The Fund for the Diaconate in the Episcopal Church re-elected several officers during its annual meeting October 7 at the offices of the Church Pension Group in Manhattan:
- The Rev. Edwin F. “Ted” Hallenbeck of the Diocese of Rhode Island, president
- The Rev. W. Keith McCoy of the Diocese of New Jersey, vice president
- The Rev. Ellen Ross of the Diocese of Nebraska, secretary
- Allerton Marshall of the Episcopal Church in South Carolina, treasurer
- The Rev. Robert Franken of the Diocese of Missouri, assistant treasurer
This year marked the first time the fund met outside of New York, and for more than a day, when it held a two-day planning retreat in Hilton Head, South Carolina, in May.
A small group of Episcopal deaconesses founded the fund in 1927, after they were denied entry into the Church Pension Fund. The Retiring Fund for Deaconesses of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America was organized by seven members in the State of New York. The first donations totaled $94.25.
The fund expanded to include all deacons in 1990. Then and now, the fund exists to support deacons of the Episcopal Church who suffer from financial hardship. The board now manages an endowment of approximately $7 million, using the income to provide grants to nearly two dozen deacons.
This year the fund adopted a motto: “To be a channel for God’s grace in enabling the diaconate to flourish — one deacon, one ministry, one community at a time.” The fund plans to launch a website, and has decided to share a booth with the Association for Episcopal Deacons at the next General Convention.
The Fund will continue the pattern of holding its annual and fall meetings in New York, while a spring meeting will be held in 2015 in California.
For more information, write to the Rev. Ellen Ross, 106 Robin Road, Council Bluffs IA 51503.