Leadership
By Haley Bankey
Tragically, active shooter preparedness is something all residents of the United States would benefit to learn about. In Gentle as a Dove, Wise as a Serpent, Haley Bankey shares resources to help you navigate the difficult co…
By Mary Cat Young
Some congregations don’t know what they can provide to attract young adults. Mary Cat Young offers a different approach for congregations.
By Lori Mills-Curran
How could St. Andrew’s welcome its Brazilian neighbors? Lori Mills-Curran shares how a ‘boot camp’ leadership experience spurred new ideas and connections.
By William A. Doubleday
Are we trying to function based on outdated demographics? William Doubleday explains in “Rethink Congregations” how many congregations are and what they can do about it.
By Jack Hauber
Emmanuel Church in Moorefield, West Virginia is a tiny church with an older congregation, unable to support even a half-time rector. Yet each week for over five years, in response to significant and increasing unemployment in…
By Katherine Schnorrenberg
With churches often seen as places of sanctuary and safety, the May 2012 shooting at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Ellicott City, Maryland was devastating. For the families of the three people killed, the congregation, and …
By Margaret Babcock
Margaret Babcock’s “Time to Bloom” invites congregations to consider a model of ministry and leadership that has taken root across our Church. Called baptismal, total, shared, or mutual ministry, this model recognizes the sha…
By Miguel Angel Escobar
“Getting to the Why 2” continues Miguel Angel Escobar’s exploration transformational leadership, offering some of the key practices used by transformational leaders to both build a shared sense of purpose and strengthen leade…
By Chris Yaw and Nancy Davidge
Chris Yaw offers ECF Vital Practices’ first video Vestry Papers article, “Called to Serve,” in which Christopher Webber, author of The Vestry Handbook shares his approach to vestry recruitment.
By Donald Schell
In 1987, my teenage daughter was attending a Catholic girls school in San Francisco, and she and her schoolmates were recruited to serve as ushers for Pope John Paul II’s Mass at Candlestick Park, the baseball stadium where t…
By Bonnie Anderson
Bonnie Anderson 'connects the dots' from our revolutionary roots to today's vesty.
By David Perkins
As a teenager David Perkins was called as a Baptist minister. Years later, he joined the Episcopal Church, in part because of its governance.
By Lelanda Lee
People of Color have a special call to leadership. Lelanda Lee offers insight into cultural differences that may be hindering acceptance.
By Linda Grenz
A liturgy for the commissioning of new parish leaders.
By William A. Doubleday
In “Knowledge is Power,” William Doubleday introduces congregational leaders to the resources available to them in Canon 7: Of Business Methods in Church Affairs.
By Ronald D. Pogue
“Being on the Same Page” by Ron Pogue, reminds us of the value of our congregation’s governing documents and how they can be a useful tool for decision making.
By Alberto Cutié
Alberto Cutié shares key differences in governance between the Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches. Available in both Spanish and English.
By Melanie Barnett Wright
When the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth split apart, many continuing Episcopal congregations, including St. Alban’s Church in Arlington were shut out of the church buildings they had worshipped in for years. In “After the St…
By Christopher Carlisle
The story of a church – with links to a diocesan ministry – that believes the openness of space creates an openness of community in Jesus’ spirit.
By William F. Dopp
Our attitudes often dictate what kind of people we become. Likewise, our attitudes as communities of faith dictate what kinds of congregations we become. Here are two good examples.