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College For Bishops announces endowment campaign to insure future health, wellness, education of Episcopal bishops

May 3, 2011
Office of Public Affairs
The College for Bishops has announced the formation of a $15 million endowment campaign to insure the future of the organization, which is designed to provide education and formation for Episcopal bishops in all stages of their ministry.

The campaign, Endowing a Sustainable Future, is chaired by the Rt. Rev. F. Clayton Matthews, Bishop for Pastoral Development and Managing Director of the College for Bishops. He is joined by a group of 30+ other bishops from throughout the United States.

“Through its myriad of programs, offerings, and educational enrichment sessions, the College for Bishops has proven to be invaluable for our bishops, which in turn has greatly benefitted clergy and laity,” explained Bishop Matthews. “Our goal now is to make sure that these offerings are available for future generations of Episcopalians.”

The mission of the College for Bishops is to provide opportunities for education and formation that will strengthen bishops in their personal lives, as diocesan leaders in God’s mission and in their vocation in service to the Episcopal Church.

For more information about Endowing a Sustainable Future, contact Bishop Matthews at cmatthews@episcopalchurch.org.

About the College For Bishops

The College for Bishops was created in 1993 in response to a specific need to strengthen the Episcopal Church’s bishops. The College for Bishops received non-profit status in 2010.

The College for Bishops provides the only formal resource to engage and guide bishops in the Episcopal Church and some parts of the Anglican Communion in the formation of their episcopal ministry. It can take a minimum of three years for a newly-ordained bishop to become comfortable in his or her new role.

Since the health of bishops, clergy and congregations are tied together, through the College, bishops develop vision and resources to deepen their own and the Church’s sense of mission thereby giving them the ability to sustain the benefit of forming and supporting clergy and equipping laity within dioceses.

Among the programs: 90 Day Companion Program for a newly-elected bishops; New Bishops and Spouses' Conference; Living Our Vows Program, a canonically mandated three-year transitional resource program; Short Courses, Small Group Studies and Continuing Education; CREDO for Bishops

“I have found the work of the College for Bishops to have had an immensely positive impact not only on bishops, but on the functioning of the entire Church,” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has noted. “I believe that it is essential to secure the future of this program in order to ensure the continued educational and formational growth of episcopal leaders in a community environment.”

College for Bishops: http://www.collegeforbishops.org

The Episcopal Church: www.episcopalchurch.org

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