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Authority record

Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School

  • Corporate body
  • 1895-1939

Founded in 1895 by white and black community leaders, Fort Valley High and Industrial School was transferred to the control of The Episcopal Church in 1918 and was later renamed Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School (Fort Valley, Georgia), which operated as a two-year junior college. In 1939 Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School and the State Teachers and Agricultural College were combined by the State of Georgia to become part of the state’s university system.

Fort Valley was no longer expressly administered by the American Church Institute (ACI) after 1939 but the vast majority of its institutional appropriations continued to derive from ACI through at least 1959 and perhaps until the dissolution of ACI in 1967. The Dioceses of Atlanta and Georgia also contributed support to the college. In 1949 the school was designated as Georgia’s land-grant institution for African Americans. In 1966 a four-year liberal arts public college continued as Fort Valley State University.

Roanridge Foundation, Inc.

  • Corporate body
  • 1945-1977

In 1942, Wilbur Cochel offered his 320-acre farm, Roanridge, near Kansas City, Missouri to serve as a training and conference center for the rural mission of the Episcopal Church. In light of the Joint Commission on Rural Work’s report of 1940 calling for the promotion of rural work within the Episcopal Church, the Church accepted Mr. Cochel's offer. Other than the farm itself, programs at Roanridge were administered by the National Town and Country Church Institute (NTCCI), which held its first session on the farm in 1945.

In donating his farm and estate to the Episcopal Church, Cochel established the Roanridge Rural Training Foundation in 1947. Funding and administration of the Center was the joint responsibility of the Trustees of the Roanridge Foundation and the National Council’s Division of Town and Country. The Executive Secretary of the Division of Town and Country Work, the Rev. Clifford Samuelson, managed the Center from New York City until the appointment of the Center’s first resident director, the Rev. Norman Foote, in 1950.

In 1955, the Board of Trustees incorporated the Roanridge Rural Training Foundation as the Roanridge Rural Training Center, Inc. The corporation changed its name to the Roanridge Foundation, Inc. in 1972 with a Board of Directors constituted in the same manner as the former Board of Trustees.

Initially, Roanridge offered agricultural training, however, over time it shifted to emphasize conferences and short courses for clergy and laity. The most active of these was the Summer Parish Training Program, during which students lived and worked on the farm while serving several local rural congregations. Other noteworthy activities taking place at Roanridge included the summer Vacation Church School Program for local children, Church Army training sessions, National Episcopal Town and Country Conferences, Indian Work consultations, and meetings of the Rural Workers Fellowship and National Advisory Committee on Town and Country.

With the waning need for rural work and the financial status of the Roanridge Foundation deteriorating, the Foundation Board of Trustees voted to dissolve the Wilbur A. Cochel Trust at its meeting of August 12, 1976. Its assets were divided between the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City, and St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City. With the proceeds from the sale of the land, the Executive Council established the Wilbur A. Cochel, Caroline F. Cochel, and Roanridge Trust for the training of rural ministry.

Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop

  • Corporate body
  • 1982

The Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop, which first met in 1982, was chosen at that year’s General Convention, in accordance with Title I, Canon 2, Sections (b) and (c). The House of Deputies elected one clerical and one Lay Deputy from each Province and the House of Bishops elected one Bishop from each Province as members of the committee. The Joint Nominating Committee’s canonical mandate was the selection of no fewer than three members of the House of Bishops to be considered by General Convention for the position of Presiding Bishop.

This marked the first time when a Joint Nominating Committee was composed of elected members of both Houses. Previously, both bishops and deputies were appointed to the Nominating Committee by the presiding officers of their respective Houses.

Currently, the Committee elects members in person at the meeting of General Convention three years before the new presiding bishop is to be elected. The Committee is composed of 20 people. Five bishops were elected by the House of Bishops, and five clergy and five lay people were elected by the House of Deputies (Canon I.2.1.a). Two members between ages 16-21 were appointed by the president of the House of Deputies (Canon I.2.1.a). Three members were jointly appointed by the presiding bishop and House of Deputies president “to ensure the cultural and geographic diversity of the church” (Canon I.2.1.c).

Girls Friendly Society

  • Corporate body
  • 1875-

The Girls' Friendly Society (GFS) was founded in England in 1875 as the Church’s response to the needs of girls who had left their homes behind to work in factories and mills, or as domestic servants. Recognizing the same needs in the United States and using the GFS as a model, Elizabeth Mason Edson founded the first Girls' Friendly Society in America (GFSA) branch at St. Ann's Church in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1877. Upon formation of the Massachusetts diocesan organization in 1879, a center for national activities was established.

In 1886 the Central Organization of the GFSA was formed, a constitution was adopted in 1893, and the GFSA was officially incorporated in 1895, at which time they also began making systematic reports to the General Convention of The Episcopal Church.

During the late 1800s, the GFSA established homes and centers for young working women and provided employment and housing assistance to immigrant women arriving in America. Between 1900 and 1920, they sought protective legislation for girls, worked for labor reform, and provided a number of war-related services. By 1914 there were over 46,000 members in 745 branches with 34 diocesan organizations.

Around 1929, GFSA reincorporated and changed its name to the Girls’ Friendly Society of the United States of America (GFS-USA). Ensuing years of activity included work with refugees and conferences on women in industry. In the 1950s, the GFS-USA opened its national office in New York City, became an official observer to the United Nations, and joined the newly created Girls’ Friendly Society World Council.

By 1964, after falling short of its fundraising goals, the GFS-USA began to make heavy cutbacks in programs at the national level. These reductions continued into 1966 when the GFS-USA decided to incorporate its mission with that of The Episcopal Church. As a result, in 1967, the Department of Christian Education of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church took over responsibility for the national programs run by the GFS-USA. The diocesan and branch organizations continued to operate as before, but after the closing of the national office, many of them did not survive.

In the early 1980s, the GFS-USA reestablished its operation on a national level, however membership continued to decline. As of 2023, the GFS-USA oversees the few remaining local branches and is a member of GFS World.

Department of Finance

  • Corporate body
  • 1919-

The Department of Finance was centered in the office of the Treasurer (a continuation of the office with the DFMS). As an administrative unit, it was a creation of the National Council in 1919, and continued until 1965 when the Executive Council reorganized. The department was charged with administering funds received by the National Council and the expenditure of funds as authorized by General Convention and the Council. It was in this capacity that the department worked with the foreign missions.

Woman's Auxiliary

  • Corporate body
  • 1871-1968

In 1871, the General Convention authorized The Woman's Auxiliary to the Board of Missions to coordinate the work formerly conducted by a large number of isolated women's missionary societies. This work included raising funds, publicizing the missionary programs, and recruiting and training women missionaries. The Emery sisters–Mary Abbott, Julia Chester, Susan Lavinia, and Margaret Theresa–were all instrumental in the founding of the organization.

The first General Meeting of the Auxiliary was held in 1874, at which time the women resolved to meet concurrently with General Convention. These meetings came to be known as the Triennial Meetings of the Woman's Auxiliary. In 1889 Julia Chester Emery, who at the time was secretary of the Woman’s Auxiliary, began the United Offering (later renamed United Thank Offering) which provided funds for a wide range of innovative missionary projects.

In 1919, the first National Council Executive Board of the Woman’s Auxiliary was formed to oversee the direction of the work of the women, not only in supporting missionaries, but in social service, religious education, and prayer and worship.

At the 1958 Triennial Meeting, under the direction of the National Council, necessary bylaws were adopted to rename the Executive Board of the Woman’s Auxiliary as the General Division of Women’s Work, which included a designation that diocesan groups would be known as Episcopal Church Women.

Symbolic of the turbulent social climate of the late 1960s, the role of women in the Church went through numerous and significant changes, rendering the Episcopal Church Women unsure of where they fit. Structural reorganizations were initiated aiming to integrate women into the Church on every level. As a part of these changes, Executive Council (formerly National Council) dissolved the General Division of Women's Work in 1968.

Subsequently, the Triennial Meetings were organized by various ad hoc committees until the 1985 gathering, at which time bylaws were adopted forming the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) at the national level. A resolution was filed at the June 1986 meeting of Executive Council confirming that the newly formed Episcopal Church Women “is the same or successor organization to the Woman’s Auxiliary, the General Division of Women’s Work, the Committee for Women, the Triennial Program and Planning Committee, and the Triennial Committee”.

The ECW assumed responsibility for coordinating women's activities in the Church and for organizing the Triennial gatherings.

Rural Workers Fellowship

  • Corporate body
  • 1924 - c. 2018

The Rural Workers Fellowship (RWF) was first organized in 1924 in Madison, Wisconsin at the National Episcopal Conference of Rural Workers, with which many of its leadership maintained a long relationship. The Fellowship’s founding bylaws stated its purpose as: (1) to promote the interest of the whole ministry to the Church in rural communities; (2) to increase the fellowship among those interested in such services; and (3) to aid the National Council in its service to the rural and field workers. While maintaining its operational independence, the RWF was very closely aligned through mission and personal relationships to The Episcopal Church’s National Council.

For many years the Department of Christian Social Service’s Division of Rural Work led the effort to support rural ministry and provided a subsidy to the RWF to that end. In 1934, the Division of Rural Work was abolished and the Department of Christian Social Service continued the work of rural church promotion as best it could.

In 1941, there was revival of the RWF in the life of the national body as the National Council reorganized and rural work became a part of the Department of Domestic Missions. In 1946, the Fellowship was incorporated and in 1947, a new constitution and bylaws were adopted. In 2005, the Rural Workers Fellowship was renamed the Rural Ministries Network. The RMN appears in The Episcopal Church Annual in 2017, however, by 2019 it was no longer listed.

Episcopal Church Women

  • Corporate body
  • 1985-

Originally authorized by the General Convention in 1871 to coordinate the work formerly conducted by a large number of isolated women’s missionary societies, The Woman’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions initially served in an advisory role, however, the Auxiliary evolved into a planning and promotion group. The first General Meeting of the Auxiliary was held in 1874, when the women resolved to meet concurrently with General Convention and came to be known as the Triennial Meetings of the Woman’s Auxiliary.

During the 1956-1958 triennium women’s work in the Church was reorganized. The Auxiliary transitioned into a division of National Council and was renamed the General Division of Women’s Work. Rejecting the auxiliary status, diocesan organizations began to name themselves the Episcopal Church Women. Symbolic of the turbulent social climate of the late 1960s and 1970s, the Church initiated structural reorganizations aimed at integrating women into the Church on every level. As part of these changes, the General Division of Women’s Work was dissolved in 1968.

Subsequent Triennial Meetings were organized by various ad hoc committees until the 1985 gathering, at which time bylaws were adopted forming the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) at the national level. This organization reclaimed its right as the successor body to the Woman’s Auxiliary and assumed responsibility for coordinating the women’s activities in the Church and for organizing the Triennial gatherings.

A resolution was filed at the June 1986 meeting of Executive Council confirming that the newly formed Episcopal Church Women “is the same or successor organization to the Woman’s Auxiliary, the General Division of Women’s Work, the Committee for Women, the Triennial Program and Planning Committee, and the Triennial Committee.”

Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief

  • Corporate body
  • 1940-2000

At the General Convention in 1940, delegates authorized the Presiding Bishop to call for Church members to donate to relief efforts for war refugees. Later that year, the National Council established an advisory committee for those relief efforts, the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief (PBFWR).

Over the course of 1949 and 1950, the National Council expanded the scope of PBFWR’s grant-funded projects and specifically enabled it to finance the costs of The Episcopal Church’s participation in the World Council of Churches. Consequently, the new Presiding Bishop's Committee on World Relief and Church Cooperation was authorized in April 1950 to make appropriations within the terms of the budget item for world relief and church cooperation.

While the Presiding Bishop's Committee on World Relief and Church Cooperation formulated policy and approved grants and appropriations, the Department of Christian Social Relations administered the operation of approved programs, which included humanitarian efforts, particularly aid to refugees, parish development, and ecumenical programs. The name was changed to the Committee on World Relief and Inter-Church Aid in 1959.
Some time after that, it appears that the divisional work was abandoned; however, after an ad-hoc committee of Council was assigned to study world relief work in 1972, the Executive Council approved a charter for the PBFWR.

In its later years, the PBFWR continued to shift the focus of its work towards global disaster relief and, in 2000, renamed itself Episcopal Relief and Development and obtained separate incorporation in 2002.

Committee on World Relief and Inter-Church Aid

  • Corporate body
  • 1950-1967

Due to the initial success of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief (PBFWR) in the 1940s, the scope of the program was expanded over the course of 1949 and 1950. At the request of the Presiding Bishop, National Council expanded the purview of the PBFWR to encompass not only world relief, but also “church cooperation,” generally expanding the scope of its grant-funded projects and specifically enabling it to finance the costs of The Episcopal Church’s participation in the World Council of Churches. Consequently, the Presiding Bishop’s Committee on World Relief and Church Cooperation was authorized in April 1950 to make appropriations within the terms of the budget item for world relief and church cooperation.

The Presiding Bishop's Committee on World Relief and Church Cooperation formulated policy and approved grants and appropriations; however, formal grant criteria were not introduced until the 1970s. The Department of Christian Social Relations administered the operation of approved programs, which included humanitarian efforts, particularly aid to refugees, parish development, and ecumenical programs. At the February 1959 National Council meeting, it was resolved that the Committee on World Relief and Church Cooperation be renamed the Committee on World Relief and Inter-Church Aid.

One year later, in February 1960, the Committee on World Relief and Inter-Church Aid recommended to the National Council that the operational activities of the Committee become a Division of World Relief and Inter-Church Aid within the structure of the Department of Christian Social Relations.

In 1968, as the Executive Council sought to develop more efficient working structures, the Department of Christian Social Relations was dissolved, effectively ending the work of the Committee on World Relief and Inter-Church Aid.

Episcopal Divinity School

  • Person
  • 1974-20171974-2017

The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) was established in 1974 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, through the merger of the Philadelphia Divinity School and the Episcopal Theological School. EDS was a respected and progressive institution that sought to prepare both men and women for the ministry, whether lay or ordained. In 2016 the board of trustees decided to sell its Cambridge, Massachusetts campus and the following year, EDS affiliated with Union Theological Seminary in New York City, creating EDS@Union.

Deputy for Anglican Relations

  • Corporate body
  • 1986-1991

Following his election as Presiding Bishop in 1985, Edmond Browning created the Deputy for Anglican Relationships (also known as Anglican Relations and Anglican Affairs). The office was part of the Senior Executive Group of the Presiding Bishop’s staff at Church Center, and its purpose was “to provide consultative and coordinative support” to the Presiding Bishop in affairs dealing with the Anglican Communion. The Rev. Charles Cesaretti was the first to be appointed to the position in January of 1986. The Rev. J. Patrick Mauney took over the office in January of 1989.

The Deputy acted as liaison to other members of the Anglican Communion and as a close advisor to the Presiding Bishop on Anglican matters, traveling to Anglican church conferences and meeting with representatives from the global Anglican Communion. As such, the Deputy was responsible for keeping abreast of world events and international crises and advising the leaders of The Episcopal Church on framing the Church’s responses.

Following budget cuts within The Episcopal Church in 1991, the position of Deputy for Anglican Relations was not renewed and much of the work was transferred to the Partnerships Office.

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