President's Report

by Ginger Paul

"They asked and an angel came"



Dear Friends,

General Convention 2003 is upon us. I need not remind you that: GC 1976 passed the canon for the ordination of women; that at every GC since 1976 there have been resolutions that we hoped would bring all dioceses into compliance; that today the dioceses of Ft. Worth, San Joaquin and Quincy are non-compliant; that the Executive Council Task Force, set up as directed by GC 2000 resolution AO45 "...found that the intrusion of an unwelcome and uninvited group made it impossible 'to assist' and encourage Executive Council and General Convention to avoid such intrusive policies in the future."

At the Annual Gathering in October, members of the Episcopal Women Caucus expressed angered disbelief and dismay over the report of the A045 Task Force following visits to the three dioceses still refusing to ordain or license priests who are women. The Task Force suggested a resolution at General Convention in Minneapolis calling for more conversation on the topic at the 2006 General Convention. The Annual Gathering passed the following resolution in response:

WHEREAS the Annual Gathering of the Episcopal Women's Caucus, meeting in Newton, MA, on October 26, 2002, read with dismay the report of the A045 Task Force to the Executive Council, and

WHEREAS the Episcopal Women's Caucus notes that the intention of A045--to assure that plans be developed and implemented to enable the full inclu- sion of women in the processes for ordination and deployment--were not accomplished, and

WHEREAS the Caucus is appalled that by the time of the 74th General Convention yet another three years will have passed without any progress in implementing, in the dioceses of Fort Worth, Quincy and San Joaquin, the canonical changes passed in 1976 and following, and

WHEREAS the Caucus believes that the conversations and dialogue proposed in the Task Force report would be fruitless, therefore be it

RESOLVED that the Caucus requests the Executive Council to continue to monitor the situation and seek to establish action plans for full compliance in all three dioceses; and be it further

RESOLVED that the Caucus requests Executive Council to oversee extended pastoral visits by female priests and bishops to all three dioceses, within the limitations of the canons, because in those dioceses there are people who are not "self-described traditionalists."

"They (the diocese of Ft. Worth) asked and an angel (the Rev. Barbara Schlachter) came" as a representative of the Angel Project, the EWC pastoral response to those who long for the ministry of ordained women priests denied by their bishops. Dialogue has gone on with some in both Quincy and San Joaquin who remain afraid, even to let their names be known. Intimidation of this sort is in fact violence, not just against women and girls, but against all!

The Angel Project will press forward and the Episcopal Women's Caucus, in concert with the Consultation, will again be at the forefront in Minneapolis. We won't ignore the cries of our sisters and brothers for a more just Episcopal Church.