The National Episcopal Church Women (NECW) Board members traveled to Bellwether Farm for their Fall 2019 meeting in October. The group was warmly welcomed by Bishop Hollingsworth and the staff of Bellwether Farm. President Karen O. Patterson is from the Diocese of Southwest Florida.

The Board includes five officers, one representative from each of the nine Provinces of The Episcopal Church, and the Member at Large for Social Justice. The Province IX representative traveled to the meeting from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Four of the Board members are clergy. Our own Province V representative is Jan Goossens from the Diocese of Springfield. The Board meets three times each year; during the 2018-2021 Triennium, they will meet once in each of the nine Provinces of The Episcopal Church.

Women from the Diocese of Ohio joined the Board on Saturday, October 19 for Eucharist, lunch, and an informal meeting. The discussion allowed everyone to share thoughts, questions, and experiences. We heard stories of the ECW’s activities across the United States and beyond. We were reminded that “All women, by virtue of their membership in The Episcopal Church, are members of The Episcopal Church Women.”

The Board is currently planning the next ECW Triennial Meeting, to be held in July 2021 in Baltimore in conjunction with the General Convention of The Episcopal Church. In addition to the occasional Communique magazine, a monthly e-mail newsletter (Branches) is now available. There is no charge to receive these publications; all are welcome to sign up for them at ecwnational.org.