The Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes: An Introduction

Paul Carew, Junior Warden

The consortium was founded for two major purposes: to strengthen the life, stewardship, and mission of its member congregations, and to be a community for mission throughout the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion.

The Rev. Dr. James B. Lemler

The Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes (CEEP), founded officially 20 years ago, began in Indianapolis, Indiana at a time when a number of parishes in that city were the beneficiaries of large gifts, principally from Mr. Eli Lilly. The rectors of these parishes realized that the impact of these bequests on administration, structure, and stewardship would be huge, requiring education, collaboration, and sharing of information. Primarily, the rectors recognized the enormous responsibility of overseeing such large endowments. Soon the list of parishes was expanded to learn from those with experience and expertise in dealing with endowment management and disbursement. The group grew over time and in 1985 it was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization and CEEP began its journey. The principal criterion for membership in CEEP is a parish endowment of at least one million dollars. The Chapel of the Cross joined in 2003.

The annual conference celebrating its 20th anniversary was held in New York on February 24-26. The conference began with a series of in-depth and comprehensive pre-conference sessions on February 24 that included Outreach, Parish Administration, Rectors, Stewardship Professionals, Stewardship Volunteers, Treasurers, and Wardens. The conference workshops beginning on February 25 included such informative and timely topics as Stewardship, Endowment, Outreach, Congregational Development, Leadership, and The Church in the World Today. Subsequent articles will address these topics more thoroughly.

A wonderful opening Evensong at St. Michael's on the Upper West Side; keynote addresses by the Honorable Madeleine Albright and Archbishop Desmond Tutu; a grand banquet; and a closing Eucharist with a sermon by Archbishop Tutu at St. Paul's Chapel, Wall Street, literally next to the 9/11 Ground Zero, rounded out our New York Consortium experience. Most importantly, the informal networking that went on throughout the conference was both educational and extremely valuable. The time was well spent, rewarding, and oftentimes emotional for all of us who attended from the Chapel of the Cross.

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© 2005 The Chapel of the Cross