The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church Women is:
      To provide for participation in the missionary programs of St. Paul's parish;
      To enrich the spiritual life of its churchwomen;
      To enlist women in service and action in the parish and diocese;
      To foster Church fellowship and leadership.

May 2022

Dear Women of St. Paul’s,

Beginning in January, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Women’s board began discussing the organization’s future.  Initially, the importance of the ECW within the fabric of the St. Paul’s was discussed and expounded upon. The board’s activities have included women’s spiritual and social events and retreats, social events for the entire congregation and fundraisers such as the annual garage sale, bake sales and Cabaret au Chocolat.  The March meeting took a decided turn.  When asking for candidates for officers for the upcoming year, there were no volunteers nor suggestions.

For many years, the board has invited and encouraged others to join, with extremely limited success.  Most of the current board members have been on the board for 10+ years.  Many board members have been president if not once but twice. Throughout the years to become more sustainable the board has tried to adapt events.  Initially, the main events sponsored were monthly luncheons with programs.  The ECW board would set up, provide lunch, and clean up.  As more women went into the work force, several of the meetings were changed to be Saturday events, to be more inclusive.  The board went one step further, hosting a couple of evening events during the year for the entire congregation.  These events included entertainment and dinner.  While a few individuals step in to help (especially for the church wide events), these events are basically planned and executed by the board members.  As a board, unfortunately, we are no longer able to continue down this path.

In March, a motion was made to dissolve.  This was modified to become a proposal to dissolve to give more thought and prayer to the possibility of St. Paul’s without an ECW.  After conversations with The Rev’d Allan Cole and Ross Fraser, current senior warden, they attended the April ECW board meeting to express their concerns, the importance of ECW and offer their support.  At this meeting, a motion was made and passed that the ECW Board go on hiatus from June 1st – December 31st.   In January, the board will meet and plan a women’s retreat to occur after the annual meeting.  All the women of the parish will be invited to this retreat.  The purpose of the retreat will be to determine if the organization, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Women, should continue and what it might look like in the future.  

During the hiatus, the focus of the ECW Board will be to rest, pray and listen to the concerns, ideas, and thoughts of the women of St. Paul’s.  Please feel free to talk with any of the board members about this matter.

We hope this time of inactivity will allow space for renewal and new opportunities for St. Paul’s ECW.

In Christ,

Carol Davenport & Barbara McLenon
Episcopal Church Women Co-Presidents

ECW Board Members: Kathy Breit, Alison Buckley, BJ Burleigh, Nancy Colligan, Louise Freeman, Jan Josselyn, Renee Parkhurst, Cindy Rutledge and Karen Van Gundy