By Lisa H. Towle
FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK
Not to put too fine a point on it, waiting stinks. Except when it doesn’t.
I’ve yet to find someone who actually enjoys waiting; however, there are those who certainly seem to struggle less with it. Perhaps they have attained a higher state of consciousness when it comes to the triplet of graces exhorted in Romans 12:12: joy, patience, and faith.
The preparations for this issue of Communique began, and then the seasons, doing what they do, flowed into one another without regard for deadlines. Meanwhile, at Communique central, we waited for various things to sort out so the work on the magazine could be completed. And God did what God does, offering, again, the learning moment: waiting can be hard but it can also bring clarity.
On June 6th, the Anglican Women’s Australia (AWA) Conference Eucharist and Diocesan Anglican Women’s Service took place at Christ Church Cathedral in the Diocese of Newcastle.
In that splendid, light-filled place, which sits atop a hill overlooking the South Pacific Ocean, 200 people gathered to celebrate the 30th anniversary of women in ministry in the diocese and continue exploring the theme of the conference, “Thanksgiving for the Ministry of Women & Facing Tomorrow in the Spirit’s Power.”
The “facing tomorrow” part of the five-day, biennial conference was the primary reason I was in the Australian state of New South Wales representing Episcopal Church Women. We all spring from the same taproot of faith, our ministries face similar challenges, and we find clarity about the way forward by being in community, by sharing our stories and practices. [See page 4 for accompanying pictures.]
Three months later, I found myself with six other women gathered in a sacred circle at a small farm in southern New Hampshire. We were the second facilitator training group to make our way to the place called Avalon to remind themselves what the natural world has to say about diversity, communication, and gender, among other things, and to use this knowledge to help revitalize Women of Vision, a leadership program of Episcopal Church Women. (Lots more information will be shared about this renewal.)
The two Women of Vision groups, like the Anglican Women of Australia, recognize that living in the now and preparing for the future requires proceeding in faith and practicing patience. Along the way, there are those rewarding “aha!” moments I first learned to appreciate years ago while participating in the Education for Ministry program.
Aha!: Everything above, below and in-between is connected. Every single thing. For the greatest of gifts is love, and all of what we do is nothing without that, as we open ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit and wait for the changes which lie ahead for us. As Evita Krislock so aptly notes in her article (see page 6) about safeguarding the integrity of creation: “Renewal starts with us.”