"The annual Polly Bond awards of the Episcopal Communicators organisation in the United States were announced on 20 April [2001]. `Anglican World', the official magazine of the Anglican Communion, won certificated for cover design, the pilgrimage supplement 2000 and photography. Mrs. Phoebe Griswold received a Polly Bond for her article on Mary and the Secretary General, the Rev. Canon John L. Peterson, received an award for 'Bethlehem' -- an entry from his quarterly column in this magazine."
See also captioned photo on p. 38. "Glorious music filled the gardens of Camp Allen during the Episcopal Communicators Conference in Houston, Texas. The group from the newest Hispanic congregation, Cristo Rey, provided inspiration and entertainment. 'Anglican World' won five Polly Bond awards during the annual gathering".
"[M]ore than 50 Anglican women from 11 provinces of the Anglican Communion represented the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) at the 48th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) held in New York, 1-12 March [2004]. The group participated under the auspices of the Anglican Observer to the United Nations, Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea of Samoa. The UNCSW meeting examined two themes: `Men and boys in gender equity' and `Women's equal participation in conflict management, resolution and post-conflict peace building'." Representatives of the International Anglican Women's Network (founded in 1996) also participated in the meeting. In a statement issued after the meeting ended the delegates "challenged the ACC to work towards a 30 % representation of women in all decision-making bodies in the Anglican Communion". Phoebe Griswold said: "My frustration is that somehow the voices of women and their experience is seen as only belonging to the home and the power of women's voices to mend and heal the Anglican Communion is not taken seriously". Other participants included Rita Simeni, a delegate from Papua New Guinea who founded that province's Women in Ministry Program; Nema Aluku of Kenya, HIV/AIDS program coordinator for the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa; and Soledad Longid from the Philippine Episcopal Church.
See also "Statement from the Anglican Consultative Council delegates' gathering a the 48th Session of the United Nations Commission on the status of women", p. 25.
"A group of Anglican women taking part in the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) assembled 7 March [2004] on the grounds of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, where the Episcopal Diocese of New York hosted a gathering of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) representatives to speak of their future goals as a united body and their individual work in ministering to women and children throughout the world". The gathering included: Phoebe Griswold, Episcopal Church U.S.A.; Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea, Anglican Observer to the United Nations; Mrs. Jane Williams, Canterbury, Church of England; Jenny Te Paa the Ahorangi/Dean of Te Rau Kahikayea and constituent of St. John's Theological College in Auckland, New Zealand; Jyotsna Rani Patro, President of the Women's Fellowship for Christian Service and the All India Council of Christian Women (Unit IV); Nema Aluku, and HIV/AIDS programme coordinator with the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa; Clair Malik, Director of the Deaf Unit at El Malek el Saleh in Cairo, Egypt; and the Rev. Margaret Rose, Director of Women's Ministries for the Episcopal Church U.S.A.
The author, who is the wife of the Most Rev. Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church since January 1998, spoke on the topic of "The Spirituality of Bishop's Spouses". Speaking of her decisions to change the wording of her original topic from "spirituality" to "theology", the author explains: "Anglicans understand that, along with Scripture and tradition, experience is a fundamental resource for `doing' theology. Much of the Bible, after all is an account of peoples' lives. Our biblical ancestors lived by their knowing or yearning to know the living God; they also told their stories. Can we dare to do the same thing ? In particular, can we speak to each other about our lives as bishops' spouses, about their unique and common identities, and then shape our theological reflections from those perspectives ? ... I would like to suggest that we give back to the Church our own theological reflections learned through the scriptures of our own lives." (p. 17) Contains a number of very thoughtful "provisional and incomplete" "observations about the common life of bishops' spouses" including: "We are am extraordinarily hard-working group who take our vows seriously -- both our baptismal and marriage vows. ..We know the feelings of isolation and loneliness that come from the solitary nature of our unique position within the community. ...We know the difficulty of making a life with an authority that has been derived from our spouses, but which must be eventually earned by us. .... Theological reflection on the nature of God based on our common experience leads me to believe that God is to be found through relationship".
The 2008 Lambeth Conference will run from 16 July to 3 August 2008. It will include a spouses gathering which will run parallel to the bishops' conference. "The conference is aimed at helping spouses 'learn from each other and to resource ourselves to be God's people for God's missions', said Ms. [Jane] Williams, chair of the planning group". "More than 600 spouses attended the 1998 conference, which for the first time included five husbands (the Communion's first female bishops were consecrated in 1989 and 1990)". "Jan Ferris, who is married to the bishop of Algoma, Ronald Ferris, called the two conferences that she attended 'a privilege'. The morning Bible studies were a highlight, she recalled". "Lynne Samways Hiltz, attended the conference in 1998 for the first time with her husband, Fred Hiltz, who was then diocesan bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (and now primate of the Anglican Church of Canada). 'You learn what it's like to be in other parts of the Communion', she said". "Anna Burton, who attended her first conference in 1998 with her husband, Bishop Anthony Burton of Saskatchewan noted that, 'the almost overwhelming sense of community was a real high point'". "One sentiment that resonated at the 1998 conference was that spouses' contributions are not always recognized, much less appreciated. 'We know the feelings of isolation and loneliness that come from the solitary nature of our unique position within the community. We also know what it means to be invisible, unrecognized for the work that we do', noted Phoebe Griswold, wife of then-U.S. presiding bishop Frank Griswold, in an address to spouses in 1998. 'We know what it means to be handed a position that comes with no written job description but nonetheless carries many unspoken expectations'". "Bruce Moxley, spouse of Bishop Sue Moxley, diocesan bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island is not planning to attend this year's conference -- his wife's first -- because it means using three of his four weeks' vacation 'to be away at something where we wouldn't be spending much time together' said Bishop Moxley".
For Phoebe Griswold, development after disaster will not only bring answers to economic questions; it will tell the Episcopal Church much about its own identity.
Following the December [1998] visit made by Phoebe Griswold to Honduras and Nicaragua, the Editor of Anglican World [James Rosenthal] asked her to give some impressions gained from this pastoral and fact-finding mission to these countries recently devastated by Hurricane Mitch."
Photograph with caption: "The Bishop of Chicago ... with Dean Gary Hall of Seabury-Western Seminary, Evanston, U.S.A., Jim Rosenthal and Mrs. Phoebe Griswold [on the occasion of the presentation of honourary degress to Canon Jim Rosenthal and Phoebe Griswold]. Text of entire story
At more than 18 million members, the Church of Nigeria is the fastest growing in the Anglican Communion. Article describes the visit of Frank and Phoebe Griswold and the hospitality they received.