Triennial Meeting July 2015

The Episcopal Church Women’s Community Connection Gift is a specific outreach response to the needs of the community at the location of the General  convention and Triennial Meeting. While it is often a call for material goods to be given by TM delegates to a local shelter or social support group, monetary donations and gift cards from ECW groups are also much needed.

Homeless Youth Street Outreach & Homeless Youth Resource Center Salt Lake City

It’s about helping youth find their way to a better life. The youth, aged 15-24, who live on the streets of Salt Lake City, who camp in the area’s foothills, who have nowhere else to go. The staff and volunteers of HYSO/HYRC go to them, taking them food and clothing, checking on their safety, and gaining their trust, so  eventually, the youth seek them out. At first, it might just be to shower, do laundry, or get some food at the Center. But once a relationship is built, more can be done than just meeting of basic needs. The Homeless Youth Resource Center helps people complete their educations, seek employment, find housing, and get the mental health and addiction counseling they need.

Won’t you answer the call?

Mail contributions to:
Kathy Mank
National ECW Treasurer

Make checks payable to: DFMS
with memo: “ECW – Community Connection”

Questions? Contact:

Deborah Gardiner
Member-at-Large, Social Justice

Other suggested donations:

• Hygiene kits
• Bus tokens
• Canned meals (SpaghettiOs, beef stew, etc.)
• Granola bars
• Gift cards for $5 or $10 to fast
• food restaurants (McDonald’s, Burger King)

For more information about Episcopal Church Women, visit us at www.ecwnational.org
or friend us on Facebook

Wanted: Special Teams Photographer

The arena of communications has become very specialized as society has entered into the age of electronic and social media.  As with a football team, the special teams have specialized skills.  The Triennial Today editorial staff and the VP for Communication and Information are seeking volunteer delegates that can work under their direction in the following areas:

• Experience with posting to Twitter and Facebook – The goal of this work is to provide informative comments and photos that will be uploaded to the ECW Twitter account and Facebook page throughout Triennial. This work is especially important to communicate with women not able to attend Triennial as well as other ECW followers not at Triennial

• Experience with photography – Candid shots of people and events need to be taken at the direction of the editorial   staff –   Most of these photos will be needed for electronic publishing

• Experience with feature writing and news reporting – Articles that cover Triennial events and other related assignments are needed for      publishing

• Proofreading skills with understanding of layout

• Communications gopher support

If you have any questions regarding the requirements, please email Christine Budzowski at @ecwnational.org

Ready to join this Special Team?  Please email name and contact information to Christine Budzowski at @ecwnational.org by April 1, 2015.

The Salt Lake City and 48^th Triennial Meeting Survival Guide

We are going to have a wonderful time at the Triennial Meeting and Salt Lake City is a very special place.  There are some measures to take to make sure that you are feeling your best as you explore this area which is at a higher altitude than some of us are used to and that is very dry.

So below are some tips from medical experts, fellow Episcopal Church Women, and veterans of previous Triennial Meetings.

Although this is not like ascending the Andes, it is definitely higher than living at sea level.  To combat the change in altitude make sure to:

• Get plenty of rest. You may feel more fatigued.
• Arrive hydrated and stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water.
• Do not drink alcohol and limit caffeine.
• If you have a serious chronic heart of lung condition, consult your physician before the trip

Some other practical hints to assure your physical comfort due to the dry, bright weather:

• Bring eye drops and sunglasses.
• Bring extra facial or skin moisturizer.
• Dress in layers so you can adjust as you go between venues.

Veterans of Triennial meetings past make the following suggestions:

• Make sure you bring comfortable shoes. Although the layout for this meeting is fairly compact you will walk a fair amount each day.
• Remember all your prescription medicines and the contact information for your pharmacy at home.
• A roller bag makes it easy to carry notebooks, papers, and goodies from the expo. The tote bag gets really heavy by the end of the meeting.
• Bring over the counter medications with you as well. It is usually more convenient and less expensive than the options near the convention center.
• Pack a few of your favorite snacks and protein bars. Sometimes the lines can be long in the convention center as well as expensive.  Bring a refillable water bottle.
• If you are participating in the 5K walk/run, bring a hat and sunscreen.

 Make preparations and take precautions so that you can experience the 48^th Triennial Meeting to the fullest!

Monday, June 29, 2015, 11:00 am to Tuesday, June 30, Afternoon

Share your ECW mission and ministry, at the Triennial Meeting, Share Fair & Networking session in the Plenary Room. This is your opportunity to share your story about your ministry in your parish or diocese. This will provide you the opportunity to network, learn and gather information about different ministries, throughout the nine provinces, to take home and share.

Tables will be provided. We anticipate 2 displays per 6’ x 3’ table. All other display materials should be provided by presenter.

Please note that this is not meant for fundraising. No items may be sold in the plenary room.

*The signup form is located in the above Flyers and Forms section

Dear National Episcopal Church Women Board,

I just want to briefly say thank you for prayerfully reviewing our work on Resolution 101/104. It has been an honor and a great learning experience being on this ad hoc committee of the NECW Board and I am blessed to have had this experience. I will be praying for you all as our work is being presented to you as well as during the days after when you are fully digesting all of the information. I believe that the ad hoc committee and CBC have created a report that reflects the hard work of all of us. I have faith in God and you all as the NECW Board to discerningly decide what to do with the information moving forward. Thank you for all that you do.

Respectfully, your sister in Christ, Athena Hahn

Dear National Episcopal Church Women Board,

Thank you for considering me for membership in the Ad Hoc Committee. It has been a great learning experience, in more ways than one. I learned much about the history of Triennial and the By-laws. As you review our work I pray that you too will learn about the needs, hopes and aspirations of the women of ECW (the need for increased communication from the board to the grass roots, the need for inclusiveness and the need to take stock of where we have been and where we want to be in the future). Again thank you for this opportunity to serve.

Yours in Christ – Barbara E. Taylor

To the 2012-2015 NECWB,

When I first heard about this resolution I was delighted, surprised, and pessimistic. Delighted because it’s been needed for some time; surprised that someone brought it forward and saw it through to passage; and pessimistic that anything would truly come of it.

The next thing I knew I had a contact from Lisa asking about my interest in serving on the Ad Hoc Committee. I immediately wrote back that I was interested and how significant I found it that this work would be done by an outside committee rather than internally by the board. I grasped the amount of work that would need to be done to do this work thoroughly and how difficult it would be for the board to combine it with the work already required of them.

I jumped into this work with my typical dedication, plus some, for my own personal need to give back to this organization that has meant so much to me and how I’ve lived my life. I have committed myself to giving my all because I want to see other women be blessed as I was blessed by being a part of this segment of the Episcopal Church. I have prayed that the effort put forth by so many of us would be positively received and will subsequently make a difference for generations to come.

I believe that without a dramatic change – yes, change! – in the purpose, mission, vision, structure, and activities of ECW at all levels (national, provincial, diocesan, and congregational) this organization will cease to exist in the near future. This current process is only a step forward, but without a first step no others are possible. So please open yourselves to the voices beyond yourself and give ECW an opportunity to become everything it can be.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of all of this.

Janet Farmer
NECWB 1997-2003

To the National Episcopal Church Women’s Board

First of all I want to thank you for supporting this endeavor by financing this project and your support in for filling all our requests. This project has been needed for many years, and you as a board were willing to take on the task of getting the analysis done. Praises go to you big time. It was my understanding you first looked at doing the evaluation in house to save money. Thankfully you were willing to say this is too much of a monumental task for us to do in addition to our other project that of the Triennial Meeting, and supported an adhoc committee to do it.

As you listen to our report please know it may be overwhelming. There will be many changes advised. Please take a deep breath and say wow this ride of change maybe bumpy at times, but should be a roller coaster of fun. Our dreams for the future of ECW are exciting. You will be exploring uncharted territory. You will be on the ground floor. You will be one of the founding sisters in this endeavor. How exciting for you to be a part of it. In many ways I am a bit jealous that I am not on the board and will miss all of fun.

Please remember that for any entity to survive, they must continually look at where they have been, where they are, and where they want to be in the future. It is a continuous continuum. If that entity fails to adapt, it will fail and wither away. An example of this is IBM. They were a leader in the PC computer world. The company failed to adapt to the changing market and lost a foot hold. IBM sold the PC division to Lenovo a Chinese company who did adapt to the changing market. They are the leader in PC’s in the world.

What happens next is in your hands. Please take your time, know that we will be praying for you. What happens next is up to you. Do you want to be IBM or Lenovo? I hope it is the latter. There is so much that needs to be done.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the new and uncharted territory. It has been an honor.

Your sister in Christ,
Janet Higbie