ECW Women Articles-Poems-Announcements Archives - Page 23 of 24

We thank you for your grace and mercy.

Good and gracious God, in whom we live and move and have all that we need, we thank you for your grace and mercy.

Stir up in us, all that is in your perfection; love, truth, justice and compassion.

Stir up in us, the courage to see you in all that we say and do.

May our relationship with you, be the guide in our relationships with all people,

Who see you, too, in your perfection.

Stir up in us, daily, love, truth, justice and compassion.

Restore us, in your grace and mercy, to daily living, as a reflection of you, in all those we see.

In your perfection we pray to you, good and gracious God.

Amen.

– John Tomoso Member Good Shepherd Church-Maui Postulant for Priesthood

Episcopal Church Women2020-05-27T15:33:22+00:00December 1st, 2012|

At a Vigil for Domestic Violence

Dear God our Creator,

we gather today because we care about those affected by domestic violence: women, children, and men.

We remember those who have lost their lives to this malfunction of our society. We pray that their souls are now at rest.

We remember children living in homes of domestic violence. Deliver and protect them from further harm.

We pray for perpetrators, that they may seek help.

Help them to relinquish their need to exert power and control.

We remember current victims whose lives are filled with fear and uncertainty.

Those who are trapped in the psychological cycle of violence and abuse, hope and false love.

We ask that you give them a new vision.

Guide them with your wisdom to make sound choices that will lead to new life.

We pray that religious leaders will end Scripture abuse so that they may no longer contribute to the oppression of women.

We give thanks to those who dedicate their lives to providing education, shelter, and support.

Finally, O gracious God, be present with us, restore peace and hope that we may persevere with your Holy Spirit.

In faith we pray.

Amen.

-The Reverend Angela R. Shepherd

Episcopal Church Women2020-05-27T15:53:44+00:00November 29th, 2012|

Our hearts are broken over the abuse of women

Dear Heavenly Father, Our hearts are broken over the abuse of women and the subtle and dramatic ways they are violated. What is broken in our relationship to You, oh heavenly Father, that we must remember to help stop this abuse?

How do we protect and keep safe our children and our neighbor’s children and the girls and women around the world that are vulnerable to this violence?

In the name of Jesus and all that is good we pray for safety and peace for all.

Amen

From: Mary Lou Mellinger Outreach Chair Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Maui, Hawai’i0

Episcopal Church Women2020-05-27T15:37:19+00:00November 28th, 2012|

A Retelling of the Good Samaritan for Battered Women

From Jerusalem to Jericho: A Retelling of the Good Samaritan for Battered Women “A woman who was much abused by her wealthy husband left Jerusalem and headed toward Jericho to seek shelter among kinswoman,” Jesus told the crowd. “And as she was going, her wounds caused such pain that she sat down beside the road and wept.

“Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and noting her fine garments, he stopped to ask the cause of her distress. When she told him that her husband had beaten her near to death, the priest drew back and counseled her to return to her husband and be a better wife. Then he crossed the road and continued on his journey.

“So likewise a judge, when he came to the place, stopped to question the woman, and learning the cause of her agony he, too, counseled that her duty was to her husband and that she should return at once to Jerusalem. When she refused, he, too, crossed the road and continued on his journey.

“But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where the woman lay beside the road, and when he heard her story, he had compassion, and he bound up her wounds and set her on his own beast and brought her to an inn where he found women to care for her, saying, “There are those who seek her life to destroy it, and no one must know that she is here. When she is well enough to travel, see that she has safe passage to Jericho. And whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.”

“Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the woman?”

And the lawyer said, “Should not the woman have returned to her husband? You preach words of forgiveness. Should she not have forgiven her husband, obeyed the law, and returned home? Weren’t the priest and judge the better neighbors? The Samaritan assisted the woman in her disobedience.”

And Jesus said, “Woe to you who pervert justice and allow injury to the innocent! You fools! Did not God make woman and man both in the Divine image? Is not a woman’s body a temple of God? I say to you, whoever injures anyone, woman, man, or child, injures the Divine image and is held accountable before God.”

And the women in the crowd spoke to one another, “Here is one who understands; truly this must be the Holy One of God.”

-Mrs. Mary Lee Wile

Women’s Uncommon Prayers

Episcopal Church Women2020-05-27T15:49:07+00:00November 27th, 2012|

We pray for women across the world

Almighty and merciful God, we pray for women across the world who are suffering from violence. Help us to be agents of transformation and promote justice and equality for women around the world. Open our eyes Lord so we can see the truth, the words to speak the truth, and the courage to eradicate a world culture in which violence against women is tolerated. Help us remember that vision without action is a daydream.

God of life, lead us to justice and peace. Amen

Deborah Gardiner Member at Large for Social Justice National Board of Episcopal Church Women

Episcopal Church Women2020-05-27T15:51:20+00:00November 26th, 2012|

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence begins November 25th.

Continuing a partnership begun in 2010 with Anglican Women’s Empowerment and the Episcopal Women’s Caucus, Episcopal Church Women will observe this year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence by writing and collecting prayers from Episcopal Women speaking to the theme From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women! Visit our page to read the prayers or subscribe to the eCommuniqué to receive prayers via email.

Episcopal Church Women2020-05-27T16:44:29+00:00November 25th, 2012|

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 2012

Eternal and most loving God,whose spirit falls upon all flesh,

We bring to you this day, our awareness of the serious divisions in the lives of humans living in this beautiful world world which you have created.

You have given the care of this world into the hands of your people…and as stewards we know that we are charged with the responsibility to take care of your creation and all humankind ….male….female….young and old.

We pray that you would guide us and give us the wisdom to make a difference in the area of gender discrimination and abuse.

We pray for the women and girl children who are victims of any kind of abuse because of their gender and powerlessness in their culture.

We pray for the oppressors that they would see and recognize the deep and lasting damage they inflict upon the women and children who are under their authority and power.

Help us to have the courage to use our voices, our hearts and our resources to respond appropriately to the injustices that are known to us.

May we be instruments of your peace and bringers of Justice.

We pray in the name of Jesus, the greatest Peace and Justice maker of all time…. Amen

By The Rev. Heather Mueller – Priest in Charge at St. Augustine Episcopal Church (Kohala Episcopal Mission) Big Island of Hawaii

Episcopal Church Women2020-05-27T15:58:14+00:00November 25th, 2012|

O God, our comforter in hard times

O God, our comforter in hard times, often have we called to you in pain and you have answered our pleas. Here we sit this night, guardians of a shelter where women lie sleeping, briefly safe from the battering and bitterness of a world that does not protect them. They look to us to knit together their shattered hopes, dreams, and lives. But, you, O God, are the tailor, the binder of wounds, and the great healer. Help us to be conduits for your love, to reveal you to them, and in seeing their joy, to know you more deeply. In the name of him who fully opened himself to all in need, Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen.

-Ms. Jayne Oasin from the book Womens Uncommon Prayers

Episcopal Church Women2020-05-27T15:35:35+00:00October 30th, 2012|

Shirley Greiman – Vice President, Program

I come from the Diocese of Connecticut and belong to Old St. Andrew’s Church, Bloomfield, CT. Born and raised on a farm in a small town in Iowa, I was brought up in the German Reform faith. I was a member in both girls and boys 4H, as my father raised purebred Aberdeen Angus Cattle, therefore showed cattle at Iowa State fair, county fairs, and other cattle shows. Since there were no girls who lived near me to play with (there were just boys, and all of them my cousins), I was a real “tomboy” – if I wanted to be involved in the boys’ games, I had to keep up with them. My family were very hardworking, devoted, loving, and religious people. Their lives revolved around the church, as both sets of their grandparents (on the matriarchal side) had formed small churches in the areas where they settled in different areas of Iowa.

During my college days, since there was not a German Reform church, I attended different churches, and was exposed to other beliefs and their way of worship. This was, in addition to my family, an advantage in my growing into who I am today.

My work experience consists of working in the media and direct mail department in three top advertising agencies in Chicago. Also, with my former husband, I opened, decorated, and ran nine restaurants in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Florida. I have worked for Lord & Taylor, in West Hartford, CT; traveled doing antique shows throughout the Midwest, Southwest, and West Coast; and have owned and operated my own antiques and decorator store, as well as arranged estate sales.

In my church, I have served as president of the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) for 14 years, two-and-a-half terms on the vestry, hospitality chairman, and enhancement committee. I have also worked on the World Day of Prayer as a lay delegate for the Diocesan Convention, and as fundraising chairperson for the Democratic Republic of The Congo.

I launched a grassroots program to Vinh Long, Vietnam, through a Vietnamese temple. The program raised money for rice and food for orphans, as well as funds to build 20 houses for individuals handicapped by the effects of Agent Orange.

On the ECW diocesan level, I was the publicity chairperson, and I am now 2^nd vice president, a well as editor of the Diocesan ECW Communiqué.

I have been involved in Anglican Women’s Empowerment (AWE), which has furthered my interest in global women’s issues, as well as in the United States.

My vision for the ECW is to further women’s work in the church by making things more accessible and attainable for the younger women and youth groups, so they may become involved in missions for their church, state, community, and globally.

It is a calling by God that I feel I have to follow to continue the task he has set forth for me to do on the national board of the ECW.

Episcopal Church Women2020-05-27T16:57:36+00:00October 23rd, 2012|

Christine Budzowski – Vice President, Information and Communication

Born in Sydney, Australia, I was baptized in the Church of England and confirmed in the Episcopal Church after moving to Los Angeles in 1962. In my early 20s I served as ECW President at St. Mary’s Church in Provo, Utah, where I lived for 8 years and where my two daughters, Marina and Katherine, were born. I returned in the late 70s and have made my home in the Diocese of Los Angeles ever since. Now grandmother to Wills and Sofia, who live in Northern California, I am actively involved in the Community Garden Project at my parish, The Church of the Holy Nativity, in Westchester, CA. I have served in various communications roles in the Diocese of Los Angeles, and in leadership roles with ECW and the Order of the Daughters of the King. My business, Trinity Web Consulting, serves non-profit organizations and small businesses with website development, database implementation, training, and marketing.

I love the Episcopal Church and believe that our greatest strength lies in the ECW organizations within parishes and dioceses, working together in mission and ministry and inspiring the next generations of Episcopal Women, who will follow the examples set by our mothers before us. Communicating our history, as well as our current story through all the forms of media available to us, keeps us connected and working together in that common mission. I look forward to communicating and serving for the next 3 years on the path to Triennial 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Episcopal Church Women2020-05-27T16:54:10+00:00October 23rd, 2012|