A Greeting and A Farewell
Hello, and WELCOME to the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) 2020 Annual Meeting in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. My name is Barbara Longmire, and I have been blessed to be your diocesan ECW President for the past two years. Unfortunately, I will not be able to join you this year because I have resigned as President of the diocesan ECW. I would like to give you an explanation.
The past 18 months or so have been extremely difficult for me. My husband was not well for some time, and in September, 2019, he had quadruple bypass surgery at Duke. His recovery has been slow, but steady. We live alone with none of our children in the area, but our friends at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Durham have been a wonderful support; our 3-year old Irish Setter Kyla still makes us laugh. Just a few months after his surgery, my sister had a recurrence of the lymphoma she was diagnosed with 5 ½ years ago and survived, but this time the lymphoma is in her brain and liver. She lives in Apex with her daughter, who works full time in addition to caring for her own two children and now her mother. I therefore spend quite a bit of time on the phone with my sister and provide most of her transportation back and forth to Duke, as well as to various other appointments. She and I are the last of our generation, and I am certain that my current call is to offer my time to her, her daughter, and her grandchildren. I often reflect on the quote from Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love: “He said not ‘Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be diseased'; but he said, 'Thou shalt not be overcome.’”
These past months have presented numerous challenges to all of us with the arrival of the coronavirus. Never before this “pandemic” have I attended church on Zoom, or even imagined that as a possibility. My father, a WWII vet, would occasionally use the phrase, “May you live in interesting times”, as a caution or admonishment of sorts. I often think of those words, too. Their origin, the exact wording, and their meaning, remain ambiguous, so we are left somewhat to our own interpretation. In my mind there seems to be a bit of an either-or decision we must all make, but on a continuum. I believe we each have some degree of choice, and therefore pose the question: Where are you inclined to be on that positive/negative attitude continuum?
One option is to view our current “interesting times” to be one of opportunity rather than fear, love rather than hate, and peace rather than war. I believe that from our families to our communities, countries, and the wider world, the thoughts, voices, and actions of each of us are far more important than we realize, especially when we speak and act with love and kindness. A starting for each of us can be the ECW Women’s prayer below.
Almighty God, we pray that You will bless our work in mission and ministry in the world. Help us pray fervently, labor diligently and give liberally to make known the power of your love given through your Son Jesus Christ. Let us not forget the lessons from the past nor fear the challenges of the future. Anoint us with your grace and shine in our hearts as we reflect your light throughout the world. – Amen.
Linger on the new website a bit. Look around and get a sense of who we are as Episcopal Church Women in our individual parishes, the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, Province 4, and further within the wider Episcopal Church. Follow the links, make suggestions, and do not hesitate to contact any of the ECW Board Members listed herein if you have questions. Come back often!
…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7