ten Steps to Green Your Home” or “Products to Green Your Home” […]

Creation Justice Ministry

Creation Justice Ministries educates, equips and mobilizes Christian communions/denominations, congregations and individuals to protect, restore and rightly share God’s Creation.

Based on the priorities of its members, with a particular concern for the vulnerable and marginalized, Creation Justice Ministries provides collaborative opportunities to build ecumenical community, guides people of faith and faith communities towards eco-justice transformations, and raises a collective witness in the public arena echoing Christ’s call for just relationships among all of Creation.

creationjustice.org

The Love of God

Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart…great are the deeds of the Lord. His work is full of majesty and splendor, and his righteousness endures forever. He makes his marvelous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and full of compassion. Psalm 111

Our Little Roses is a place like none other in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Our Little Roses is a place for abused, abandoned, neglected and orphaned girls that was founded by Diana Frade in 1988. It was no coincidence that Diana was visiting a similar home for boys in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in 1986 and began asking: “Who is doing this for the little girls of Honduras?” No one. […]

The Delegates’ Corner: The Stories We Bring

I was in New York City at the United Nations, representing Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of The Episcopal Church. As a third generation Episcopalian, this gives me great joy. My grandmother would be so proud, and I feel her spirit every day. Her name was Alma B. Roberts. She considered it a blessing that she found a church in Wilmington, Delaware, that provided a safe space for her children and family to worship during the height of racial segregation. She was the epitome of love. My grandmother was a virtuous woman. She was grounded in her spirituality, and along with my parents, taught me the meaning of faith and service. […]

El Amor de Dios

Aleluya, le daré gracias al Señor con todo mi corazón…grandes son los prodigios del Señor. Su trabajo esta lleno de majestuosidad y esplendor, y su justicia dura por siempre. El Señor obra sus prodigios para que sean recordados para siempre; El Señor esta lleno de gracia y compasión. Salmo 111

“Nuestras pequeñas rosas” es un lugar como ninguno en San Pedro Sula, Honduras. “Nuestras pequeñas rosas” es un lugar abusado, abandonado, olvidado y donde pululan las niñas huérfanas, que fue fundado por Diana Frade en el ano de 1988. No ha sido coincidencia que Diana haya estado visitando un lugar similar para niños en Tegucigalpa, Honduras por el ano 1986 y se haya preguntado: ¿Quién está haciendo lo más mínimo por las niñas pequeñas de Honduras? Nadie. […]

Plainsong Farm and Ministry

Diocese of Michigan
www.plainsongfarm.com

Growing food for people and people for God

Plainsong Farm’s mission is to restore lost connections between people, places and God. Our work involves agroecology, experiential farm-based education, leadership formation and national initiatives around church-owned land stewardship.

But most important, our farm is a living laboratory — a sacred space for the intentional exploration of our relationships to the land, our neighbor and our Creator. Our Sabbath at the Farm series combines rest and renewal, a short informal worship service and a potluck meal.

We gather regularly to plant and harvest together, getting hands dirty as we rediscover the joy of hard work in community. Over the summer, we inaugurated our groundbreaking Fellowship program with three young adults who are now more able to serve at the intersection of faith, ecology and justice. And this winter, a new Church lands initiative will bring together church leaders from around the country who have been entrusted with the stewardship of church-owned land.

Earth Day – April 22 – 2020

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated around the world on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First celebrated in 1970, it now includes events coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network in more than 193 countries.

OUR MISSION: Our mission? To build the world’s largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and planet.

Earth Day Network’s mission is to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Growing out of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network is the world’s largest recruiter to the environmental movement, working with more than 75,000 partners in over 190 countries to drive positive action for our planet. […] 

Food, Glorious Food

The climate crisis is a hot topic; talking about food can become visceral. Think about combining the two and it becomes a frightening prospect. Having grown up under the auspice of not bringing up religion in polite conversation adds its own challenges. Even so, the importance of bringing up all possibilities, inviting the conversation, cannot be over emphasized.

Perhaps you’ve never considered the topic of food as visceral. If you have any food sensitivities or preferences that don’t align with social norms, you’ve experienced such reactions. Consider all the messages sent and received regarding food, family connections, rewards and celebrations — at home, with friends and at church […]