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Important Upcoming Dates:

April 14:  Mountain Convocation Spring Meeting

April 23:  Tennessee Valley Convocation Spring Meeting

April 30:  ECW Scholarship application postmark deadline

May 2:  CPC Sunday

(see full calendar and Parish Events Calendar...)

For March our ECW Handbook/ Calendar features Bead for Life (which
St. Stephens, Birmingham has contributed to) - it meets MDG #3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women.

Which Convocation do you belong to?

Jan. 5, 2010

Grace Episcopal Church - Sheffield invites you to their "Chili, Hot Wings, and other Favorite Things for Holiday" event Saturday, Nov. 21st, from 9am to 1pm.  Click here for contact info...

The 10th Annual St. Nicholas Day Bazaar at Grace Episcopal Church, Woodlawn (Birmingham) will be Saturday, Dec. 5th from 9am - 3pm.  Local crafts persons will sell their wares:  Jewelry, accessories, baby goods, candles, gift baskets, art…  Church members will sell the newly published cookbook, Grace at the Table, along with holiday baked goods.  St. Nicholas himself will be on hand!  click here for flyer with details...

added to Parish Events:

St. Stephen’s in Birmingham is hosting a Taste of Tazewell featuring gumbo and the artwork of Tazewell Morton on Tuesday, November 17, from 6 to 8 p.m.  Tazewell, who credits his work to influences from spending many years on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in New Orleans, relates his art to gumbo—rich with spice!  Come enjoy a delightful meal and see an equally delightful array of pieces ranging from the spiritual to the whimsical, including crèches, sculptures, watercolor and acrylic paintings, and pen-and-ink prints.  Proceeds will benefit St. Stephen’s outreach projects.  For more information, please contact the parish at 205/967-8786 or visit www.ssechurch.org.

Alabama ECW Awards 21 Scholarships - please click here to read the article in The Alabama Episcopalian, Sept/Oct edition.  Bishop Richard Hooker established the Episcopal
Church Women (ECW) Scholarship Program almost 90 years ago, and thanks to your generous support the scholarship fund is still contributing financial aid to students across our diocese.  This year your ECW awarded scholarships to 21 students from 17 parishes.  We award these scholarships on the basis of a combination of need, merit, community involvement, and a strong
commitment to the Church.  Please read the article for a few examples of how this much-welcomed financial aid has made a difference in the lives of some of the recipients.  For more information about making a contribution or applying for a scholarship, please see our Scholarship webpage or contact your parish’s ECW president.

added to Parish Events:

St. Stephen's Smiths Station is holding their Annual Yard/Bake Sale on November 14 from 8am EST to 12noon.  They will have lots of good stuff at low prices!

120th Annual Alabama ECW Fall Conference.  Please join us October 8 - 9 at St. Matthew's in Madison.  The Tennessee Valley Convocation has planned a great event for us this year.  Our speaker will be Katerina Katsarka Whitley who will share her thoughts on our theme:  St. Anne - Grandmother of our Savior.  Online registration is available - with choice of paying online or by check.    Click here for registration info and more details about Fall Conference....

See the beautiful items to be raffled at conference to raise funds for our diocesan ECW ACTS2 pledge.

added to Parish Events:

The ECW of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Montevallo will host its annual Christmas Bazaar and Bake Sale Saturday, December 5.  Handmade and Christmas gift items,  holiday crafts, ECW cookbook, baked goods, as well as eat-in or carry-out.  read more details...

Proudly Presenting Our Diocesan UTO Contribution:

Barbara Carpenter, who is our diocesan UTO Coordinator, has expressed how honored and proud she felt as she presented our three-year contribution of $108,705.46 at the UTO Ingathering Eucharist during the 46th ECW Triennial Meeting, held concurrently with General Convention from July 8 to 17 in Anaheim.  Thanks to each and every one of you, our diocese made one of the largest diocesan contributions.  read more.... (including details of the 2 UTO grants funded in our diocese for 2009)

Here is a video of Bishop Parsley at General Convention talking about our Episcopal liturgy and UTO - especially Alabama's UTO donations!  Please note:  this video file needs Real Player to play.  Download Real Player here.

Seventy-three Episcopal Church Women were recognized Friday at Triennial as the Honored Women of their dioceses for the past triennium.  Alleen Cater is the Honored Woman for our diocese.  Congratulations Alleen!  read more...

Don't forget to read Dee Buzby's posts on our Triennial blog.  In today's post, Dee mentions a project to fight malaria in Africa.  Here is a link to the Nets for Life website if you want to learn more.

The webpage has been updated that has Letters from the President, Dee Buzby, wbich are printed in each issue of the Diocesan newspaper, The Alabama Episcopalian.

Marilyn Atkins, Diocesan Board Secretary pointed out this image in the slideshow on the diocesan website about the May dedication of the new Chapel of St. Francis at Camp McDowell.  The plaque lists contributors of various parts of the chapel.  Under Sacristy, it says, "Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Alabama".  Read more about our fundraising for the Sacristy.

Beverly Penaranda, ECW President at St. Columba in the Cove sent these pictures and recap of their Seasons of Prayer seminar, held back in September 2008.

Sandra Williams, ECW President at St. Andrew's Montevallo, sent pictures from the 2009 Spring Meeting of the Birmingham Convocation, which was hosted at that parish on April 22nd.

Attention all parish ECWs:   All parishes are encouraged to send information (including photographs if any) for any ECW event/activity you would like to publicize, to the Diocesan ECW Publicity Chair, Fiona Watts.   Sending your request to the Publicity Chair will ensure that it gets publicized in new The Alabama Episcopalian and also on this website.  Please notice that the issue dates and deadlines for The Alabama Episcopalian have changed.  Click here for full details....

Updated Clergy Pictorial Directory provided by ECW.

It is the hope of the ECW that the pictorial directory will be a useful tool for clergy and laity alike, in working together on the various ministries to which Our Lord has called us. We offer it in the loving spirit of the countless women who have served this diocese faithfully throughout its history.

By Adele Colvin and Peyton Carmichael
 Adele Bibb Colvin, a native of Birmingham and an active member of St. Luke’s ECW and Church in Birmingham, served as ECW Board devotional chairman this past year.  Adele is also the author of The Donkeys’ Tales, which is beautifully illustrated by another talented woman in our diocese, Peyton Hamilton Carmichael, who attends St. Mary’s on-the-Highlands in Birmingham.  Read more....

We have posted detailed information about our St. Clare's Needle Arts Guild - an ECW "web guild" to provide resources and ideas for all kinds of needle arts projects.  If you have interests in any kind of Needle Arts, please check the lists on this page of people and projects.  This webpage will also be a place for you to post photos of needle arts projects of your parish ECW.  If you can teach or want to learn, or can provide patterns, tools, and other resources, links, etc., please let us know if you would like your name added to any of the lists.

Crosses and Ornaments for sale added to our Marketplace:

-St. Philip's ECW - Handcrafted Wooden Crosses

-St. Luke's, Scottsboro - Ornaments featuring the beautiful stained glass window over their altar surrounded by brass

These special Six Women of Sudan were featured in our Fall Conference speaker's talks earlier in the month.  These 6 women priests get to connect to the world at the single internet equipped cafe in Renk, Sudan and would love to know that we are praying for them!  Please add them to your prayer lists.

June 26

We are almost 2/3's of the way to our Diocesan ECW goal of raising funds for the ACTS2 Campaign.  The Arts Auction held in April by the Birmingham Convocation contributed almost $25,000 towards our current total raised of $42,172.  Please make plans in your parish and convocation to help us go over the top of our goal!

Slideshow presentation shown at Fall Conference on ECW Diocesan Communications uploaded

  slideshow viewable only in Microsoft Internet Explorer

ECW President Dee Buzby shares her thoughts about the ordination of Bishop Suffragan McKee Sloan on January 12:

Ladies,
Just a short note to try to describe the very beautiful service yesterday at the Advent. First of all, Brian and I arrived at 10:00 and all the seating was taken, we stood till 12:45 when several seats opened up. We were pleased that Marilyn stood with us and kept us company. What a service! All the pomp and circumstance that our Church does so well. The procession was festive and Alleen did a super job carrying the Diocesan Banner (former Corporate Gift) and she made us proud. The music were hymns that we all love, the number of Bishops- at least 7 or 8 from our Province IV- who laid hands on Kee, our Presiding Bishop who during the announcements received the warmest welcome including a standing ovation, the sometimes hilarious sermon by David Meginniss, and our new Bishop celebrating the Eucharist. The reception was very nice and Marilyn and I enjoyed working with the women of the Guild, especially Linda Kennedy who so graciously organized the reception. It as packed. Alleen made a beautiful caviar pie in the shape of the Episcopal Shield which was beautiful and delicious and which must have taken much patience.

 

After the reception, I had the opportunity to meet the Presiding Bishop at Carpenter House and she was lovely. I knew she was tired and this was her down time so I stayed just a few minutes. She has a warm and welcoming feeling about her.

Brian and I then went to the new campus ministry building and enjoyed the Tea and Conversation with the Presiding Bishop. I would describe her as confident, very intelligent, very spiritual, articulate, compassionate, and having a sense of humor. Just wish this could have been recorded. The questions ranged from the problems in our church today, to a college student asking about the priesthood, and to biblical questions. It was a comfortable time and I enjoyed it.

Blessings to you all,

Dee

Also, Alleen Cater, past president, shares her thoughts about the event and and her Episcopal Shield Caviar Pie:

Attached is a photo of the caviar pie I made as a contribution of the diocesan ECW to the reception yesterday. It's Johnny Tyson's recipe and instructions, but it was still a learning curve for me. As I was using tweezers and a very small spatula to pick out waxed paper strips and stray bits of caviar, it occurred to me that it would have been much simpler to have a big chocolate chip cookie decorated with the shield; but ....  nothing's too good for our bishops! I'm happy to share Johnny's recipe with anyone who wants it.

In addition to being as lovely as Dee Buzby said it was, yesterday was also a high moment of closeness, joy, optimism and togetherness for our diocese, in my opinion. The Holy Spirit led us all, no doubt; the fruit of that Spirit is infectious and we should all try to catch and keep it. How wonderful to see women of various parishes working hand-in-hand with the women of the Advent! Thanks to one and all. The women of this diocese are the best! Please let me know if there are others who should receive thanks for their help. I was rather late getting into the reception and missed seeing who all was helping.
Blessings,
Alleen

St. Philip's Episcopal Church NoteCards added to the MarketPlace - depicting St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Fort Payne, during its 50th Anniversary Celebration

Alabama Folk School

Need a Get Away?  Here's your chance.  How would you like to spend time studying your favorite craft or trade at a retreat center that features modern accommodations as well as over a thousand acres of forests, canyons, and waterfalls?  Come join us for a week or weekend to participate in any of the 40 classes ranging in everything from pottery, weaving and woodcutting to dance, music, and printmaking located near Poplar Springs, AL.  Please check the website www.campmcdowell.com/FolkSchool and register today to secure your spot.  For more information, contact Megan Huston at 205 387-1806 or folkschool@campmcdowell.com.  There's a rocking chair waiting for you!

The ECW of the Diocese of Alabama has made a gift of a cross in memory of the late Rt. Rev. Furman C. Stough, Eighth Bishop of Alabama, which hangs in the center window of the Chapel at Carpenter House.

Alabama ECW has pledged $65,000 over 5 years to the ACTS2 fundraising campaign for our Diocese.  This is to be applied towards the $125,000 item of the Sacristy for the proposed new Chapel at Camp McDowell.  We will keep tabs on how we are doing to reach our goal on this page.

Set of NoteCards of St. Wilfrid's Episcopal Church added to Marketplace