THE GRAPEVINE EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN Notes From The President Nancy Polick Sands If you missed the Annual Fall ECW Board meeting on October 15th I outlined our accomplishments. The outreach from our churches and ECW members has been tremendous. I received ten reports from the ECW Presidents of our churches. All together the amount given in outreach was $23,515.30. This does not count the money spent to buy items for the Wish List for Boys Home of Virginia and Jackson-Feild Home. At the Annual Fall ECW Board Meeting the women voted to give Jackson-Feild Home and the Boys Home of Virginia $20,000.00 each from the Tucker Memoral Fund. I was honored to present these checks to Mr. Donnie Wheatley from the Boys Home of Virginia and to Mrs. Anne Chaffins from the JacksonFeild Home. We also voted to continue giving the Love Gifts to the graduates at graduation time. The $20,000.00 given to The Boys Home of Virginia will help them in restoring the damage that happened on the campus during the flood. Continued on Page 2. Winter 2016 Bishop Hollerith Installs ECW Diocesan Board Members Bishop Hollerith installed ECW Diocesan Board Members at the ECW Fall Annual Meeting. Grace Church, Norfolk, hosted the meeting Saturday, October 15. The following officers were elected by acclamation: President -Helen Sharpe-Williams, Grace Church, Norfolk; First Vice President - Laura L. Manigault, St. Cyprian s, Hampton; Student Work Chair, Sandra Gardner, Stephen s, Petersburg; United Thank Offering Coordinator, Ronda Toll, Christ the King, Tabb and Communication Chair, Nancy Smith, St. Aidan s, Virginia Beach. The new board members will serve a two-year term beginning January 1, 2017. ECW Gives $40,000 to Virginia Homes Diocesan ECW President, Nancy Polick Sands, presented Ann Chaffins, Jackson-Feild Homes; and Donnie Wheatley, Director, Boys Home of Virginia, each with a check for $20,000 at the ECW Fall Annual Meeting. The second phase of God Bless The Children, Nancy s 2015-16 ECW outreach project, the money is earmarked for room renovations at Jackson-Field and flood damage repairs at the Boys Home. Income from the Tucker Memorial Scholarship funded the gifts. Grace Church, Norfolk hosted the meeting Oct 15. Nancy Polick Sands, ECW Diocesan President, and Donnie Wheatley, Director, Boys Home of Virginia. Nancy, Ann Chaffins and Meredith Melo, MPH, Jackson-Feild Homes. 1
ECW Convocation I Fall Meeting The ECW Fall Convocation Meeting was held October 19 at Christ Church, Eastville. After Holy Eucharist, Chair, Louise Boss, opened the business meeting. Seventeen women from Eastern Shore Episcopal churches were present. L. Gabrielle LeVecque takes office as Convocation I Chair Jan. 1, 2017. R. Louise Boss is current chair. The service collection of $74 was donated to the ECW project God Bless the Children which provides a monetary gift to Jackson-Feild and Boys Home annual graduates. Nancy Gonzalez, Treasurer, was unable to attend. Chair, Louise Boss, gave the report of an ending balance of $691.61. Chair, Gabrielle LeVecque, and Treasurer, Nancy Gonzales, were elected with terms to begin January 1, 2016 for two years. Election of Vice-Chair and Secretary will be held at the Spring meeting. Our Spring Convocation meeting will be held at St. George, Pungoteague, April 19, 2017. All Episcopal Church women are invited to attend even if they are not associated with a guild. Louise Boss, Convocation I Chair New ECW President at Redeemer The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Midlothian will have a new president in December. Mary Alligood will be stepping in after Jo Anne Simpkins steps down. Jo Anne Simpkins will stay on as an advisor to Mary. Also our wonderful annual Christmas bazaar will be on November 12th. It's an all day, until 3p.m. affair filled with so many talented vendors. Come and join us!! God bless you all, Jo Anne Simpkins, President Notes from the President Continued The $20,000.00 given the Jackson-Feild Home will help in the renovations of the women's cottages on their campus. I originally wanted to start an Endowment Found for these homes but felt the money was needed now. I want to say a big THANK YOU to the Episcopal Church Women in the support of my project for these two years. When I looked at the budget and saw the amount of money that we send out here in Virginia and abroad we have spent a lot of money in outreach. This is approximately another $4,000.00. We also gave out almost $10,000.00 in Scholarships. If you add all of this up, you can see the tremendous work the women of this Diocese has done this year not counting what we did last year. I am so proud to be a member of the Episcopal Church Women. We are a powerful group of women. I AM WOMAN, HEAR ME ROAR!!!!!!! I also want to say a big THANK YOU to the Board Members leaving the Board this year: Louise Boss, Corresponding Secretary, Helen Sharp-Williams- First Vice President and UTO Coordinator, Lu Sullivan- Parliamentarian, Deborah Austin Nominating Chair, Susan Broaddus and Dr. Willene Johnson- Student Work Co-Chairs. You have all done a wonderful job and have worked very hard. It has been my honor and privilege to serve as your ECW President Diocese of Southern Virginia. May God Bless each and every one of you. Nancy Polick Sands, ECW President Diocese of Southern Virginia 2
United Thank Offering Report - Helen Sharpe Williams United Thank Offering Ingathering Fall is here so that means it is time for the semiannual United Thank Offering Ingathering. The United Thank Offering is an outreach ministry of the Episcopal Church that was founded in 1889. It is a personal and family devotional program of the Episcopal Church encouraging men, women, and children to share our thankfulness to God through daily prayer and offerings. We are prayer oriented first and then we give tangible thanks for our blessings as an offering or thanksgiving to God. Each year the offering gifts collected are given away in the form of grants. These grants focus on meeting compelling human needs and to expand the mission and ministry of the church at home and throughout the world. Through these grants, those less fortunate can come to know the love of God. Where does the money go? Every penny goes to grants, but there is never enough. The 2016 UTO grant cycle awarded 32 grants, either fully or partially, totaling $1,300,000. Let s give thanks for what we have in our lives and pass our many blessings onto others. Please give generously to the UTO Fall Ingathering. Even the smallest donations, when added together, can make a huge difference in the lives of others. The deadline for the Fall Ingathering is December 10, 2016. UNITED THANK OFFERING GRANT for 2017 The United Thank Offering (UTO) supports programs that address compelling human needs by supporting the alleviation of poverty, both domestically and internationally, within the Anglican provinces, dioceses, and companion dioceses. Specifically, it supports projects that: Address poverty of women and children; Make significant impact; Demonstrate new and innovative work; and Are a part of a planned diocesan/ provincial mission strategy. The United Thank Offering Grant Process will begin the 1st Friday in December. The grant guidelines and criteria will be available on the United Thank Offering website: www.episcopalchurch.org/uto. Each diocese may submit one application for the 2017 United Thank Offering grant cycle. The bishop must provide a letter of endorsement on letterhead stationary with signature and comments. Grant applications will be accepted only online. If you have questions about the application, you may join one of the webinars that will be sponsored by the UTO Board. The times and dates for the webinars will be posted on the website. The diocesan UTO review committee will select one application to submit to the United Thank Offering Board. United Thank Offering IMPORTANT DATES FALL IN-GATHERING OCTOBER (all monies are due on or before December 10th to ensure that it will be credited to 2016. Make check out to: United Thank Offering Mail to: Helen Sharpe- Williams 2343 Locks Landing Chesapeake, VA 23323 GRANTS There is still time to apply for Grants December 2, 2016 Annual Grant materials and application available March 3, 2016 Annual Grant application deadline Young Adult/Seminarian Grant Recipients announced after the winter Executive Council Meeting Annual Grant Recipients announced after the summer Executive Council Meeting Be sure to check www.episcopalchurch.org/uto for the official release and new materials. 3
Who s Who is ECW? Treasurer s Report - Betty Mariner to Louise Boss, Second Vice President. The form is on page 5. Many thanks! Sign up online at diosova.org for Weekly Email News Diocesan Connection 15% 15% 9% 13% Chanco on the James Dept. of College Ministries (5% existing & 10% startup) Jackson-Feild Homes Dos Santos Mission of the Holy Spirit National Cathedral Episcopal Relief and Development Holy Cross Anglican School Feeding Program, Belize To include your news in these publications or to be added to the email list, please contact Ann Turner, Diocesan Communications Officer, aturner@diosova.org or 757-213-3388. Follow ECW on Facebook Many thanks to Megan-Drew Tiller, Church Relation, the Boys Home of Virginia, the ECW of the Diocese of Southern Virginia is on Facebook Friend us. is a quarterly printready newsletter available for individuals and churches to receive via email We appreciate your help sharing the news. If you have news you would like included in The Grapevine, or know of someone who would like to be added to the email list, please contact Nancy Smith at nsmithwtr@aol.com. The deadline for Council issue is January 15, 2017. 4
Parish Annual Contribution Report, 2016 Please provide the amount of your parish ECW Requested and Voluntary Contributions. Total all contributions and send one check payable to ECW Treasurer. Mail by November 1 to: Mrs. Betty Mariner, 30359 Bobtown Rd., Pungoteague, VA 23422 757-442-7215, themariners@verizon.net Parish: Convocation: City/Town: Amount of Check: Please use this form for all contributions EXCEPT United Thank Offering. If you have questions about United Thank Offering contributions call United Thank Offering Coordinator: Helen Sharpe- Williams, 757-487-8183, helen.sharpe-williams@earthlink.net. REQUESTED CONTRIBUTIONS Diocesan Dues - $3.00* per member TOTAL: $ *Dues are based on $2.00 for the Diocesan Budget and $1.00 for the Administrative Fund. All Episcopal women in your church are members of the Episcopal Church Women. VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS Church Periodical Club: Adults: $ Miles of Pennies: Children: $ Elise Holladay Scholarship Fund: $ Book of Remembrance: $ God Bless the Children $ (Jackson-Feild Homes and Boys Home of Virginia graduates gifts) With These Hands Endowment Funds, Holy Cross Anglican School Belize: $ Name of person completing form: Phone: E-mail: ECW Parish Information Report for 2016 ECW President or Parish Contact, please complete and mail by November 1 to Louise Boss, Second Vice President, 12402 Wilsonia Way, Machipongo, VA 23405, Phone: 757-678-5331 Email: louisebossexede.net Convocation Name & Number: Parish: Rector: Senior Warden Name (if no Rector): 911 Physical Address: City/Zip Code: Phone Email Mailing Address if different from above: City/Zip Code: E-mail : Number of ECW Members: Name of President or ECW Contact (Circle One): Address: City/Zip Code: Phone : E-mail: IN MEMORIAM Please list alphabetically the women in your parish who have passed away since November 1, 2015: Person submitting form: 5