TriennialTODAY

FRIDAY, JULY 6, 2012

OPENING CEREMONIES: A Warm Welcome From the Diocese of IndianaIn a day marked by anticpation and celebration, church women and board members and delegates from nine church provinces gathered, (285 members in the voting delegation, and 89 dioceses are in attendance), the 47th Triennial Meeting of the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) was called to order by ECW National President Marcia Himes.

The theme of this ECW Triennial Meeting is “Many Paths, One Jour-ney,” was celebrated in hymns, lead by musician Adam Graham; prayers of thanks and gratitude, and a spiri-tually inspirational presentation by Reverend Debora Jennings, Triennial Meeting chaplain.

One of the most highly-anticpated events of the day was Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s ar-rival, and participation in the tradi-tional ECW cross-blessing ceremony. The Presiding Bishop offer a prayer, then blessed and personally dis-pensed commemorative crosses into the hands of each attendee.

During the first plenary, the Rt Rev-erend Catherine Waynick, Bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis (host city of the Triennial Meeting) welcomed attendees from around the country to the opening ceremonies. Waynick expressed her gratitude for ECW, saying that she was “very grateful” for the organization, and for its role in helping to create a series of “firsts for women” in the Episcopal Church. She made reference to early ECW

OPENING CEREMONIES: A Warm Welcome From the Diocese of Indiana

women, “who were tough...in the most feminine way.”

Additionally, she also spoke to the works of the United Thank Offer-ing (UTO), and her belief that the organization “can lead us into be-ing faithful, which leads us into generosity--which is so important to grow.” Waynick lends credence to the anthropological theory that the women in a culture keep religious

faith alive. “However,” she says, “We need new ways to communicate and discern what is shifting and then in what needs to take place. It will require us to be honest, fervent, and disciplined in faith.”

Indianapolis ECW co-presidents, Charlene Watson and Lisa Matuches-ki, also greeted the assemby, provid-ing a summary of their outreach and communication support for women. The team also provided an overview of their support of national and local ECW service projects.

After the business of roll call, intro-ductions, and adoptions of standing rules and programs, keynote speaker Reverend Lindsay Hardin Freeman took the podium. The author of The Scarlet Cord: Conversations With God’s Chosen Women, ended the day’s ple-nary with a wise, insightful, and humorous offering of the woman’s perspective of the 7 days of creation.

—Laura Orcutt, St. James Episcopal Church, Utah Province, contributed to this article.

BLESSING of the Crosses

Reverend Lindsay Hardin Free-man began her keynote address with the following question: “Did you realize that women in the Bible account for less than 16% of all the people?” She went on to relay that only 185 people in the Bible are women, and of that, less than 100 speak, and actually have their words re-corded.

“Many people polarize these women, depicting them as being really good--such as Mary, the mother of Jesus, or really bad, such as Jezebel,” said Freeman.

As she retells the story of the men taking the city of Jericho, with the assistance of Rahab, a prostitute, Freeman revealed that Rahab becomes an ancestor of Jesus, who finds redemption through her social and religious transformation.

With Rahab setting the scene in religious and social transforma-tion, Freeman lists the many firsts by brave, spirited women--from Eve, the first to use free will, to the first person baptized in Europe being a woman. Free-

Keynote Address Focuses on Women in the Bible

man illustrated how women cre-ate holy spaces and holy ground to dwell in and be in. Women are the ones who change Jesus’s mind. He allows women to challenge him and change him. (Freeman pointed out that there is not one story about a man changing Jesus’s mind.)

“We are the brave women who make things work in the system and if not we go outside the system to make it work,” said Freeman, in closing. “We enjoy joy, faith, and community as the women of the church. We are an important voice in our communi-ty and our faith. We are the one who tell our stories because if not, no one else will. We carried and will contin-ue to carry the torch from generation to generation.”

By Laura Orcutt, St. James Episcopal Church, Utah Province

BLESSING

by Jenny LadefogedLive From the Triennial Meeting Floor

What does the TM cross mean to you?

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jeffert Schori was present to help launch the 47th Episcopal Church Women’s (ECW) Triennial Meeting (TM). One of the highlights of the event was the traditional blessing and dispensation of commemorative crosses to the assembly.

Triennial Today special assignment reporter Jenny Ladefoged (Diocese of Tennes-see) was on hand to gauge the reaction from event participants who were waiting to receive (or had just received) their crosses.

“I remember

thinking the crystal cross reflected light in every direction.

The cross meant love going out instead of just coming in for me.” — Nancy Hamblin (East Carolina), second time TM attendee.

“The crosses mean everything.ECW has been my life for years, and each TM is a remembrance of the Presiding Bishop. [Katharine Jefferts Schori] is my third Presiding Bishop.”

— Pam Stewart (United Thank Offering), eighth time TM attendee.

“It was very

important because I received [the cross] from the hands of the

Presiding Bishop.” — Sara Brownlove (Maryland), second time TM attendee.

“I’m not sure…because I

know it is going to be something important.” — Audrey Pabs-Garnon (Washington),

first time TM attendee.

“In New Mexico, the ECW is

disabled, so I wear the cross as a symbol of the women in the Episcopal Church.”

— Teena Maki (Northern Michigan), third time TM attendee.

For more than 30 years, Alice Britton has been a member of St. Luke’s Church, Bronx, New York. Britton is the coordinator for St. Luke’s food pantry and kitchen, which serves the surrounding com-munity by providing daily hot meals and monthly food distributions. A member of the Altar Guild for more than 15 years, Britton is the present ECW treasurer and UTO coordinator for her parish.

A member of the North Central Bronx Hospital Auxiliary, she has been honored by the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation.

According to Britton’s nomination committee: “We honor Mrs. Alice M. Britton as an ardent church worker who has committed herself to social and community activities. Her desire

to give back to the community after retirement through volunteer service has been an inspiration to many in her parish and community.”

The Distinguished Woman ceremo-nies will be held on Saturday, July 7, between 11 am and 1 pm, on the second floor of the Westin Hotel, in the ballroom.

Each year, the Distinguished Woman Award (formerly known as the Honored Woman Award) is presented at each Episcopal Church Women’s (ECW) triennial meeting to a woman in the Episcopal Church whose life and involvement in the secular community best reflects “her Christian values.” As part of this time-honored ceremony, diocesan delegates from each province are asked to submit the name of a woman who represents these qualities.

This is Triennial Today’s second installment in recognition of the exceptional women of the Episcopal Church.

HONORING the Distinguished Women of the Church

From Province II: ALICE BRITTON, Diocese of New York

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Fue nuestro primer día de reunión en la Trienal de Mujeres.

Todas estábamos emocionadas y nerviosas a la vez, al fin llegaba el momento tan esperado. Han sido tres largos años de espera y este primer día estuvo excelente, compartir la Eucaristía de inicio con tantos herma-nos y hermanas y ver la diversidad de Dios en cada rostro no tiene precio.

Luego reunirnos en el salón donde se desarrolla la Trienal pararse ar-riba en el escenario y ver tantas her-manas allí sentadas a la expectativa de lo que ocurra y con una sonrisa de felicidad tampoco tiene precio son las cosas maravillosas que nues-tro Dios nos da.

Un Dia MARAVILLOSO

Las hermanas de la Provincia IX que es la provincia a la que pertenezco estaban felices y todas en general estábamos felices, la hermana de Honduras no resistió la emoción de abrazar a la Primada

¡QUE FELICIDAD!

By Suyapa Rodriguez, Province IX Representative, National ECW Board

Have you registered for Sunday’s Walk/Run? Today is your last chance!

Calling all walkers & runners...

Sign up for this very special event in the ECW Secretariat Office located in GRAND BALLROOM III on the 2nd Floor of the Westin. REGISTRATION CLOSES TODAY AT 5PM

Looking for a unique dining venue in Indianapolis? Rumor has it, The Rathskeller is one of the more interesting eateries in the city.

The Rathskeller has been serving up tra-ditional German and American cuisine since 1894. Located in the Athenaeum Building, an historical 19th century ar-chitectural structure that was designed by writer Kurt Vonnegut’s grandfather, The Rathskeller is reported to be the oldest operating restaurant in India-napolis.

The menu features such old school Ba-varian classics as sauerbraten, sausages, warm potato salad, and sauerkraut. Additional favorites include homemade soft pretzels, warm bread, and The Rathskeller’s own spicy German mus-tard. American favorites, such as steaks, burgers, and seafood are also part of the fare, as well as a robust dessert selection. In addition to its extensive lunch and dinner menu, The Rathskeller boasts a bar that serves 12 beers on draft, and more than 50 varieties of bottled beer.

The Rathskeller

Triennial TODAY was written, edited, and designed by Rogena Schuyler-Silverman and Cristina Paraiso. For the duration of the conference, the office for Triennial Today is located in the Senate 1 Suite, on the 2nd floor of the Westin. If you would like to contribute an article, review, or offer unique insight into the event, please contact TMeditor@ecwnational.org.

Dining in Old World Ambiance

The restaurant, which is decorated with authentic German collectibles, is equipped with several indoor dining rooms, an outdoor beer garden, an in-door bar with a vaulted atrium ceiling, and a gargoyle-enhance fireplace. There is live music on weekends.

For more information, or to make reservations, go to www.rathskeller.com, or call 317.636.0396.