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[ENS] ECW sits down with Phoebe Griswold


From "Mika Larson" <mini_mika@earthlink.net>
Date Sat, 2 Aug 2003 14:20:13 -0400

August 8, 2003

ECW sits down with Phoebe Griswold

by Susan Johnson
Triennial Today 
 
[ENS] Phoebe Griswold has a deep concern for people who are suffering, a
concern that has been  with her most of her life. 
Those attending the ECW Welcoming Dinner Wednesday were treated to a
rare look at the life of the  wife of Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold
during an in-depth interview conducted by Melynn Glusman.

Glusman, an oral historian from North Carolina, asked calculated
questions that provoked  insightful answers during the program following
dinner.

Just before the start of the interview, members of the National ECW
Board danced through the  ballroom carrying chemical light sticks and
singing "This Little Light of Mine."

In the interview, Griswold also shared her fear of being in the
spotlight. She said she  understood how Mary must have felt when
approached by the angel Gabriel and told she'd been  selected by God.
Mary has been a spiritual mentor to Phoebe Griswold as she has worked in
the  church and been "a woman in the pew," a role she still claims.

She related her fondness for a parcel of land that has been in her
family for 300 years. The  property is home to her 90-plus-year-old
mother and will probably not remain in the family, a  fact that saddens
Griswold.

Griswold talked about her childhood, her love of church and her
experiences while attending  girls' schools. She also related events at
Smith College, where she was an art history major, as  well as her
earliest days in New York working for an art gallery. 

Glusman probed Griswold's relationship with husband, Frank, during which
Mrs. Griswold admitted	her earliest impression of him was "he was much
too English." However, he kept taking her to  dinner and a year later
they were engaged, she said.

When her husband was elected bishop of Chicago, Griswold acquiesced to
his accepting the position  with the understanding that they would
"never have to go through that process again." Little did  she know that
they would be called to repeat the process in the not-too-distant
future.


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