|
THE MONTHLY CAUCUS
The Episcopal Women's Caucus:
Advocating for women since 1971, theologically, spiritually and politically.
General Convention 2012 and Beyond |
|
|
Read the current issue of RUACH, the publication of the Episcopal Women's Caucus.
|
Episcopal Women's Caucus Breakfast at General Convention
About 300 people gathered July 8 for the Episcopal Women's Caucus breakfast at General Convention to hear keynoter Bonnie Anderson, president of the House of Deputies, speak on emerging forms of leadership. Those in attendance previewed the debut of a documentary on the life of one of the mothers of the Caucus, Marge Christie; and applauded the two recipients of the Caucus' Mary Magdalene Award (created to lift up and honor the ministry of women who work inside or outside the institutional church) and the Joseph Award (established to lift up and honor the ministry of men who work in quiet, unassuming ways inside or outside the institutional church).
The awards, presented by Caucus Convener Elizabeth Kaeton, were given to Mary Hotchkiss Miller and John Clinton Bradley.
Mary Magdalene Award: Mary Hotchkiss Miller
 | | Mary Hotchkiss Miller |
Mary Hotchkiss Miller, born in Washington, DC, attended Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College) and Union Theological Seminary, NYC. Her list of activities and accomplishments is long and remarkable. She was a founding member of the Episcopal Society for Cultural and Racial Unity (ESCRU), and served as program assistant at the Episcopal Church Center in Christian Social Relations/Public Issues from 1967-1972. Mary was national Episcopal Peace Fellowship treasurer from 1972-1981, it chair from 1982-1985, and its executive secretary from 1989-2001. She served on the editorial board of ISSUES from 1973-2001; and was a member of the Standing Commission on Anglican and International Peace with Justice Concerns from 2000-2006 and its co-chair from 2003-2006. Additionally, she is a member of Episcopal Churchpeople for A Free Southern Africa, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Episcopal Women's Caucus, Episcopal Urban Caucus, Integrity and Union of Black Episcopalians.
Mary has attended every General Convention in her volunteer, justice-promoting status -- but never as a deputy or alternate -- since 1973 (except 1976). She also assisted in the formation of the Consultation, the umbrella for progressive Episcopal groups, and has served as its coordinator since 2001. A member of St. James, Baltimore, she serves as member and secretary of the Altar Guild, Adult Forum, and the Adult Christian Education Forum. She gave her large library of peace and racial justice books to St. James, and knits copiously for the St. James (After School) Academy and for the Seamen's Church Institute, New York. She also serves as a member of the Diocese of Maryland's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Joseph Award: John Clinton Bradley
 | | John Clinton Bradley |
The Joseph Award honors John Clinton Bradley and is the Caucus' way of saying "Atta boy!" to those men who are feminists (yes, there are men who are feminists --- many, in fact), and who subscribe to the outrageous notion that women are human beings who, as the Chinese say, "lift up half the sky." John Clinton Bradley has worked tirelessly and quietly behind the scenes. His organizational skills rival only those of the recipient of this year's Mary Magdalene Award.
John assisted in the Integrity Nerve Center in 1997 and ran it in 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009, doing so with unflappable aplomb and providing assistance not only to Integrity volunteers but freely and lovingly to constituent members of the Consultation. He is adult formation coordinator in the Diocese of Rochester, member of Oasis/Rochester (diocesan LGBT ministry), member of the Diocesan Communications Team and consultant to the Commission on Ministry on lay ministry and discernment. In his home parish, he has been an Education for Ministry mentor for 12 years, led two discernment teams in his parish, manages the parish website and other technological and social media concerns, and serves as a Eucharistic minister.
The Episcopal Women's Caucus is thankful and appreciative of these two individuals who give so much of themselves to the Episcopal Church.
Enjoy this Integrity interview with Elizabeth Kaeton, Mary Hotchkiss Miller and John Clinton Bradley.
 | | Integrity Interview |
|
|
Shared Leadership for the Episcopal Women's Caucus
 | |
Terri Pilarski
|
The Board of the Episcopal Women's Caucus gathered on July 6 for a face-to-face meeting. This was the first time the new board had been able to gather together, as the members of the board live all around the country.
 | | Pamela Kandt |
Outgoing Convener Elizabeth Kaeton, who has served the Caucus for over 10 years, gave her blessings as Terri Pilarski, rector of Christ Church, Dearborn, Michigan, and Pamela Kandt, lay hospital and police chaplain from the Diocese of Wyoming, were appointed as co-conveners of the Caucus.
The Caucus models a leadership which is circular and shared.
|
|
Blessing at the Caucus Breakfast
O God, like a mother
tending her family, bless this food
and those who prepared it.
Like a father tending his family,
give us a hunger to tend
to the needs of this world.
As sisters and brothers in Christ,
give us a hunger for justice,
humility, and mercy.
From The WordsMatter Expansive Language Project in the Episcopal Church
www.episcopalwomenscaucus.org/wordsmatter.htm
expansivelanguage.blogspot.com
|
|
Gay Jennings Elected as President of the House of Deputies
 | | Gay Jennings |
Gay Clark Jennings from the Diocese of Ohio, an eight-time deputy to General Convention, was elected president of the House of Deputies July 10 on the first ballot. She began her three-year term at the conclusion of General Convention on July 12.
Jennings is the third woman elected to the position and the first to succeed another woman. She addressed her fellow deputies immediately after the vote totals were announced and thanked them for their confidence in her. She said, "I will do my very best to serve you, this great house and the church that we all love."
Jennings said she stood for election because "I believe that God is calling me to work with leaders across the church to change the way we do business in the next triennium. For the Episcopal Church to matter in the 21st century, we have to find ways to move forward together." She also said she "will do everything in my power to work collaboratively and collegially with the presiding bishop. "The presiding bishop speaks for the whole church. I speak for the House of Deputies."
In addition to presiding during General Convention, Jennings now also will serve as vice president of the Executive Council and the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (the Episcopal Church's corporate entity). She also will appoint clergy and lay members of all the standing commissions and convention legislative committees.
Jennings has served on the staff of CREDO, a wellness program of the Church Pension Fund, and the Episcopal Church's Executive Council; and is the clergy member of the Episcopal Church's delegation to the Anglican Consultative Council.
Byron Rushing Elected as Vice President of the House of Deputies
 | | Byron Rushing |
Byron Rushing from the Diocese of Massachusetts was elected to serve as the next vice president of the House of Deputies. Rushing has been a General Convention deputy since 1973 and has served as a member of the Massachusetts State Legislature since 1983. He is founding member of the Episcopal Urban Caucus, and served on the boards of the Episcopal Women's Caucus and the Episcopal Network for Economic Justice. He currently serves on the council of advice for the president of the House of Deputies.
Rushing said he is very pleased to be elected and said, "The position of vice president is to be around and present and known in case anything might happen to the president. I would expect to spend a considerable amount of time in various liturgies in the Episcopal Church praying for the health and wealth ... of our president-elect Jennings."
|
One Body, One Spirit in Christ: A Reflection from GC 2012
by Vanessa Glass
 | |
Vanessa Glass
|
It's day four and we're halfway through General Convention. Close to three hundred started the morning at the Episcopal Women's Caucus breakfast. This is my second General Convention and my second EWC breakfast.
In two conventions, the breakfast has become a touchstone for me. It's a place to connect with the men and women who sought parity and the ordination of women. It's a time to gain inspiration from current and emerging leaders. This morning, President of the House of Deputies Bonnie Anderson gave an insightful keynote address on leadership and the reservoirs of hope needed for progressive change.
The breakfast, and much of convention, is about cultivating relationships that are grounded in our common love for The Episcopal Church. I'm not talking about our love for perpetuating the institutional church, but about how through mission we become the church of the faithful gathered and dispersed in the name of Jesus.
The work we do at convention, whether in legislative committees, our deputations, or on the floor of the house, enables us to seek justice and serve others, while treating each other with dignity and respect. The relationships formed at convention are rooted in our desire to be in relationship with God, where we see the face of God in each other.
This morning at Eucharist I heard this desire expressed by the 3 year old sitting behind me when she said, "I wanna go get some bread." Her desire for the bread was so earnest. She wanted to be fed. And, so do we.
We feed one another with our stories and our hopes for how we can be the church in a new way. This morning, Marge Christie's story fed me when I learned that she withdrew from a close election so her granddaughter could be elected and serve as a deputy.
We feed each other when moderate, conservative, and progressive Christians sit side by side and vote for resolutions that we may have previously rejected, because we have heard someone's story and been transformed.
At convention, politics may be at play, but the Spirit is at work. This morning at the Eucharist the presiding bishop prayed, "Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the world in his name." General Convention is about service --- service to the church, in service to the world. May we be one body, one spirit in Christ.
Vanessa Glass is a wife, mother, priest, and second-time deputy from the Diocese of California.
|
|
Conspiracy Theory against the Episcopal Church?
A reporter from the Wall Street Journal wrote a scathing, insulting, and mostly inaccurate article about the Episcopal Church and General Convention.
Another person wrote the same kind of article for BeliefNet, a religious website. And yet another reporter's skewed view appeared in the New York Times.
The articles seem to give the same misleading messages about the Episcopal Church. We might ask, what does this mean?
Responses have been posted from the following people:
Huffington Post published a response from Diana Butler Bass to the New York Times article
From his blog "Below the Surface," Matthew Dutton Gillette, rector of Trinity Church, Menlo Park, California, writes here.
|
|
Anglican Women's Empowerment Elects New Officers
 | | Diane Eynon |
In June the AWE Board of Directors met to elect new officers.
Diane Eynon was elected as the new AWE board chair. A strategic and innovative leader with over 20 years of professional experience in international business development, management and consulting, and education, Diane is senior fellow and director of International Higher Education Initiatives at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
Diane will be teaching graduate courses and conducting independent research with a focus on gender.
|
|
ROBERT F. KENNEDY
Center for Justice & Human Rights
 | |
Librada Paz
|
Executive Director of Rural and Migrant Ministry in the Diocese of New York Richard Witt reports that Librada Paz, a tireless leader in New York's farmworker human rights movement, has been chosen to receive the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.
Librada Paz is a Council Member for the Rural and Migrant Ministry (RMM), a 31-year old organization that focuses on eradicating the systemic violence and human rights violations that America's farmworkers and migrant laborers face each day. As a former farmworker, Librada experienced abuse first-hand and is dedicated to ensuring that others do not have to suffer as she did. Through her advocacy, she frames farmworkers' and migrant laborers' rights as a human rights issue and gives a voice to a community silenced by fear and intimidation.
The RFK Center will partner with RMM and Librada to address the impact of immigration policy on local communities, and to launch a renewed advocacy effort to educate legislators for the passage of the Farmworkers Fair Labor Practices Act in New York State.
"A farmworker herself, Ms. Paz is one of the most credible voices on the dire conditions that affect them. At the same time, she embodies an important message of human dignity and hope. She demonstrates that through organization and commitment, rights are obtainable, improving both the conditions of farmworkers and society at large," said RFK Human Rights Award Judge Claudio Grossman.
Farmworkers face the hardships of sub-standard housing, long hours in grueling heat, and constant moves to follow seasonal crops. Female farmworkers suffer physical and sexual abuse by labor contractors and growers who are in positions of power. And migrant workers are routinely denied the equal labor rights afforded to them by inter-American human rights standards.
Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy will present Librada with the 2012 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award in Washington, D.C., in a ceremony in November. Librada joins 43 RFK Human Rights Award Laureates from 26 countries as the recipient of the 29th annual prize, initiating a multi-year partnership with the RFK Center.
The Rural and Migrant Ministry (RMM) is a statewide, non-sectarian organization that seeks rural justice through three programs: accompaniment, education, and youth empowerment. Its mission is to create a just rural New York state by standing with the disenfranchised (especially farm and migrant workers), promoting their leadership, and addressing unjust systems and structures. Among the many issues the organization addresses are denial of rest days per week, overtime pay, disability insurance, and violations of the right to collectively bargain with employers.
|
|
|
|
|
Church Women United Seeks Advocacy Coordinator
Church Women United is seeking a well-organized person with good computer, communication and networking skills to serve as advocacy coordinator for its Washington, DC, office. This is a contract position for 20 hours per week. Compensation is to be negotiated. The goal of the position is to promote change through organized social action and collaboration with faith-based and NGO justice organizations working on similar advocacy issues.
Applications are accepted until at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 27, 2012. The anticipated start date is August 13, 2012 (negotiable).
|
|
|
|
|
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, editor of RUACH, at kdbota@aol.com or Gigi Conner, editor of "The Monthly Caucus," at gigipriest@prodigy.net.
The Episcopal Women's Caucus is on Facebook and we have a website.
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 become a member, please use the same form.
|
|
|
 Find The Caucus on Facebook
|
|
|
|
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, 1103 Magnolia St., South Pasadena, CA 91030
attn: Chris Mackey-Mason, Please indicate if this a:
___new application
___renewal
___donation to the EWC
Amount: $________
For new and renewing members, please select the appropriate membership level below.
|
|
|
Jay Emerson Johnson had this response, "
Scott Gunn writes on his blog, 