History

In 1998, Jill Oettinger and Amanda May met at a Jubilee training program in Washington DC after each of their respective organizations had been recognized as a Jubilee ministry by the national Episcopal Church. Amanda and Jill both felt that the format for the Jubilee ministries was designed for parish outreach organizations and that an organization focused on larger social service providers would be helpful. With this in mind contact was made with Phil Rapp at St. Francis Academy and the three met and exchanged ideas for a national organization.

By October 2000 the first national conference was held in San Diego with ECS San Diego sponsoring the event. Agencies from across the country responded to a solicitation to meet and discuss forming a national organization. Work groups were organized to put together potential membership lists and information about organizations attending was shared. Presentations were made by the Church Pension Group and the Episcopal Church Foundation. Tours of ECS San Diego were held, and there were group dinners each night. After the San Diego conference, a second conference was organized for 2001 in San Antonio.

In October 2001 the second national conference was held in San Antonio. Again there was response from across the country, with some repeat attendees and some new ones. The focus of this conference was alternate denominational models for a national organization. Jill Schumann of Lutheran Services in America was the main speaker and resource, with Bob Orr acting as facilitator. There were presentations by the Episcopal Church Foundation and the Church Pension Plan, and a group dinner on the riverfront. Gary Sturni offered to set up a website with an interactive data base. Various tasks were assigned to work groups including: development of tag line, mission statement, vision, collect, values, bylaws, purpose statement, membership agreement, definition of member, budget, recognition by national church and planning for next conference.

In January 2002, the ECSA steering committee met in St. Louis with Rodney Wead and his staff at Grace Hill to work on planning the conference to be held in St. Louis in October. The steering committee included:
     Ms. Jill Oettinger - Good Samaritan Center (San Antonio, Texas)
     The Rev. Amanda May - ECS (San Diego, California)
     The Rev. Canon Phil Rapp - St. Francis Academy (Salina, Kansas)
     The Rev. Robert Betts - ECS (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
     Mr. Rodney Wead - Grace Hill (St. Louis, Missouri)
     Mr. Clark Moore - Ubi Caritas (Beaumont, Texas)

This meeting also included further work on the database, membership and incorporation of the organization. The Rev. Gary Sturni (St. Francis Academy) was appointed as coordinator of the new organization. A letter went out to all bishops under Amanda[base ']s signature informing them of the formation of the new organization, the conference in October, and support for their diocesan organizations to attend.

In April 2002, another meeting of the ECSA steering committee took place in Philadelphia. This meeting received input from all work groups on the issues identified in San Antonio and came to resolution on a number of subjects. The mission, vision, and purpose statements were revised and approved for submission to the general meeting in October. A collect was drafted and a statement of values reviewed. Finances, marketing and organizational structure were discussed and significant progress made on these fronts.

In October 2002 the third national annual conference was held in St. Louis. The keynote speaker was Jim Towey of the White House Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives. Presentations were made by The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations and the Church Pension Group. Dr. Johanna Hunsaker, Board member from ECS San Diego, also spoke at length on the issue of the living wage. Dr. Hunsaker is a professor of organizational development in the Business School of the University of San Diego. At the business meeting the following were elected officers of the new organization:
     Chair: The Rev. Amanda May [^] ECS (San Diego)
     Vice-Chair: The Rev. David Norgard [^] ECS (Minnesota)
     Secretary: The Rev. Charles McCarron [^] ECS (Long Island)
     Treasurer: The Rev. Joyce Caggiano [^] ECS (Michigan)

The Rev. Canon Phil Rapp was elected CEO and President of ECSA by unanimous action of the Board. The Rev. Gary Sturni was appointed the Corporation[base ']s National Network Coordinator, Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Secretary. The Board was constituted as all the Executive Directors/Presidents of the organizations present. The retirements of Phil Rapp and Bob Betts from their respective organizations were announced, as was the forthcoming retirement of Rodney Wead. The minutes of the initial meeting of the corporation reflect the following:

• The initial board for purposes of bylaws filed were The Rev. Canon Philip J. Rapp, President and the Rev. Dr. Gary K. Sturni, Secretary and Treasurer.
• The Board size was set at not less than five (5) and not more than fifteen (15).
• The directors elected to replace the initial directors were as follows:
  1. The Rev. Robert Betts, ECS, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  2. The Rev. Joyce Caggiano, ECS, Detroit, Michigan
  3. The Rev. Sally Coates, Episcopal Charities, San Francisco, California
  4. The Very Rev. Ed Fellhauer, St. Francis Academy, Salina, Kansas
  5. Mr. Jack Hanstein, ECS, Sacramento, California
  6. Dr. Jay F. Lehnertz, ESS, Kansas City, Missouri
  7. The Rev. Amanda May, ECS, San Diego, California
  8. The Rev. Charles F. McCarron, ECS, Long Island, New York
  9. The Rev. David Norgard, ECS, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  10. Ms. Jill Oettinger, Good Samaritan Center, San Antonio, Texas
  11. Mr. Holden Potter, Bridges, Memphis, Tennessee
  12. Dr. Rodney Wead, Grace Hill, St. Louis, Missouri
• The Bylaws were adopted.
• The Membership Agreement was adopted
• The Vision Statement was adopted
• The Value Statement was adopted
• The Statement of Purpose was adopted.
• Terms of the directors to be decided at the next meeting.

In May 2003, the fourth national conference was held in San Francisco. The Rev. Rebecca Lyman of CDSP (The Church Divinity School of the Pacific) in Berkeley was the keynote speaker describing the history of social outreach in the Episcopal Church. The conference included presentations by the Church Pension Group, tours of the programs supported by Episcopal Charities of the Diocese of California, and a variety of workshops. The business meeting included the description of terms of directors and the existing directors were assigned to the following classes:
     April 2004: Norgard, McCarron, Wead
     April 2005: May, Hanstein, Coates, Fellhauer
     April 2006: Caggiano, Lehnertz, Oettinger

The resignations of Bob Betts and Holden Potter were accepted with regret. Standing committees of the Board were set up as follows:
     Finance: Hanstein, Caggiano, Rapp
     Membership: Oettinger, Norgard, Rapp, Coates
     Board Governance: Lehnertz, McCarron, Rapp, Fellhauer
     Executive: May, Norgard, Rapp, McCarron, Caggiano

In April 2004, the fifth national conference was held in Washington D.C at the Washington National Cathedral. Participants stayed at the College of Preachers and all meetings were held at that site. The keynote speaker was the Rt. Rev. Geralyn Wolfe, Bishop of Rhode Island, and the facilitator for the Board meeting was Rick Stiffney, President of Mennonite Health services.

The business meeting included the following:

• Election of officers as follows:
Chair: The Rev. Amanda May (ECS San Diego)
Vice Chair: The Rev. David Norgard (ECS San Diego)
Treasurer: The Rev. Joyce Caggiano (ECS Detroit)
Secretary: Ms. Jill Oettinger (Good Samaritan, San Antonio)

• Elected as board member (April 2007): The Rev. John Midwood (ECS Philadelphia); re-elected as board members: the Revs. David Norgard and Charles McCarron
• Identification of strategic priorities and set up of committees:
  • Annual Meeting: Membership committee, Jill Oettinger/Sally Coates
  • Technical Assistance: A. May (ad hoc)
  • National Products: Phil Rapp (ad hoc)
  • Communications: Communications Cmte, Jack Hanstein
  • Public Policy: C. McCarron (ad hoc)

In April 2005, the sixth national conference was held in Chicago with the theme, [base "]Uniting the Church through Service.[per thou] The conference speaker was the Rev. Dr. James Lemler, Director of Mission for the national Episcopal Church. Presentations were made by Church Insurance and the Public Policy Network (the Washington office of the national church). Workshops, affinity groups and a speaker from the Board of Episcopal Charities, Chicago covered other topics of interest..
The business meeting included the following:

• Board members: resignation of the Revs. David Norgard and Joyce Caggiano; election of Judy York (Episcopal Charities, Chicago) and the Rev. Georgine Buckwalter (Episcopal Church Home, Louisville) for unexpired terms ending April 2007(2nd term) and 2006 (1st term); re-election of May, Hanstein, Coates and Felhauer for 2nd terms ending 2008
• Reports of committees including governance, finance, membership and communications
• Election of officers:
  • Chair: Sally Coates (Episcopal Charities, San Francisco)
  • Vice-Chair: Jay Lehnertz (ESS, Kansas City)
  • Secretary: Jill Oettinger (Good Samaritan, San Antonio)
  • Treasurer: The Rev. Amanda May (ECS, San Diego)
  • President and CEO: The Rev. Phil Rapp
  • Assistant Treasurer and Secretary: The Rev. Gary Sturni

The next conference will be in Philadelphia in April 2006. A Board retreat was planned also for October 2005 at the Bishop[base ']s Ranch outside Healdsburg, California.

During this development period, a number of conference calls were scheduled for the committees of the Board, including the executive committee. Minutes and reports were prepared for these and generally distributed at the next following face-to-face meeting.

Vision, Purpose, Values
What is ECSA?
History
Board of Directors