By Lisa Bortner – Province Representative
Greetings! As we settle into our new normal in social distancing, our Province VII ECWs have continued to remain active helping those that are most in need. In the Diocese of Texas, many of the women’s groups have been making face masks for not only their fellow parishioners, but also for hospital staff and first responders in their areas. This includes women from Good Shepherd, Friendswood and St. Cristopher’s, League City as well as St. Cyprian’s in Lufkin. The Women of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Austin usually provide hot showers each Tuesday morning for the homeless neighbors in Austin. However, showers have been suspended due to social distancing. The needs of the neighbors have not been forgotten. The “Shower Ministry” has provided 100 hygiene packets that have been distributed to the neighbors with basic hygiene supplies. The first 40 were distributed in March and 60 additional kits were distributed in April. In addition, the Women of St. Mark’s are now busy sewing face masks that will be distributed to their homeless neighbors. The Diocese of the Rio Grande, are in the process of putting together a Zoom gathering with worship, some sharing, and a short study. During Holy Week, they posted a service everyday on their website, and encouraged everyone to join in one or more of the many diocesan live streamed services that were available.
The Province VII President, Deacon Fran Wheeler, and myself attended the Diocese of Oklahoma Retreat February 28-March 1 at St. Crispin’s Retreat Center. The retreat facilitator was the Rev. Debora Jennings who centered her presentation around the words of the hymn, How Great Thou Art. She used each verse as the foundation of our silent time as well as out group time. St. Crispin’s is a beautiful setting that provided a calm and relaxing atmosphere for the retreat. It was great to see some familiar faces as many of the past presidents of the Diocese of Oklahoma were present, along with many new faces.
The leadership of the Province VII ECW are actively working on plans for a Province VII Retreat to be held September 11-13, 2020 at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 127 NW 7th St., Oklahoma City, OK. The theme mirrors the chosen 2021 Triennial theme, “Remember * Serve * Imagine. All women in Province VII are invited to this retreat. Province VII, also called the Province of the Southwest, consists of the Dioceses of Arkansas, Dallas, Fort Worth, Kansas, Northwest Texas, Oklahoma, Rio Grande, Texas, West Missouri, West Texas, Western Kansas and Western Louisiana. The National ECW President, Karen Patterson, will be joining us. Come and be filled with the Holy Spirit as we share our stories and ideas regarding women’s ministries in the Episcopal Church. Our keynote speaker is Cynthia Davis, who is a Biblical fiction author and retreat leader. Hotel accommodations are available at Staybridge Suites Oklahoma City Downtown, 120 Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK. Reservations may be made by contacting the hotel at 405-602-8830. Please ask for the group rate for Province VII Episcopal Church Women. A king studio suite is $119 per night and a two queen one-bedroom suite is $139.00. The cutoff date for reservations is August 21, 2020. We hope that many of you will plan to join us.
The Province VII Board will meet the afternoon of September 11, prior to the kickoff of the retreat, to conduct business. New officers and bylaw changes will be voted on. A nominations committee has been appointed and is chaired by Debbie Butcher from the Diocese of Oklahoma.
We are all looking forward to when we can gather again and praise God in unison in person. Until then, we will continue to do God’s work as we each have been called. Please share how your ECW or women’s group is continuing to serve your community by emailing Lisa Bortner at province7@ecwnational.org
Pictures of items included in the hygiene kits created by the Women of St. Mark’s Shower Ministry in Austin for their homeless neighbors.