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THE MONTHLY CAUCUS
The Episcopal Women's Caucus:
Advocating for women since 1971, theologically, spiritually and politically.
MID-SUMMER 2011 |
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In this issue: CHANGE
- CHANGE IS IN THE AIR by Bonnie Anderson, President, House of Deputies
- WELCOME to the WHITE HOUSE a video with Bishop Mary Glasspool talking about her June visit to the White House
- YET WE PERSIST the writing of a play about changes in involvement of women in the Episcopal Church by Katerina Whitley (play may be downloaded by going to Yet we persist)
- CHANGE IN WASHINGTON: The election of a new bishop
- WONDERING an article by Helen Barron, founder of Candle Press and long-time advocate for children in church, who wonders what changes will help our children stay in the church.
- BOOK REVIEW on The Meaning of Mary Magdalene by Cynthia Bourgeault
- A HYMN about women and change by John L. Bell, Scottish minister and hymn-writer.
- VET VOW a resource for vets whose lives have been changed due to sexual trauma
- DVD RESOURCE:The Electronic Campfire a resource for Biblical storytellers - featuring God as Creator and woman.
- NY AREA EVENT: an opportunity to meet the producer of Pray the Devil Back to Hell
- WORK FOR CHANGE with focus on Women and War: TV series and educational information
- PRAYERS on the Anniversary of the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood July 29
For all women and men who support womens' ministries: Bless you for your steadfast commitment to God's work: caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor. May you continue, through your words and in your life, to proclaim the Gospel, and to love, serve, and nourish Christ's people.
Please Note: Annual Renewal coming up on the anniversary of the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood (July 29)
The EWC is planning to have a daily prayerful presence at our General Convention Booth. We are looking for a few good women who will help to write a short 10 minute prayer service for noonday, using expansive/inclusive language. These prayer services will be collected together in a booklet we hope to distribute. If you are interested, please contact Elizabeth Kaeton: motherkaeton@gmail.com If you will be at General Convention - lay or clergy deputy, bishop or visitor - and would like to take part in leading a prayer service, please also contact Elizabeth Kaeton.
Also - we are interested in what kind of leadership conferences or what issues are of interest to you. We would love it if you would copy the sentence below, answer the question and email to gigipriest@prodigy.net
Imagine that you have registered for a women's conference/ retreat. Upon registration, you receive a schedule for the event. As you imagine this schedule in your mind, please list below all the experiences that would fully meet your spiritual and physical needs.
The Episcopal Women's Caucus strives to offer views from different women, lay or ordained, throughout the Church and to hold up celebrations, events, achievements, or struggles that involve women. If you are interested in contributing - whether through an article you have written or a newsworthy item - please contact either Karen Bota, the editor of RUACH KDBota@aol.com or Gigi Conner, The Monthly Caucus gigipriest@prodigy.net
The Episcopal Women's Caucus is on Facebook and we have a website website: www.episcopalwomenscaucus.org.
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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 CHANGE IS IN THE AIR
By Bonnie Anderson, President, The House of Deputies
The Episcopal Church, like all other mainline denominations, is in a period of transition. With declining membership numbers and monetary resources needed in the congregations and dioceses, it is time for us to embrace a change - proactively.
Turning our attention to quick fixes, shaping our ministries and worship on what we perceive to be "successful" models (mega churches, emergent churches, etc.) or simply sitting by and watching it all happen, may give us a sense that we are responding. But I believe we are being called to a whole new way of being The Episcopal Church.
The new "lens" through which we look needs to be characterized by foundational values. One of our most foundational and primary values is the ministry of all the baptized. Every decision we make, every plan we create needs to pass the test: "How does this decision or plan enable the ministry of all the baptized?" We must always remember that our governance enables our mission by bringing all the voices into the decision making at every level of God's Church: vestries, diocesan conventions, and General Convention.
Sixty-one percent of those who attend the Episcopal Church are women. It is women who have been the backbone of God's church for centuries. Most of us are lay women. Perhaps our time has come again to help God's Church define a new way of being and to welcome all the baptized into a full ministry, as defined by our Catechism.
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Bishop Mary Glasspool at the White House
 | | A White House Welcome |
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YET WE PERSIST - How the play came to be written
by Katerina Katsarka Whitley, a native of Thessaloniki, Greece, who immigrated to the United States at age 16 to study music and literature. She later used her second language to share the glory of God as the editor of Cross Current for the Diocese of East Carolina and more than a decade of work for the Episcopal Church's offices in New York. In addition to the play "Yet We Persist," her books include Light to the Darkness: Lessons and Carols, Public and Private, Speaking for Ourselves: Voices of Biblical Women and Seeing for Ourselves: Women Who Met Jesus. She resides in Valle Crucis, N.C.
Drama has been with me since I have been aware of the world around me. Growing up in a gregarious family whose members loved to talk and tell stories made my love of the dramatic arts as inevitable as learning to read. This was encouraged by my community of faith. My tiny evangelical church in Thessaloniki, Greece was a pioneer; that is, Protestantism in Greece was so new that, outside the Bible, we had to invent most of our material; when we couldn't invent, we translated.
We told the Christian story in drama whenever we could; it was my generation that did so, not our parents'. We were children, but creative children. So we wrote plays, translated hymns, and formed choirs and dramatic groups.
With such a background, and growing up in a country that had given drama to the world, I found it utterly natural that I would grow up to be a dramatist. I wanted to offer my writing, my acting, all my creative efforts to the telling of the good news, the gospel story. In my younger years I wrote chancel dramas and later I directed Reader's Theater pieces in my parish. When the time had come for me to write books, I knew that these books would be in the form of dramatic retellings. By this time I was deeply committed to the work of the wider Episcopal Church.
A few years ago, at a diocesan ECW meeting I heard again the refrain: What can we do to attract new people? How can we attract our younger women? I asked immediately: Do they know your story? Do they know how ECW started, how it developed, what the women have done for the furtherance of the kingdom of God? I thought that the dramatic telling of the Episcopal Church Women's history would be exciting and offered to write a play for the 2009 Triennial meeting.
In researching the history of ECW I was struck by the perseverance of faithful, activist women in the face of stubborn resistance to change by the men of the church - a change that would honor the work of these women in tangible ways, in inviting them to sit at the table of leadership. I was also impressed by the women's ability to keep mission functioning and growing in small ways that could be ignored by the men but were indispensible to the furtherance of the kingdom. Thus, the play Yet We Persist was born.
The choice of a reader's theater was necessary because I wanted this play to be available to all the women of the church. I knew that rehearsals would be very difficult to achieve when the characters live far from one another; also, women who are willing to read aloud may not be willing to memorize long passages. This form makes it possible for all women who can read well to participate; they need to read aloud and with clarity. As they read, the history itself will come alive and will contribute to the sharing of the good news.
Each group may add an exciting event or contribution unique to its respective diocese. Musicians may also be involved in the section changes. Be creative and have fun with the presentation. But do make an effort in publicizing the performance to all the women of your parishes and dioceses, and offer as many of the roles as possible to those who have not participated in the past. And may the story continue for the glory of God and the furtherance of God's kingdom.
(I do want to add that this would not have been possible without the vision of Kay Meyer, ECW president 2006-2009, and the national board she led during the Triennium. They all deserve my thanks.)
P.S. Episcopal Church Women: Where are we and where are we going?
I have been trying to think of the state we are in as Episcopal Church Women. No matter how comfortable most Episcopalians seem to be with the established rituals. structures, and even liturgy of the church, we have to recognize the reality that even the idea of what constitutes church is changing. So the women-yes, the very same women who were instrumental in bringing about huge changes in the church in the 20th century-must also find ways to revitalize themselves. ECW groups, where they do exist, are mostly made up of women who are no longer considered young: they are devoted, energetic, faithful, and hard-working, but, in most parishes and dioceses, they are no longer young. This means that unless younger women are attracted to the reality and work of ECW, this particular organization will pass away. Very few parish ECWs make provisions for the younger women who are raising children and working outside the home. Meetings usually take place during the day when the working women cannot attend. How do we attractthem? What must we do to change?
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WONDERING . . .  by Helen Barron
My niche is families with young children. I can usually communicate with a child 7 years old or younger. Our church has rich resources for this age-group (Godly Play, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, even my beloved Living the Good News). My concern for our church is how we are attempting to relate to the concrete-operational child who may take that "but is it true?" mindset all the way into adulthood.
Most of you have heard the (I hope, apocryphal ) but true story of the persimmony Second Grade Sunday School teacher who asked the children: "Now class, what is it that eats nuts, is grey and has a bushy tail?" The two little boys look at each other and say: "Sounds like a squirrel to me, but this is Sunday School so I guess the answer must be: '"Jesus'"
How do we choose stories these children can relate to -- concrete stories -- to encourage them to stay on a journey that will one day, perhaps, take them onto what Marcus Borg calls "post-critical naivete"? For my 12 year-old grandson, the story of Jonah invokes incredulity similar to the squirrel story. July 2011 provides three Sundays in a row with stories about seeds. Is that an opportunity, or what?
What if those of us with a say in how liturgy happens would be willing risk communicating in ways that reach these children? (Unanticipated consequence: significantly more adults than we may suppose are still in the "critical thinking" phase.) A simple drama --placing the story in a current setting, possibly inviting the children to help "produce" the drama -- just might help set free the truth of the story. I'll never forget a rendition of The Good Samaritan in which one of the actors was a woman in a suit and heels so busy texting she did not even see the wounded man. (If this idea intrigues you and you want some outside help, Friends of the Groom (fog@fuse.net ) are not only masters at creating simple but evocative dramas but they generously share.
What if older children (say 5th or 6th graders) were invited to write a set of Prayers of the People? The Book of Common Prayer is very clear that if the key topics are included (see p. 359 for one place)then improvisations are theologically correct.
I marvel at the children who make it through our current system - go on to youth group (when they are old enough to say "No way! I'm not going to church anymore") and even become life-long Christians -- some of them even staying IN the Episcopal Church!
I suspect we can do this. We can discover and share ways to offer a concrete message - that is not kiddy lit nor dumbed-down theology. If any group could do this, it is surely the people who read these e-newsletters: people who have steadfastly refused to be limited by the seven last words of the church: "This Is The Way We've Always Done It."
Helen Barron - CANDLE PRESS - Candle Press |
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CHANGE IN WASHINGTON
The Rev. Dr. Mariann Edgar Budde Elected Bishop of Washington
(Budde is pronounced buddy)
Elected on the second ballot out of a filed of five nominees, Dr. Budde, age 52, will serve as the first female diocesan bishop of Washington.
(The Rt. Rev. Jane Dixon was consecrated in 1992 as Suffragan Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. She was the second woman to take the office of bishop in the Episcopal Church, and the third in the worldwide Anglican C as Suffragan Bishop).
Budde is the rector of St. John's, Minneapolis, Minn. and has served as a conference leader for CREDO (clergy wellness and renewal organization), a leader of the Diocese of Minnesota's Commission for Mission Strategy, Deputy to General Convention and on the Diocesan Standing Committee.
Dr. Budde, who earned an MDiv and DMin from the Virginia Theological Seminary is married to Paul Budde. They have two sons, Amos, 23, and Patrick, 20. She also speaks fluent Spanish and has a long history of work among Spanish-speaking people.
In her response to one of the questions put forth to the nominees, "Why do you feel called to be a bishop?" Budde replied, "Hindering our ability to live fully into our call, however, is an insufficient capacity for ministry in many congregations. Thus, my sense of call to be bishop is also informed by a desire to bring about needed change in the Church I love."
Upon the announcment of her election Budde said, "I am honored and overjoyed to accept the call to serve as the next bishop of Washington. I pledge to serve God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the people and ministries of the Diocese with my whole heart, doing everything I can to support and strengthen the mission God has entrusted to you. My thanks to Bishop Chane and all those gathered today. May God bless us all in the days ahead."
Pending the required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of the Episcopal Church, Budde will succeed Bishop John Bryson Chane, who retires this fall, and will be consecrated and installed as bishop on November 12..
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BOOK REVIEW: THE MEANING OF MARY MAGDALENE: Discovering the  Woman at the Heart of Christianity, by Cynthia Bourgeault
The Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault has written a fascinating and uncoventional book about the intriguing woman of many facets and interpretations whose feast day is July 22.
The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, The Most Rev.
Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, notes that the reader should "expect a challenge...this book should change something..." The book is in three parts, reflecting the author's goals for study. In the first Bourgeault seeks "to repair the damage caused by a heavy-handedly patriarchal (and at times flat-out misogynist) ecclesiastical tradition and reclaim Mary Magdalene's legitimate role as a teacher and apostle." Secondly, there is a deeply thought out look at the love relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus; a transformational love "not the sentimentalized melodrama our culture commonly holds up as love but a spiritual love so refined and luminous as to be virtually unknown in the West today." Lastly, the author explores the healing this understanding of spiritual love can have for the deep psychic wounds of Christianity.
Bourgeault admits to being a scholar, contemplative, and student along the path of conscious love as she wrote this book. Her interest in the love between Mary Magdalene and Jesus is how the "faithfulness of two hearts resonating across time and space forms a particular kind of energy channel through which divine compassion pours itself forth as wisdom and creativity." This book brings together the facets of Bourgeault's life in a readable exploration of the riches and depths of spirituality. As an Episcopal priest, writer, and retreat leader she is a sought after speaker around the globe. She is founding director of the Aspen Wisdom School in Colorado and principal visiting teacher for the Contemplative Society in Victoria, BC, Canada. A copy of her interview about this book with Gwyneth Paltrow for the actress's website GOOP is available at Paltrow Interview
Review by The Rev. Babs Marie Meairs |
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A Song of Women and Change 
Words: John L. Bell (b. 1949)
Published in: One Is the Body available from Wild Goose Resource Group, Iona, Scotland. John Bell is a Scottish Minister, prolific hymn writer, activist, and works for liturgical renewal through the Iona Community in Scotland. In talking about his book Ten Things They Never Told Me About Jesus, he says, " The witness of women in scripture has been silenced or patronized by a church in which men primarily choose the readings for worship and who preach."
Wild Goose Resource
There is a Line of Women
Tune: The Seven Joys of Mary - English Carol Melody (see below words)
1.There is a line of women, extending back to Eve,
whose role in shaping history God only could conceive.
And though, through endless ages, their witness was repressed,
God valued and encouraged them through whom the world was blessed.
So sing a song of Sarah to laughter she gave birth;
and sing a song of Tamar who stood for women's worth;
and sing a song of Hannah who bargained with her Lord;
and sing a song of Mary who bore and bred God' Word
2. There is a line of women who took on powerful men,
defying laws and scruples to let life live again.
And though, despite their triumph, their stories stayed untold
God kept their number growing, creative, strong and bold.
So sing a song of Shiphrah with Puah at her hand,
engaged to kill male children they foiled the king's command.
And sing a song of Rahab who sheltered spies and lied;
and sing a song of Esther, preventing genocide.
3. There is a line of women who stood by Jesus' side,
who housed him while he ministered and held him when he died.
And though they claimed he'd risen their news was deemed suspect
till Jesus stood among them, his womanly elect.
So sing a song of Anna who saw Christ's infant face;
and sing a song of Martha who gave him food and space;
and sing of all the Marys who heeded his requests,
and now at heaven's banquet are Jesus' fondest guests.
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Here is an old resource turned from video into DVD - features God
(as woman) creating the world. Picture God with her sunglasses on, sitting in a beach chair, sipping lemonade, and saying, "This is good. This is really good." Available from Leader Resources for $29.95.
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VetWow
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) defines miliarty sexual trauma (MST) as sexual harrassment that is threatening or physical assault of a sexual nature. These traumas occur when a person is in the military. The location, the genders of the people involved, and their relationship do not matter.
"I refuse to be held accountable for someone else's inability to control themselves."
No discrimination. Confidential! We do NOT care if you are:
- Female, male or transgendered;
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- Have an honorable or dishonorable discharge status;
- Were/Are in the Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard;
- Were/Are Office or Enlisted
Founded by Susan Avila-Smith in 1996
We Advocate for Men and Women Affected by Military Sexual Trauma
(We have trained most of the independent military sexual trauma veterans advocates in the U.S.) |
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Prayers on the Anniversary of the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood
Most holy and loving God, you sent your Child Jesus Christ that there might no longer be slave or free, Jew or Gentile, male or female: Be with us this day as we rejoice in the ordination of women to the diaconate, priesthood, and episcopate, giving thanks for their ministry among us. Fill our hearts with gratitude for those who worked and prayed unceasingly for the full and equal participation of women in our church in both holy and lay orders. Strengthen those who still struggle for the full inclusion of women in holy orders in their diocese; in the name of the Source, the Word, and the Spirit. Amen.
(Source: Galatians 3:28) -The Rev. Elizabeth Rankin Geitz
A Litany of Prayers for Women and Ministry
In peace we pray to you, O God.
We pray today with special intention for all people who struggle for survival, for visibility, for a voice, for equality, and for the quality of life to which God's Shalom calls us. For the world's poor, destitute and homeless, most of whom are women and children.
The people may name aloud those people or places where lives are devalued
Let not the needy be forgotten.
Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
For all people of minority cultures and ethnic groups in the United States who continue to be trivialized and endangered by the pervasiveness of racism and for all who are infected with the epidemic of race hatred.
Bring us to work together for wholeness, health and the welfare of every person in every circumstance.
For all men and women in Episcopal and other communities who care enough to struggle for the transformation of the Church and the world.
We give thanks for those who do not fear diversity but rather embrace the wondrous variety of spiritual experiences offered to us through God.
For those who refuse to give in to despair or cynicism and who continue to dream, envision and struggle for a more fully just world and a more courageous church.
For the courageous witness of the ministry of women; for the congregations and priests who have supported the faith and witness of the countless laywomen, deaconesses and women religious (Anglican and Roman) who have been models of leadership for all women in our ministries; for the courageous witness of the first women ordained priests in this country - Merrill Bittner, Alia Bozarth, Alison Cheek, Emily Hewitt, Carter Heyward, Suzanne Hiatt, Marie Moorefield Fleisher, Jeannette Piccard, Betty Bone Schiess, Katrina Martha Swanson, Nancy Hatch Wittig, Eleanor Lee McGee, Alison Palmer, Betty Powell, and Diane Tickell.
We give you thanks, O God.
In thanksgiving for the activism of the men and women in every diocese who worked to bring about the ordination of women:
The people will name aloud those for whom they are thankful.
For the contributions of women in all walks of life, in all churches, throughout all generations, especially today for the creative, liberating ministries of laywomen, female deacons, female priests and female bishops throughout the Anglican Communion,
We give you thanks, O God.
We lift up and celebrate the work in this diocese where the mind, soul, heart and hand of a woman provides the mark of leadership, especially:
The people will name aloud those whom they celebrate
We give thanks for their courage and perseverance in remaining faithful ministers.
To you, O God, we give honor and glory.
For the gift of the continued renewal of our church - for the grace of radical hospitality and the skills of evangelism, for the courage to proclaim and live the truth of the inclusive love of God in the world and in our church,
Let us inspire and teach our children, youth and young adults to carry on the mission of Christ from generation to generation.
We pray for all who have died, remembering their courage and faithful witness:
The people will name aloud those on their hearts and minds
Loving God, let your loving kindness be upon them.
Who put their trust in you.
Merciful God, accept the fervent prayers of your people; in the multitude of your mercies look with compassion upon us and all who turn to you for help. for you are gracious, O lover of your creation, and to you we give glory. Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
(Adapted from the 25th Anniversary Celebration in Philadelphia)
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Be a Caucus Companion:
* Pray daily for the inclusion and acceptance of all people.
* Develop a spiritual discipline
* Support the EWC through a yearly donation.
* Support the ministries of women in your own parish and diocese.
* Forward the Monthly Caucus to a friend. Just click the blue space
marked forward at the bottom of the entire page.
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" e-mails 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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