Hell hath no fury

When I was received into The Episcopal Church, back in 1977, I was told about three organizations I should join. I was told that, by virtue of my gender and reception into The Episcopal Church, I was automatically a member of The Episcopal Church Women.

I was also encouraged to join Integrity and The Episcopal Women's Caucus. Which I did. But I was confused. Well, at least about ECW and EWC. I got why it was important to join Integrity. What was the difference between the Episcopal Church Women and the Episcopal Women's Caucus, I asked.

I was given a short history of the ECW - how they initially began as The Women's Auxiliary and was formally established by an act of General Convention in 1821. By 1882, The Episcopal Church - through the primary and generous financial help of the ECW - was supporting twenty-nine missionary bishops - seven foreign and twenty-two domestic.

In 1889, the ECW formally established the United Thank Offering (UTO).  The "Blue Box" ministry, based on the scripture story of The Widow's Mite, collects pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters which encourages a daily ministry of thanksgiving - ordinary, every day Eucharist.

All those coins dropped into the Blue Box in thanksgiving for something ordinary in someone life became manifested in acts of mercy and love and charity all over the globe.  Indeed, The Blue Box is commemorated in a stained glass window at St Matthew's Episcopal Church in Fairbanks. Bishop Gordon's airplane, known throughout Alaska as "The Blue Box" was bought with UTO funds.

It's a regular Gospel miracle. Just ask the people whose lives have been changed because of those little Blue Boxes.

You should also know that the ECW and UTO came into being because women were intentionally and deliberately excluded from ANY leadership in the church. Indeed, it wasn't until 1970 that women could be seated as deputies to General Convention. The ECW and the UTO were the means by which women could join with other women to promote the mission of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I didn't know about them, but I understood the power of "little blue boxes". I had been brought up Roman Catholic. We had "Pagan Babies". Those pennies, nickles,  dimes and quarters all added up. I think, by the time I left the 6th grade, I had "bought" at least a dozen Pagan Babies - all named after my favorite nun OR the one I needed to suck up to.

More importantly, those coins joined with the coins from other kids in my school and Parochial Schools all over the country which turned into millions of dollars to enable the work of mission and ministry in places desperate for food and water and clothing.

The first United Offering in 1889 yielded over $2 thousand, and grew to $107,207.83 by the turn of the twentieth century. Each year, the UTO collects millions of dollars which it distributes in grants, domestic and abroad.

The Episcopal Women's Caucus (ECW), I was told, was a political organization of Episcopal women whose work had brought about the ordination of women and a general improvement in the overall status of women in the church and in the world.

It was pretty clear.  I had to be a member of all three.  And, so it was. It has been ever thus.  Indeed, it was my privilege to serve for 10 years as the National Convener of The Episcopal Women's Caucus.

The "joke" about the two organizations was that, Episcopal Church Women wore white gloves and the members of the Episcopal Women's Caucus wore boxing gloves. 

Well, maybe once - back when there were such things as "Pagan Babies" (who, like women in pristine white gloves and proper pumps, pretty much existed in the imagination and preferential desire of the institutional church) -  but not so much anymore.

In case you haven't heard, there's yet another crisis afoot. I know. What? In The Episcopal Church? How can that be? We've always been ahead of the curve on Reproductive Justice. We have a woman as PB and aren't there lots of women who are clergy and bishops now, right? Oh, and by the way, isn't the President of the House of Deputies a woman? And, isn't the VP a Black man? Haven't we fought the good fight and are on the right side of history in terms of Marriage Equality?

What now?

Let's see: Women + Money + Autonomy = Trouble. Big Trouble. Trouble with a capitol "T" and that rhymes with "P" and that stands for Power.

Got it?

St. Matthew's, Fairbanks, Alaska

You can read a good summary of the development of "The Situation" in the General Convention 2012 "Blue Book" but it began back in 2007 when the Presiding Bishop called for a comprehensive study of all agencies of The Episcopal Church that fell under the auspices of The Executive Council as to their governance, fiscal and liability responsibilities.

An "accountability gap" was discovered in terms of the relationship between the UTO and TEC, which led to the formation of an Advisory Committee, appointed by the Presiding Bishop, in 2008.


In the words of the 2012 Blue Book Report: "Some of the recommendations of the preliminary report of the Advisory Council were not well received by the UTO Committee and so the Committee began to pursue other options."

Like, becoming an independent 501-C-3 organization. 

Whoa! Can't have that! So, a "Working Group" was appointed to further study the situation and to make recommendations to General Convention 2012.  You can also read those in the Blue Book.

Essentially, that working group proposed changes in the bylaws and the development of a Memorandum of Understanding between The Episcopal Church (AKA "Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS)".

These bylaws and MOU would embody the "creative tension" between the "increasing regulatory" function of DFMS and the "visionary, autonomous grassroots" function of UTO/ECW and be both/and: "autonomous but interdependent"? (INC-055 Ad-Hoc Committee on the Study of the United Thank Offering, GC 2012.

But, something got lost in the translation. When the bylaws and MOU were presented to eight members of the Board of the UTO, four members resigned in protest. 

You can read their letter of protest at Mark Harris' blog, Preludium here, with a follow up story here.

You can also read up on the matter at one of my favorite sources of information for all things Episcopal - The Lead at Episcopal Cafe. Go check out What's happening with the UTO?

Ann Fontaine has the bylaws up at her blog What the Tide Brings In. She notes:

While the proposal does offer some helpful ideas about policies and procedures, some things of concern that I see:

Overall it moves total control to the Chief Operating Officer of the Episcopal Church with a small advisory role for the "Board," where is the participation by UTO in the granting process? in communications? in any oversight of monies given to UTO?

It removes references to the main goal of heightening awareness of gratitude in our lives, it no longer has any relationship to the Episcopal Church Women (primary supporters of this ministry), 

It removes the UTO role in development of materials and training local UTO coordinators, though the report to General Convention encouraged a continuing autonomy for UTO with interdependence - this removes all autonomy.

Oh, and she also includes a letter from Charlie Sumner, the husband Robin, of one of the four women who resigned in protest. It is, to be blunt, eye-opening.

Finally,  here's a statement - hot off the presses - from the Presiding Bishop regarding UTO.

Over at the House of Bishops/Deputies Listserv, we are being gently admonished to either "take a breath" and/or "give the parties the time and space they need to work things out and resist
a public debate".

I should note that both writers are male.

You should note that neither Ann nor I are in compliance with those suggestions. Apparently, neither has the Presiding Bishop. Well, I'm breathing just fine, thank you. So's Ann. Neither of us had to bring out our fans or our embroidered handkerchief. Nope, not once. 

Here's another thing you should know:  The UTO 2012-2015 board was made up of twelve women, four of whom had a PhD. degree, four more had Masters degrees, several others had professional degrees. All had held important jobs in business, law, education, healthcare, and accounting. One was a former CEO of a corporation with over 400 employees and a budget over ten million dollars.

I think it is at least fair to say that they know about accountability.

Many questions remain, these two among them:

1. How does the Memorandum of Understanding between DFMS and EWC/UTO embody the "creative tension" between the "increasing regulatory" function of DFMS and the "visionary, autonomous grassroots" function of UTO/ECW and be both/and: "autonomous but interdependent"? (INC-055 Ad-Hoc Committee on the Study of the United Thank Offering, GC 2012. If you haven't read it, please do.)

2. What is contained in that Memorandum which caused 4 women - intelligent, educated women who are passionate about and dedicated to the mission of the Gospel - to resign because they believed that they needed to follow the high calling of being "whistle blowers"?

I agree that speculation holds with it the potential to be non-productive and dangerous. The primary danger, of course, is to those who benefit by not providing evidence.

I am still chilled by the knowledge that the conversations concerning the historic, autonomous, missionary leadership of women (UTO/ECW) becoming more a part of the "increasingly regulatory" body of DFMS had to be had with a group of 4 representatives from DFMS (3 of whom were men) under a signed agreement of confidentiality. And yet, the words "accountability" and "transparency" are being bandied about as somehow meaningful.

I understand. That may be "business as usual," but when you are talking about the historic autonomy of women (which came about because women were excluded from leadership in existing church structures), and removing direct decision making and control over the money they raise, well, it just doesn't bode well - especially in the church.

Speculation can also work for the good, becoming a force for revelation and transparency of evidence.  As speculation fuels controversy, more pressure is put on "the powers that be" for transparency.

That's messy, I know. Unseemly. Chaotic. Producing a crisis. It's also how I know the Spirit moves to bring about creation.

The four women from the UTO board who resigned in protest have been referred to as "whistle blowers". That is, in my perspective, an honorific title, worthy of the historic, prophetic ministry of the UTO. And, wasn't Jesus a whistle blower"?

Transparency is clearly what is called for.  Now. As in right now. Now, now.

The longer we wait for information, the more likely the courage of these four women will be dismissed as 'reactionary' and 'hysterical' and "typical" of women who 'can't abide / are threatened by change'.

The sooner we all see the proposed Memorandum of Understanding and compare that with the goals of the 2012 Ad Hoc Committee, the faster the speculation will subside.

Or, rise, depending on the information we receive.

Until then, I hope we will continue to discuss this issue - which is decidedly NOT about "old, crabby women who are resistant to change" (as one person, dismissing the situation as unimportant, said to me).

Yes, it is about women and power and the institution. Sexism and misogyny are still alive in the church, even though a woman is PB, just as racism is still alive in this country, even though there is a Black man in the White House.

This is also about the "creative tension"  between the "grassroots" - necessarily autonomous - efforts for mission and the "Increasingly regulatory function" of the institutional church.

There are many lessons to be learned that can be very helpful to those of us who are experiencing the same tensions in ministry at local and diocesan levels.

Indeed, the tensions between autonomy and interdependence and independence are central to being Episcopalian and Anglican.

My hope is for information. Sooner, rather than later.

Until then - and I may be in the minority and widely unpopular for saying this, but - let the conversation and speculation continue.

Because, you know what "they" say about women who feel scorned.