Last year I issued a call for a broader vision as we faced changes in the church – I heeded my own advice: I hope you have too! Because today we stand on the threshold of a new church – Post-Minneapolis. It is one we may not be comfortable with just yet, but there is an aura of excitement and expectancy as we begin to break out of our narrow confines and look to the future. This is not to say the change is without pain, heartache, or anguish – for these are very real and are present in the church. But traditionally churchwomen have been the innovators as well as the reconcilers, and we are called now to exercise both of these roles. I urge you to keep an open mind as you study and use the new proposed prayer book. It seems prudent and wise to use it before judging it… . Also in Minneapolis, the church changed a two thousand year old tradition by opening the priesthood and episcopacy to women. We know there is still a threat of division in the church as a result of this action. There is also great frustration on the part of many of the ordained women who are encountering dwindling support from the very bishops and clergy who voted to open the priesthood to them. They are a long way from the “Promised Land”, they are, in fact, in the wilderness. It is hoped that Episcopal Churchwomen will search for ways to be supportive of all women as they exercise their ministries, both lay and ordained.
(Source: Scott Tyree Evans (Mrs. J. Haywood), President’s Address, 1977 Diocese of NC’s ECW Annual Meeting, immediately following the Episcopal Church’s General Convention/ECW Triennial in Minneapolis, MN)