Author: Lisa Towle

The National Honored Woman award is the highest recognition given by Episcopal Church Women. Every three years, diocesan ECW executive boards around the country are invited to submit the name of a woman from their diocese they believe has, by word and deed, best exemplified the ministry of ECW. She is then honored in a ceremony during the Triennial Meeting at General Convention.

On Friday, 73 Episcopal Church Women from dioceses across all nine provinces of the Church were recognized. Scott Hughes of Durham is the Diocese of North Carolina\’s Honored Woman for this triennium.

The list of things Scott has done not only for Episcopal Church Women but the Episcopal Church in general at the diocesan, provincial and national levels is way too long to get into here. Suffice to say for now she was an innovator and remains a friend to many, respected counselor and servant-leader. You\’ll be hearing more about her accomplishments and this award.

Congratulations, Scott! We are proud of you.

Though the ECW tends to its Constitution and bylaws, minds rules and holds hearings to address matters related to the business end of our ministry, we are not a legislative body. Instead, we are a from-the-pews-up organization all about mission and service, spiritual enrichment, study and fellowship. We represent the Church, and it\’s been said on more than one occasion that the ECW meeting hall at Triennial — \”House of ECW\” — can feel like sanctuary.

And so on Wednesday, July 8, there was joy as hundreds of women from places as diverse as Navajoland and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Delaware and the Dominican Republic, gathered for opening day festivities. Led by a kilted bagpiper, provincial presidents followed by diocesan ECW presidents, representatives of Episcopal women\’s organizations (Church Periodical Club, Episcopal Women\’s History Project, United Thank Offering), and the National ECW board, filed into the plenary hall.

There, a choir ready to burst into song and the Triennial Meeting chaplain, the Rev. Dr. Ellen Sloan, Chaplain and Dean of Community Life at General Theological Seminary, were waiting along with other certified delegates, alternate delegates and visitors.

Shortly after Kay Meyer, president of the National ECW, declared the 46th Triennial Meeting open, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori arrived to greet the gathering and participate in the \”surprise\” that had been promised. She blessed gold crosses embossed with the ECW symbol and then proceeded to hand a cross to each woman present. She did not rush the process. Nor could she stop smiling. There was singing and even dancing in the aisles.

Solemnity must be given its space, yes. But on this day, at this time, we were about the celebration of the gift of faith. We have been called to \”grow in grace.\”

Off to a 7:30 am hearing.

There\’s so much more to share, I\’ve just run out of time and zip the past few nights. Live blogging (i.e. blogging from a meeting hall) is not allowed, so I have to wait until I get back to my room. And when events go until 10 pm or longer… At any rate, keep checking.

People from around our diocese who share my passion for the Millennium Development Goals and the way they help frame the twin issues of Christ-centered transformation and mission, asked to be kept informed of all things MDG at Convention. The Big Debate, of course, centers on whether or not the national church will retain the Goals as a program and budget priority as it has since 2006. There have been meetings about the matter, and people have been very verbal in their disappointment that the church, still officially known as the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, would seriously consider making such cuts.

General Convention has only been open for a few days. I parse the words of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson in order to determine what they really think about the MDGs as central to the national budget. Here\’s what I\’ve come up with thus far: Don\’t know.

Our leaders are careful with their words. In her opening on Tuesday, the PB spoke about the Episcopal Church being in (financial) crisis, how General Convention is \”always a time of decision making\”, and how \”we may revisit conversations of the last General Convention.\” Underlying all of those debates, she said, \”will be the reality that we do not have the same kind of financial resources to address them that we had three years ago – that is another kind of crisis, both local and global.\”

She continued, \”The temptation for us here will be to see one small part of God’s mission, the part each one of use holds most dear, as the overarching reason for this church’s existence. The reality is that God’s mission will continue, whatever we do here, but it may not advance as effectively or penetrate as widely in the next few years if we get selfish or miss the mark. There are aspects of mission that are more appropriate and effective at the congregational and diocesan level.\”

Yesterday, in her sermon at the convention\’s first community Eucharist, she couldn\’t have been clearer about the church\’s priority: \”The heart of this church will slowly turn to stone if we think that our primary mission work is to those already in the pews inside our beautiful churches, or to those at other altars. We are in cardiac crisis if we think we can close the doors, and swing our incense and sing our hymns, and all will be right with the world. The heart of this body is mission – domestic and foreign mission, in partnership with anyone who shares that passion.\”

In her opening address, Bonnie Anderson spoke of the essentialness of the MDGs: \”One of the toughest things about these tough times is that we can’t hide from them. Our technology enables us to see and to know not only how we are effected, but how the global economic crisis is disproportionately affecting the poorest people in the world.

\”It is within our reach to do something about it and THAT is the toughest thing about our times. As economist Jeffrey Sachs said as he stood on the chancel steps of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Minneapolis, ”For the first time in the history of the world, we have the resources, the technology, and the capacity to wipe extreme poverty off the face of the earth. The only thing we lack is the will.

\”Some of us have the will. Over 50% of our approximately 7,000 congregations have embraced the Millennium Development Goals as a mission focus. 82 of the 110 dioceses have sacrificially pledged 0.7% of their diocesan budgets toward global poverty eradication and the MDGs. In 42 countries, Episcopal Relief & Development has touched the lives of 2.5 million people.

\”The vision of building the “Beloved Community” in the Diocese of Louisiana, for example, has been embraced by over 100,000 volunteers and a $10 million dollar investment from contributions made to Episcopal Relief & Development for this purpose which has conservatively produced 20 times that amount in benefit to the community. Many of us are responding to God’s call to mission, but what if ALL of us did it? What if all of us did it as if our lives depended on it? Think of it!!\”

Round and round we go. Their emphasis was clear. We must respond to crisis by continuing to \”care for the most vulnerable.\” How that gets done is the question.

Stay tuned.

The numbers of the 76th General Convention tell interesting stories. One is that we are a church that\’s diversifying. According to the Church\’s record keepers, included in the deputations are 85 African Americans, 53 Latinos/Hispanics, 17 Native Americans, 14 Asian Americans and 4 native Hawaiians. That\’s 16.1 percent of all deputies, compared to 15.3 percent in 2006 and 14 percent in 2003. Four percent declare themselves openly gay, compared to 3.2 percent and 1.9 percent in 2006 and 2003 respectively. The youngest deputies come from the dioceses of Western Michigan, Chicago and Wyoming.

Another is that attending General Convention takes dedication, not to mention time and money. The turnover rate for the House of Deputies, comprised of laity and clergy, remains high: 43 percent are attending their first convention, compared to 45 percent in 2006 and 42 percent in 2003. I know the Diocese of NC\’s deputies have attended meetings over the past few days that have lasted until midnight, or after.

Then there are the conversations that happen when you\’re making your way from one meeting to another. Martha Alexander knows all about it.

The best defense is dressing comfortably and owning a good pair of walking shoes. I call this \”Bishops Ascending.\” A bit more poetic than \”Headed to the third floor, where the House of Bishops is located\”, don\’t you think?

And whenever possible, laugh…

and enjoy a quick lunch in the sunshine. Margo Acomb and Sonja Bennett have the right idea.