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Elder Ministry
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Ceep: the consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes William Joyner, Deacon At first glance this organization sounds as if its members are
"fat cat" endowed churches that sit and count their
money. But the reality is very different. In February I attended
the Consortium's annual conference in Alexandria, Virginia,
along with 11 others from the Chapel of the Cross. It was my first
visit - several parishioners had been more than once before - and I
came away impressed by the quality of the conference and very
hopeful for the Church. The consortium has 106 member churches - a parish needs a $1
million endowment to join - and more than 480 people
attended this conference, from all parts of the country. Lay and
ordained leaders, bishops, priests, lay people - even a handful of
deacons - all took part in workshops that ranged over stewardship
of the environment, prophetic outreach, interfaith relations, the
General Convention - even a few about money and endowments. We
worshipped at the historic churches of Alexandria, Christ Church
and Saint Paul's, heard our "own" bishops - Lee of
Virginia and Curry of North Carolina - preach, heard noted author
Jim Wallis, and talked with the deans of Canterbury and of
Washington. From the Chapel of the Cross, one of the largest
delegations, we were able to tell our stories, and hear other
stories, from places as diverse as Trinity Church, Wall Street, the
cathedrals in Portland and Denver and Oklahoma City, and churches
in rural Maryland. We talked to old friends (I met two of my former
rectors), made new friends, and learned much about the Church
throughout the country. The conference helped fulfill my "continuing
education" requirement, but its effect on me was much broader
than that. We saw a Church quite different from the struggling,
divided Church pictured in much of the media. We saw a Church
enthusiastic about outreach, about evangelism, and about the
future. We were able to sing the closing hymn "Go Forth for
God" with new meaning and new conviction. As you can tell, I
would commend the consortium conference to all of you, and assure
you that our membership in it is very worthwhile! Send
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