Triennial Meeting

The theme of the Triennial Meeting is "Grow in Grace" and today we heard our keynote speaker, Bishop Stephen Charleston, share with us his personal & very real appreciation of Grace. If you want to understand Grace, start with the Virgin Mary, Bishop Charleston told us. He finds Mary very real--not the Mary of stained glass windows, icons, etc. Mary was a woman in whom Grace was a strength. Grace is not a stroke of luck, but is love at work in the world. Grace comes into us silently. Bishop Charleston asked us to open ourselves to receive this Grace.

Note: You can go to www.episcopalchurch.org/gchub to view an internet "stream" of the Triennial Meeting, including Bishop Charleston's complete speech. It would be well worth your time!!!

There is a real Youth Presence here at the General Convention & they visited the Triennial Meeting this morning. Two very articulate youth spoke to us explaining their three goals: *youth involvement in the church; *evangelism and *outreach & human rights. Youth are the church of TODAY!! We were encouraged to involve younger women in ECW. [Note: the Diocese of Ohio ECW's Annual Meeting in 2010 is scheduled on a Friday evening & Saturday so we can do just that!!]

Dean Sam Lloyd of the National Cathedral also visited us today, telling us that it is OUR National Cathedral. It is the Episcopal Church's Mission church--the gathering place & spiritual home for the nation, as well as an Episcopal congregation. He suggested that we visit their web site to view the interviews that the Dean has conducted with some very special individuals, such as Bishop Tutu. However, the Dean did appeal to us to support our National Cathedral, as the current economic situation has adversely affected the Cathedral.

Honored Women from 75 dioceses were recognized individually this afternoon. The Diocese of Ohio's Honored Woman is Mary Clements, of Epiphany, Euclid. Mary was planning to be with us to receive her recognition in person, but I received a message from Mary just 2 days ago telling me that her husband, Carl, was in the hospital; so Mary had to cancel her airline & hotel reservations. We pray that Carl is recovering. The Diocese of Ohio will have a special presentation for Mary in the very near future.

Nancy Sherwin