by Betty Folliard After 92 years of struggle, American women still don’t have legal equality. According to an Opinion Research Survey, 96% of Americans believe women and men should have equal rights, 88% want an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) added to our Constitution — but a whopping 72% of Americans somehow are under the false…
Read more
“…Yesterday I had a conversation with a friend and colleague in which she asked out my use of referring to myself as coloured. I have always referred to myself as coloured. My mother was English/Irish and my father was Trinidadian. While my mother was white my father was multi-racial as many are from the West Indies….
Read more
It had been quite sometime since I slept on a mattress and treating me to such delicious food. We meet with US Senators Rubio and Nelson‘s staff to ask them to co-sponsor US Senators Cardin’s and Kirk‘s resolution S.J. Res. 15: A joint resolution removing the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which was introduced in…
Read more
Since heading out of Springfield, Illinois last November 2014, it has been difficult to keeping up with all the demands being made on me emotionally, physically, financially and spiritually. Walking in the snow and getting feverish dampened my spirits, as did a horrible case of poison ivy and chiggers. Currently, the torrential down pours is…
Read more
Inspired by Rev. Thomas Momberg’s sermon and refreshed by those I welcomed me at Holy Cross Episcopal Church, West Memphis, AR I now make my way to Little Rock where I will drop by the Clinton Presidential Center.  I have been reflecting on the Advent Season and what has moved me forward in my ministry in promoting…
Read more
As I was en route to Springfield, IL, to call upon the Illinois General Assembly to Vote YES so that Illinois could be the first state in the 21st Century to Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, dearest Mother Alla, the Rev. Alla Bozarth sent me this beautiful poem Miracles Happen After Hard Work she wrote…
Read more
 By At The Threshold Jesus talked about the sins that came of the abuse of money and power more than anything else. The totalitarian abuses of the Roman Empire were at the forefront of his every thought, and those of the people who listened to him. For Christians, the authority granted to what Jesus called “the…
Read more
As I leave the Kansas City area heading towards Jefferson City and then on to St. Louis, where I will be meeting with Senators Roy Blunt and Clair McCaskill to urge them to co-sponsor S.J. Res. 15,  l give serious consideration to this past week. But before I get ahead of myself I want to make sure that I get…
Read more
Dearest Friends, I a dear family friend wrote this touching post regarding the ministry of Katrina’s Dream.  I am deeply moved by this piece.  Yes it true the Swanson Family is full of love.  It is why I married him… like attracts like…  Take a moment to read Michael’s post and then take a moment to…
Read more
It seems like there are not enough hours in the day but in God’s Time where we all live in peace and harmony there is Eternity. Eternity, a concept that Einstein attempted to define with his Theory of Relativity, a concept as a young scientist I pondered when I worked at the Mercury Test Site in 1978…
Read more
It is not often that I am awestruck. But I just had my socks blown off by a quiet spoken woman. We met over a cup of coffee at the McDonald’s on Main Street here in Joplin, MO. I had engaged her as she had a bright red T-shirt, which had caught my eye. There…
Read more
Monday, September 22, 2014 LIVE FROM TAIPEI: PART 6 Can systems change? I am self-conscious that I go on so much about what a wonderful group of colleagues I have in the other bishops, how kind and supportive they are, what a sane, gentle, and caring group I encounter each time we meet. But it…
Read more
…I have met a number of folks and from a wide variety of backgrounds, one fellow a dear gent who identified himself as a former bad boy who got into trouble in his youth was very clear on how he felt about the government being involved in an issue of privacy. His thinking is inline…
Read more
…The Very Rev. Justin Lindstrom and The Rev. Canon Susan Colley Joplin pulled off an amazing Women’s Equality Day Vigil in less than 48 hours notice.  State Senator Connie Johnson her passion and commitment to serve all moved me beyond words and Margaret Cox a die-hard activist who has lead the way on many social justice issue here is most impressive, in…
Read more
When I embarked on this Pilgrimage for the ERA I knew it would be difficult. Difficult is an understatement! As I slowly make my way from the Golden Gate bridge to Washington D.C. I pray for those whom I care for and those I have met in the course of day to day affairs. My…
Read more
Helene Swanson and the Rev. Robert T. Coolidge at the Chapel of the Lady of Walsingham, Trinity Church Seneca Falls, NY on July 29, 2012 on her first pilgrimage to promote the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment following morning prayer lead by Rev. Coolidge. Â Photo Credit: William Swanson Dearest Family and Friends, It was…
Read more
On the side of the road I met a Native American/Indian sage who instructed me to listen to the night when he and I exchanged stories. Inspired by his words I wrote the following poem.  Read more → Listen To The Night Reaching out I listen to the night In the darkness I find the light…
Read more
One of my first college writing assignments was on The Scream. I identified with it as the painting invoked strong feelings as I thought of my mother who lost all of her hair when a red brick fell nine stories striking her smack dab in the middle of her skull as she had thrown herself…
Read more
