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THE MONTHLY CAUCUS
The Episcopal Women's Caucus:
Advocating for women since 1971,
theologically, spiritually and politically.
July 2010
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Raising our Voices - The Elimination of the Women's Desk from TEC: from Kim Polhemus, an officer with Anglican Women's Empowerment (AWE), and senior warden of St. John's Episcopal Church in New Milford, Conn.
Elected to Anglican Consultative Council: Gay Jennings
The Fab Four on July 20th: Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints. (formerly Lesser Feasts and Fasts and authorized by the 2009 General Convention. All commemorations in Lesser Feasts and Fasts have been retained, and many new ones added. Three scripture readings (instead of current two) are provided for all minor holy days. Additional new material includes a votive mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, many more ecumenical commemorations, plus a proper for space exploration.) Questions - why do four women prophets share a day rather than each having their own day? How many women were actually added to these feasts? And will you remember and give thanks for these women on July 20?
New Quick Links: How women lead; Feminist Theology in an Age of Fear and Hope; how to support our troops; Episcopal Disabilities; and Episcopal Women's History Project
Please feel free to pass along articles to friends or forward this email...and let us hear from you. And if you are a member and would like to 're-up' your membership, please do so by filling out the coupon at the bottom of the page. If you are new to the Caucus and would like to be a member - please use the same form.
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| WOMEN WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Gay Clark Jennings, Elected to Anglican Consultative Council
 Gay Clark Jennings has been elected to a six-year term as one of three Episcopal Church representatives to the only worldwide Anglican Communion council in which bishops, priests, and laypeople make decisions together. The Anglican Consultative Council, which meets every two or three years in different parts of the world, facilitates cooperative work of the churches in the Anglican Communion and helps coordinate common action. The group also advises on the organization and structures of the Anglican Communion and develops common policies for world mission and ecumenical matters.
In commenting on her election, Jennings said, "It is important for the Episcopal Church to be a full and equal member of the Anglican Communion. It is also important for us to be clear about our identity-that which is central and enduring-about the Episcopal Church. I believe that the way in which we share authority among bishops, priests and laypeople is one of our signature strengths, and I believe that we are called to proclaim that church unity and Gospel inclusiveness are opposites only if we believe unity means sameness."
Jennings, a graduate of Episcopal Divinity School, is the associate director of CREDO and is also an elected member of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, which elected her to her new position. She has served seven times as a legislative deputy from the Diocese of Ohio to General Convention.
At General Convention in 2009, Jennings chaired the committee responsible for crafting D025, the legislation that opened the door for the election and consecration of openly gay partnered bishops. The resolution, approved by the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, moved beyond a de facto moratorium that had been in place since the 2003 consecration of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, bishop of New Hampshire. In May of this year, the Rt. Rev. Mary Glasspool became the Episcopal Church's second openly gay, partnered bishop. The other Episcopal Church representatives to the Anglican Consultative Council are former EDS faculty member Ian Douglas, now serving as bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut and Josephine Hicks, a laywoman and attorney from the Diocese of North Carolina.
taken from Episcopal Divinity School website
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On the Elimination of TEC's Women's Desk by Kim Polhemus
 The elimination of the Women's Desk of The Episcopal Church (TEC) came as a shock and a disappointment. At the least, the elimination of the Women's Desk was a mistake. At worst, it took away the voice of Episcopal women from the global women's movement at a critical time. The voice and work of the Women's Desk radiated throughout the Anglican Communion, making a significant difference by providing a model for the promotion and support of women worldwide. Historically, TEC Women's Desk has been a major presence in the growth and influence of the international women's movement. Without a person at the national church level to connect the global movement to our grassroots social justice network, we have lost all connectivity to each other's work. With the loss of the Women's Desk went the ability to keep the issues of maternal health, human trafficking, gender equity and violence against women on the front burner of the church's social justice agenda.
At the 49th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, the Provincial Delegation, consisting of delegates from the Episcopal Church and 40 provinces around the world, created Anglican Consultative Council Resolution 13/31 calling for equal gender representation in the membership of Anglican decision making bodies and the establishment of a women's desk for every province. This resolution was brought to the ACC by the International Anglican Women's Network (IAWN). The ACC strengthened the resolution and went on to pass it. So here we sit, a model and major presence in the Communion with no Women's Desk.
[Read Kim's
full piece in the upcoming issue of Ruach,
summer 2010 issue.] |
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Help Wanted: EWC Business Manager
The Caucus needs someone (or two someones) who are computer-enabled to handle our membership database and financial records.
The financial part includes receiving all dues and donations at your home or office, making deposits, paying bills, keeping auditable records, making monthly reports to the Caucus Board and an annual report to the membership. Excel/Quicken or QuickBooks have been used in the past.
The data part includes adding or deleting person records, keeping mailing addresses updated, crediting dues to the proper persons and keeping membership status current. Providing mailing labels or a text file usable by the print shop where Ruach is produced is a quarterly task, in coordination with Karen Bota, the Ruach editor.
Volunteers are welcome, but some pay for your efforts can be negotiated with the EWC Board. For more information or to apply, e-mail Ann Van Dervoort at vandyrlv289@pol.net.
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Quote for the Month:
If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to forment a rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation. ~ Abigail Adams, U.S. First Lady, 1776
Quotes from our Women Prophets:
The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls." - Elizabeth Cady Stanton
It was a needed instrument to spread abroad the truth of a new gospel to woman, and I could not withhold my hand to stay the work I had begun. I saw not the end from the beginning and dreamed where my propositions to society would lead me.
- Amelia Bloomer
That little man in black says woman can't have as much rights as man because Christ wasn't a woman. Where did your Christ come from? . . . From God and a woman. Man has nothing to do with him." - Sojourner Truth
"I never ran my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger.
--Harriet Ross Tubman
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Four Women Prophets: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Amelia Bloomer, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubmam.
The Collect for the Day
O God, whose Spirit guides us into all truth and makes us free: Strengthen and sustain us as you did your servants Elizabeth, Amelia, Sojourner, and Harriet. Give us vision and courage to stand against oppression and injustice and all that works against the glorious liberty to which you call all your children; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The following information taken from a web page at the now defunct Women's Desk at TEC
Who were Stanton, Bloomer, Truth and Tubman?
Four amazing women, of two different races, whose lives touched three centuries are the subject of a single commemoration. They gave themselves to the cause of justice in a variety of realms, and through their energies and imaginative leadership, they made significant and lasting contribution to the rights of all people, but most particularly to women. (Sam Portaro, Brightest and Best)
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton -
Stanton (1815-1902) was a pioneer in the early women's rights movement. In 1848 she joined other women for the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls and prepared a Declaration of Sentiments based on the Declaration of Independence that called for radical changes for women including the right to vote. Stanton, an activist and reformer, focused her energy on temperance, suffrage and women's rights. She helped to found the National Women's Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869 with Susan B. Anthony. Together with Susan B. Anthony, Stanton also took the initiative to compose a Woman's Bible that would include notes and reflections especially for women. Stanton, raised in the Presbyterian Church, was often annoyed with ministers she encountered who did not promote women's rights. She attempted to call them back to the Gospel message and preached in many churches herself regarding women's rights.
- Amelia Bloomer -
A peer of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Bloomer (1818-1894) was deeply involved in the women's rights movement. She began her own publication The Lily, which some call the first feminist magazine, in 1849 in order to share her views on temperance, and women's rights. One year earlier she attended the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls. In addition to making her literary contribution, The Lily, she also developed a new fashion for women. In the nineteenth century women's clothing was not only restricting, it was in some cases a health hazard. The tightly laced garments constricted the women and sometimes caused breathing problems. Bloomer invented a new fashion of wearing loose baggy pants (nicknamed "Bloomers" in honor of Amelia) under shorter, looser skirts.
- Sojourner Truth -
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) was born a slave in New York. Throughout her young adulthood she was sold multiple times to various owners. She suffered diverse hardships and by the time she was in her mid-thirties, when New York was on the verge of abolishing slavery, she left her owner and decided to become her own women. She immediately began work to abolish slavery and promote women's rights by giving multiple speeches throughout the nation. She delivered one of her most famous speeches, "Ain't I a Woman? " (see recommended readings below), in 1854 at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention. Sojourner, a devote Christian, worked to enable the Kingdom of God on earth. A fantastic speaker and inspirational presence, she helped mould the nation's reform.
- Harriet Ross Tubman -
Harriet Tubman (1820-1913) was born into slavery in Maryland. At the age of 28 she escaped her life of bondage by claiming her freedom and running away. After gaining her freedom, she began developing ideas about how to free other slaves. In the mid-1800's Harriet helped slaves from across the nation gain their freedom via the Underground Railroad. Harriet and others she inspired helped to free more then 300 slaves from the dehumanizing lives that were forced upon them. In the 1860's she spoke at many abolitionist and women's rights meetings. Then during the Civil War she worked as a soldier, nurse and spy for the Union army. Harriet was a woman of courage who was not afraid to seek and live out God's gospel message.
Recommended Reading:
Websites of Interest:
http://www.greatwomen.org/women.php |
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Be a Caucus Companion:
* Pray daily for the inclusion and acceptance of all people.
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* Support the EWC through a yearly donation.
* Support the ministries of women in your own parish and diocese.
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AND | | | The Episcopal Women's Caucus wants to know: In what ways might we gather (in person or online) to support one another, the Caucus, and all Women's Ministries? Over the next few months, help the Caucus board envision how to grow our important advocacy work in new and lively directions. Please send your thoughts, ideas or insights to ewcaucus@yahoo.com. We'll share your comments in upcoming "Monthly Caucus" emails and in future issues of Ruach.
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Use this form to join the EWC, renew your membership, or make a donation. Make check out to EWC and mail to:
Episcopal Women's Caucus, 413 Buffware Court, Charleston, SC, 29492-8212
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