From ENS-
The College for Bishops has announced the formation of a $15 million endowment campaign to ensure the future of the nonprofit organization, which is designed to provide education and formation for Episcopal Church bishops in all stages of their ministry, according to a May 3 press release.
The "Endowing a Sustainable Future" campaign is chaired by the Bishop Clayton Matthews, the Episcopal Church's bishop for pastoral development and managing director of the College for Bishops. He is joined by a group of about 30 other bishops from throughout the United States, the release said.
The campaign is not a "churchwide" fundraiser, Matthews clarified in a May 4 telephone call with ENS.
"This initiative will be directed to specific donors through the bishop's personal networks. There will be no solicitations from dioceses or people in the pew," he said. "The board of directors has been contemplating this for years and we just decided that we had to do it."
Following the dissemination of the press release, discussion, mostly critical, ensued on the Episcopal Café blog, the House of Bishops/Deputies listserv and from individuals posting comments to their own Facebook pages.
"I'm amazed that this would be announced at a time when diocesan, parochial, and mission budgets across the church are being slashed; parochial clergy and staff salaries are stagnant at best; our seminaries are struggling financially; unemployment is widespread; and the wealth disparity in the country is wider than ever," said the Rev. Richard E. Helmer, rector of the Church of Our Savior in Mill Valley, California, in a comment post on Episcopal Café.
More here-
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80263_128245_ENG_HTM.htm
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