ECW Fall Gathering 2025: Be.Loved

 

Upcoming Women's Ministry Events for Women in the Diocese of the Rio Grande

There's a lot coming up this summer and fall for Women in the DRG. We hope you can join us for some or of these events.  

Summer Book Study of Richard Rohr's book Falling Upward. Every Thursday evening on Zoom from 6:30-7:30pm from July 11-August 15. Contact Cindy if you want to join.

Episcopal Church Women of Province 7 Fall Gathering in Overland Park, KS, Sept. 27-29. We will watch and discuss The Philadelphia Eleven film. Full details on the ECW Province 7 website. (In person only.)

"Loved like Me": Diocese of the Rio Grande Annual Gathering. October 18-19 at St. Francis on the Hill, El Paso. We'll learn about the Borderlands Ministry of the DRG and what we can do as individuals, groups, and congregations to help. (in person and Zoom)

Remember-Serve-Imagine, the ECW Prov. 7 Fall Gathering

All women in Province VII, (which includes the Diocese of the Rio Grande) and friends, are invited to Remember-Serve-Imagine, the 2022 Province VII ECW Fall Gathering. 

We’ll meet at the Church of the Transfiguration, 14115 Hillcrest Rd., Dallas, TX on September 9-11. 

Building on the theme of the National ECW Triennial, the Rev. Rebecca Tankersley, Senior Associate Rector of Church of the Transfiguration is our morning speaker. Her presentation will focus on new ways of living as women of faith in these ever-changing times. In the afternoon we’ll have three workshops focusing on how to Remember, Serve, and Imagine.

You can participate in-person (or via Zoom).

Registration is $75 in-person (including lunch) or $20 if you can only attend via Zoom, payable via PayPal (the receipt will say Footprints From the Bible). Please register by September 7.

Download a Flyer to share with your friends and congregation! If you have questions, please contact Cindy or Lisa at provinceviiecw@gmail.com.

A special $105/night rate is available at the Hyatt Place Dallas North hotel. Check the Province VII website for hotel info, speaker bios, and other information about this event.

ECW Triennial Cancelled for 2022

 

Following the decision by the Presiding Bishop and Executive Council to hold a pared down General Convention (Presiding Bishop’s statement to Executive Council regarding 80th General Convention – The Episcopal Church), the ECW board met to determine the best course this year. 

It was decided, "The National ECW Board voted this [May 22] to cancel the 2022 Triennial in Baltimore. This was a very difficult decision that affects many. More information will follow shortly from the National ECW President, Karen Patterson."

This doesn't affect the work of Women's Ministry in the DRG, and we are looking forward to the exciting summer event with Linda Rounds-Nichols at St. Francis, Rio Rancho and the Nov. retreat with Brother Angel Roque. 

Stay tuned for more info about these and other events!

Province 7 Episcopal Church Women (ECW) Gathering Sept. 11, 2021 on Zoom

Deadline for Registration Extended to September 8! 

Don't miss this inspirational event with Dean Katie Churchwell on the topic, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller  

Dean Katie will speak on how we experience God during the current times, safe places and seeking solitude in the Lord while being in fellowship with other women.

All Episcopal Women of Province 7 are invited to attend the Province 7 ECW Conference via Zoom on September 11, 2021. 

This is a great time to meet women from around the Province and be inspired by Dean Katie.  

Due to the surge in COVID, we have made the decision to go virtual this year. Our tentative schedule is:

8:45 Session open to log in

9: Welcome and intro of ECW leadership

9:15: Opening Prayer by ECW

9:30: Karen Patterson/National ECW Pres.

9:45: Break

10: Presentation 1 by Dean Katie

11: Sharing/Discussion small and large groups

11:30: Lunch break

12: Visiting/getting to know each other (optional)

12:30: Presentation 2 by Dean Katie

1:30: Discussion /small groups and large group

2:15: Break
  2:30-3: Closing worship led by Dean Katie. 

Registration $20 to attend virtually. (The fee will be used to provide an honorarium for Dean Churchwell.)

You can download the flyer for full information. 

Register by clicking below or by sending a check as noted on the flyer.  

Note that the receipt will show "Footprints From the Bible". 

Registration

Virtual $20.00 USD

ECW Notes

What is ECW? It's Episcopal Church Women-so if you are an Episcopal Woman, you are a member of ECW. You don't have to have a 'chapter', or even be active in any women's groups--it's automatic!  

As Women's Ministry of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, we are part of that larger connection; AND we open our arms to women from all denominations who may want to participate in our events and retreats. Being actively part of ECW also means women from around the province can and have joined in our gatherings and retreats! 

The ECW website states simply, "Since 1871, the National Episcopal Church Women, ECW, have championed women’s rights and the Christian foundation of God and family. They are an affiliate of the Episcopal Church and celebrate that Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Their women’s ministry and children’s programs feed, educate, and provide community grants around the world. They are a volunteer organization that creates a legacy for Episcopal Church Women to lead future generations with stewardship in Christ."

Having been recently elected as the Prov. 7 ECW Vice President I will try to keep you all informed of what is happening in our Province. Let me know if you have questions or comments. I don't anticipate any sudden changes to the way we minister as Women of the Diocese of the Rio Grande as we are actually one of the dioceses that is actively ministering. (Something you call each pat yourselves on the back for!) We'll just be a little more conscious of our broader connection to women in the Province and the wider church! 

As a diocese in ECW, we are able to make donations and request grants. We can be in prayer for those dioceses in Province 7 (our province of the Episcopal Church) who don't currently have active women's ministry: NWTX, W-MO, W-KS. We can pray for and come alongside the W-LA area that includes the Lake Charles area devastated by the hurricanes. We can nominate women to serve and we can attend Triennial gatherings. Via the Communique, we can keep up with news from across ECW. Check out the full ECW website for a lot more information about history and activities. 

Carry the Light of Love-ECW Prov. 7 Conference

 

You can still register for the ECW Prov. 7 Conference coming up on Sept. 12 from 9-12 (Central time, that's 8-11 in NM) 

All women in Province VII are invited to this conference. Province VII, also called the Province of the Southwest, consists of the Dioceses of Arkansas, Dallas, Fort Worth, Kansas, Northwest Texas, Oklahoma, Rio Grande, Texas, West Missouri, West Texas, Western Kansas and Western Louisiana. The National ECW President, Karen Patterson, will be joining us. Come and be filled with the Holy Spirit as we share our stories and ideas regarding women’s ministries in

Keynote speaker Cynthia (Cindy) Davis will help us find inspiration by looking at women throughout the ages who shared the light of the God’s Love in the world of  their time.  These faith-filled women can inspire our faithful response to our own challenges.  Women like Miriam, Mary, Julian of Norwich, Hildegard of Bingen, and even Florence Nightingale all listened to the voice of God in difficult times.  They responded with love.  Their lives show us the light of God’s Love and teach us how to carry God’s Love into the world today.

Register here to participate in the live Zoom. 

A video will be available after the event. There is no registration fee.  You can download the full brochure for more information. 

A History of Episcopal Church Women in the DRG

      Throughout the DRG there are women who gather together in small groups and large meetings. Some of you know that there is an organization under which all women’s groups in the Episcopal Church exist. Appropriately enough it is called ECW for Episcopal Church Women.

According to the ECW website the organization consists of “Episcopal Church Women of all ages, ethnic origins and socioeconomic backgrounds who hold a variety of views. However, the common denominator of our members is love of God and the wish to do His work. Centered in congregations, the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) empowers women to do Christ’s ministry in the world. Our vision for all women of the Episcopal Church is that we become a vibrant blend of all ages, coming together as a peacemaking, healing part of the Church. We aspire to be a Godspark-shining and sharing the love of Christ.”

That sounds like every woman in the church, doesn’t it? ECW was established in 1871 (as the National Women’s Auxiliary) and has been a driving force behind women’s ministries since that time. This blog has highlighted UTO  and CPC, which are two of the funds founded under the auspices of the Episcopal Church Women. Links to the Girl’s Friendly Society, Episcopal Women’s History Project, and other groups can be found on the national ECW website.  

In this diocese, the ECW has a long history. Many, if not all, churches in the early years of the Missionary District had Women’s Auxiliaries consisting of women involved in teas, rummage sales, altar guild, Daughters of the King who used their funds to help support their church's work. At St. John’s, Albuquerque, Auxiliary minutes remark, “our work includes everything from janitorial duties to teaching Sunday School and even reading Morning Prayer”! It wasn’t just church work, either. “Women around the Missionary District were taking a more active role both locally and nationally. Ladies were active in observances of the World Day of Prayer, intercessions on Armistice Day, and work in community Welfare Associations. Much of this work was organized through the Women’s Auxiliary, a national organization for women in the Episcopal Church.”*

Mrs. George (Elizabeth) Valliant was president of both St. John’s and the State Women’s Auxiliary in the 1930’s. She reported “five parishes and 64 missions in the District in 1936. Twenty-six of these 'participated in the work of the Woman’s Auxiliary’ when she took on the job.

Valliant stated, ‘The tremendous distances in our District, and the small stipends of our Missionary Priests, make it impossible to minister adequately to our scattered people. However, in spite of these handicaps, eleven of our groups report distinct progress in attendance and actual work done; and among nearly all the groups who have reported, I can see very marked spiritual improvement.’

Mrs. Valliant sadly reported to the National Council of the Women’s Auxiliary that many groups did not report through the district, but the ladies in Anthony and Berino did. They said, ‘We are a Guild without a Church, and we help St. Anne’s Mission $4.20 every other month and $12.50 twice a year toward the Rector’s salary in Las Cruces. Adding that our own efforts in helping needy families.’”*

As the Missionary District grew so too women’s ministries grew and evolved. When new missions were planted, new women’s auxiliaries formed. At St. Mark’s on the Mesa, in 1948, not long after the mission formed, there was a joint luncheon of Cathedral and St. Mark’s ladies with “72 ladies present.”*

Even after becoming the Diocese of New Mexico and Southwest Texas (and later the Diocese of the Rio Grande), women played a supportive role across the region with their monetary and service contributions. For instance in 1970 women assisted with funding and supplying a kitchen at Canterbury Chapel so “[The Rev.] William E. Crews [could] provide lunches and a coffee house for students, a place to dance, and to teach credit courses in theology and Bible.”

As society changed, though, attendance at Auxiliary meetings diminished. In the 1970’s one president lamented that she “hoped that more women [would] feel the [ECW] is a group to which they BELONG and where they can find fellowship and Christian sharing.”*

In 1981 “Women from 14 churches around the Diocese met at the Cathedral…to discuss women’s organizations in the diocese…the question foremost in the minds of the 30 women at the meeting was whether to form “a diocesan Episcopal Church Women group to represent us in provincial and national church affairs.” Letitia Creveling of St. John’s noted, “We were a very cohesive group, we served as a network throughout the diocese and were a link between the congregations and the Bishop’s office.”

They found that their ministries were very similar, whether from small missions or large Cathedrals. Representatives from each church reported, “Our thrift shops, rummage sales, bake sales, and other activities help support repairs and upkeep of the church, furnish choir robes and Church School equipment, and in many cases contribute to the priest’s salary.”

Although no decision was reached, Bishop Trelease stated, “The purpose of this meeting was to come together and get a clear conception of how women in this diocese feel about the matter.”

Eight years later, on January 30, 1989, women of the Diocese [established] a Diocesan Episcopal Church Women’s Group…to “assist the women of the Episcopal church to continue Christ’s work of reconciliation, mission and ministry in the community, nation, and world, and to take their place in the life, governance and worship of the church.” [As] the vision statement of the ECW stated [at the time], women “envision a celebration of our diversity as we build a Christian community to strengthen and nourish ourselves and others as bearers of light and hope, keepers and proclaimers of the faith.”*

What does the National ECW do now? The national body is still active in promoting women’s development in all areas of ministry. social justice issues, study materials, Women to Women Education Grants and other opportunities are highlighted. ECW women will gather in Indianapolis for their 47^th Trienniel meeting during the General Convention under the theme of Many Paths, One Journey. The national president, Marcia Himes, says, “All of us travel together on the one Journey, the Journey towards being more Christ-like, the journey where we are continuing to Grow in Grace.”

You can read about current activities of ECW around the country and around the world in “The Communique” . The National Women’s Auxiliary prayer from the 1920s states that women are to “pray fervently, labor diligently, and give liberally to make him known to all nations as their Savior and their King and reveal thy love in prayer and work and stewardship.” This seems like a goal we can all still strive to live into. 

If you are currently a member of an ECW group at your parish, please share some of your activities with us.

 

*Excerpted from A Grain of Mustard Seed by Cynthia Davis (C) 2008