In 1988 the Anglican Church of Canada held a women’s conference at Huron College, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.
Women from all parts of the Anglican Communion in Canada were invited to attend, or to send representatives from the various diocese. These were asked to attend by the Bishop of their particular diocese.
The women from the Calgary Diocese were Patricia Curtis, Norma Farquarson, Margaret Hunziker, Maureen Firmstone and Corinne Wikjord from Medicine Hat. There may have been others who also attended, these are the ones identified.
The theme of the conference was “Images of Spirituality”, and it was designed to explore issues of spirituality for women in the Anglican Church.
Several days of discussion from the women attending, all of whom had differing viewpoints, it seemed, resulted in a commitment by each diocese to implement an action plan that would be appropriate for their particular diocese. This action plan was drawn from the recommendations of the conference.
On their return from the conference, the women of the Calgary Diocese resolved to develop a women’s conference each year, which was to be called “Images of Spirituality”.
In 1997, the planning committee completed considerable work to re-develop Images as an ecumenical gathering for women. The mission statement was revised, the planning committee sought ecumenical involvement, and women from all denominations were invited to the 1998 gathering.
Today, Images of Spirituality is an ecumenical gathering organized by Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian and Anglican women for women of any Christian tradition.
The theme song for Images is She Flies On, an expression of the Holy Spirit as a feminine image of God.
