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L to R: ECW Diocesan
President, Helen Sharpe Williams, Grace Church, Norfolk; Treasurer,
Nancy Smith, St. Aidan's, Virginia Beach: Parliamentarian, Dr. Renee
Escoffrey Torres, St. Cyprian's, Hampton;First Vice President, Odessa
Maxwell, Good Shepherd, McKenney; President, Laura L. Manigault, St.
Cyprian's, Hampton and The Very Reverend Dr., Ronald E. Ramsey, Rector,
St. Cyprian's.
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ECW Diocesan President, Helen Sharpe-Williams, presided at
the meeting. She will complete her two-year term at year-end. To
commemorate her service, Barbara Taylor, St. Francis, Virginia Beach,
ECW Diocesan President 2013-2014, presented Helen with the Past
President's Cross. In 1979, ECW President, Barbara Grice, received the
first Past President's Cross fashioned by her husband, Alexander Grice
III. To make the cross, Alex used wood from a cherry tree located on
Jamestown Island, hewn down to make way for the Jamestown Island
development. A silver Jamestown cross is superimposed on the wooden
cross.
ECW presidents are bound together by the cross in the past
joy and privilege of serving as ECW President, and, their responsibility
to move forward in continued loving service to their Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ and to the Episcopal Church Women.
During Helen's term, her goal has been to raise awareness
about the plight of women and children in our diocese suffering from
abuse, homelessness and trafficking. To launch her outreach project,
Love Thy Neighbor, she invited the Rev. Becca Stevens, founder of
Thistle Farms, to speak at last year's Fall Annual Meeting. Over 200
people attended the annual meeting Love Heals Conference. Helen has
shared a wealth of information on who we can help and how we can help
them. Many thanks for a job well done.
Beblon Parks, ECW President, Province III, keynote speaker at the meeting, announced that Province III ECW will celebrate its
100th Anniversary of founding this spring. The Diocese of Easton and
the Diocese of Pennsylvania will host the meeting in Philadelphia. Watch
for details to be announced. Beblon was elected to serve a three-year
term in office in 2017. She has served as the Social Justice, Member at
Large on the ECW National Board and as ECW President, Diocese of
Virginia.
Terron Watkins, Assistant Director of Advancement, gave an update on activities at Jackson-Feild Homes.
