Dear Friends,

As we all gear up for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to all of you, our supporters and partners, for walking with us and sharing in our ministries. Despite the challenges we all face as individuals, as congregations, dioceses, and other organizations, and as the wider Church, we remain committed to working together, to strengthen one another to do the work of the Gospel, as we are called to do.

2007 has been an exciting and productive year for the Episcopal Church Foundation:

• In addition to launching the redesign of the award-winning Vestry Papers, we also published an expanded, updated, and redesigned edition of Vestry Resource Guide, which has already gone into its second printing.
  
• The ECF Fellowship Partners Program named three new fellows who are engaged in ministries that will have important impact in their communities and beyond in the areas of the Millennium Development Goals, prison ministry, and women’s empowerment. Applications are now being accepted for 2008 and will be announced in May.
  
• We continue to work with congregations, dioceses, and other Episcopal organizations to provide a holistic approach to capital campaigns, planned giving, annual stewardship, and endowment management.
  
• Our successful Stewardship Sessions conference call series for campus ministries provided valuable information and discussion with experts and peers in areas including budgets, capital campaigns, board development, and communications.
  
• The Episcopal Academy offered seminars and workshops to help lay and ordained church leaders effectively develop their financial and leadership resources. Sessions were held in Kansas City, MO and High Point, NC, and the 2008 schedule is in development now.

We expect that 2008 will present new challenges and opportunities as we continue to live into our mission to strengthen the leadership and financial capabilities of Episcopal congregations, dioceses and related organizations to pursue their mission and ministry. It is our great privilege to serve the Church in partnership with all of you.

If we can be of service in any way, please do not hesitate to contact us at 800-697-2858.

We are grateful for the generous support of all our donors. If you are interested in supporting our work, please click here.

I wish you all a very merry and blessed Christmas, and a happy new year.

Faithfully,

Donald V. Romanik, President