The presidents and past presidents of ten organizations founded by Episcopal women met from Jan 25 to Jan 27 for their annual Council of Episcopal Women's Organization's retreat in New York City. The focus was on building bridges with each other, with the Episcopal Church Center and throughout the Anglican Communion and the world. This was the first meeting of the CEWO (formerly the Council of Women's Ministries) held under its new name.  Leaders of an eleventh group, the Mother's Union were unable to attend.

Meeting together at the Community of the Holy Spirit, the leaders briefed each other on activities, status, and goals for each organization.  "The groups represent the whole spectrum of The Episcopal Church today."  remarked the Reverend Margaret Rose. "There are organizations focused on prayer and those with activist missions; there are groups focused on supporting women within the church, and those whose mission is not gender specific; some organizations have male members; theologically they represented all positions within the Church."   All nine provinces of The Episcopal Church were represented.  The leader who had traveled the farthest for the meeting was Consuelo (Connie) Seguero, President of the United Thank Offering who came from Honduras.  Those around the table reflected the racial and ethnic diversity of the church.  

Rose,  Director of the Office of Women's Ministries at the Episcopal Church Center and  Program Staff Officer Kim Robey facilitated the annual gathering which included a workshop on Beijing Circles and a chance to meet and talk with a variety of program directors from the Episcopal Church Center.  A highlight of the Church Center visit was a meeting with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. The Beijing Circle workshop was led by Rachel Lyle, an intern in the Office of Women's Ministries and a student at Berkley School of Divinity, Yale University. It is a prayer and study process for small groups that focuses on the women's agenda identified at the 1995 Beijing Conference for Women sponsored by the United Nations.   "The Beijing Circle program can be a wonderful project for ECW gatherings," commented Kay Meyer, current president of the Episcopal Church Women who attended the meeting along with her predecessor, Harriett Neer.

There were numerous examples of new initiatives and ministries among the groups.  The National Altar Guild leader noted their efforts to provide some of the communion linens needed by churches devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Rev. Cat Munz, announced that the Committee on the Status of Women has just made materials on the traffic in women available to parishes.  She is one of the CEWO members participating in the Anglican delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women this spring.  Joan Gundersen, President of the Episcopal Women's History Project noted her group was developing a traveling exhibit documenting the changes over 400 years of women's roles in The Episcopal Church and encouraged everyone to attend a major history conference June 24-27 in Williamsburg, VA sponsored by the various historical organizations of the church.  June Mendenhall, current Vice President of the Church Periodical Club reported on CPC efforts to help build libraries in Africa; and Hanh Tran, the convener of the Episcopal Asiamerica Women's Convocation highlighted her group's efforts to encourage Asian-American women's leadership.

The leaders found that they often shared common problems and challenges in adapting to membership needs in a Church where all positions are now open to both men and women, and in a society where women's lifestyles have changed greatly in recent years. Although all the groups were originally founded by Episcopal women, the Daughters of the King now has a membership spanning several churches, and others, such as the Girls Friendly Society has some chapters that also serve boys.  Several groups were looking at ways of reaching out to new members.   Although all were originally founded by lay women, the current leadership includes a mix of lay and ordained women.  Two of the retiring leaders, the Rev. Barbara Schlachter (Committee on the Status of Women), and the Rev. Elizabeth Morris Downing (Episcopal Women's Caucus) co-celebrated at the closing Eucharist.