All women of the Episcopal Church are members of E.C.W. This is a fact that some of us tend to forget. We are very fortunate, here at St. Andrews, to have three members of St. Andrews on the Diocesan ECW. Board. They are Marcia Bottomley, Tracy Moore, and Neva Shain. The three of us should be able to field any question you may ask regarding board matters. If we don’t have the answers we will be happy to locate the answer and get back to you.
Yearly the board sponsors two events. One, the recently held, Annual General Meeting, where officers are elected, one catches up on the latest news, a wonderful speaker is presented and lunch is shared with fellow ECW Members. The second is the upcoming Spiritual Journey Retreat, which is held in January at Colombiere Retreat Center in Clarkston, Michigan. Colombiere is only a stone’s throw away from St. Andrews and long distance travel is non existent. In fact if you do not wish to stay over night you are close enough to commute to the activities. This year the date is January 15-17, 2009. It begins Thursday at 4:00 P.M. and runs through Saturday at 2:00 P.M. If you are a working woman you only need to take one day, Friday, off work. With pre planning, hopefully, this can become a reality, Our very own Debbie Wollard and Karen Bota, whom you have met here at St. Andrews, are presenting this retreat. The theme is God Who Breathes Through All of Creation. Information on this retreat is on the bulletin board. Early registration has past but you can still register. Please sign up soon. Talk someone into rooming with you or sign up for a single room but do came. I’ve been going for over ten years now and I have loved every one of them and look forward to beginning the new year with this retreat. You learn so much, you meet people from other churches, and it provides a new beginning to the new year. I can’t recommend it more highly. I’d be happy to talk to anyone about it.
The United States is divided into nine Provinces. We are located in Province V which encompasses the states of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio. Each year there is an annual Province V meeting. This year the Province V Meeting is in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 23, 24, and 25th., 2009. This is about a five to six hour drive. Get together with others and car pool for a wonderful event. Talk about meeting people you will meet people from all six states. Again see any board member for more information.
And if you really wish to travel every three years there is a Triennial meeting where you can meet people from all over the country and yes even the world. The last one was held in Columbus, Ohio on June 13-22, 2006. Both Tracy Moore and Marcia went there. The next one is in Anaheim, California July 8-17,2009
Now here is the real kicker. On April 16-18,2010 we, the Diocese of Michigan, are holding the Province V Meeting. This means flyers, registration, hotel site, events, flowers, decoration, activities, workshop leaders... well you get the picture. Many hands make light work! The fact is we have work ahead of us, my friends, so please be thinking of how you might be able to help. It is exciting but it is also a daunting task. We need to step up to the plate.
Yours in Christ
Marcia Bottomley
