Buildings for a new tomorrow

Episcopal Church Building Fund offers symposium

February 11, 2010 [Episcopal Church Building Fund] As dioceses and parishes struggle with spiraling costs and shrinking budgets, the church's most significant physical assets – its buildings – are in serious disrepair. Crumbling buildings are in many cases the single biggest barrier to mission and ministry; every month more than three congregations close their doors for good, according to the Church Insurance Company.
 
An April 7 symposium hosted by the Episcopal Church Building Fund at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, will equip church leaders to solve this problem in ways that make both financial and pastoral sense, empowering the church to shift its focus to the vitality of its ministry.

Speakers include church leaders who are confronting and negotiating these struggles in their own dioceses and communities, and who will share creative and successful models. Topics include how and why to face the reality that a parish or diocese is in decline; how environmentally sensitive attention to church buildings can save money; and emergent church models that de-emphasize buildings.

The building fund is positioned to help dioceses recast their physical assets by evaluating troubled situations; and to work with congregations on re-imagining their use of space, bringing them insight into collaborative initiatives, best practices and a community-wide vision. 

The Episcopal Church Building Fund is committed to good stewardship, sustainability and results. An independent, self-funded 501 c3 founded in 1880 and guided by a board of trustees, it is the only national organization supporting congregational building projects and overseeing a revolving loan fund.

To register for the symposium or see the agenda, visit www.ecbf.org. Limited scholarship funds are available for travel and registration. For more information, contact Sally O'Brien, vice president, at (804) 288.2867 or sobrien@ecbf.org.