What is ECSA

Episcopal Community Services in America, Inc.

Episcopal Community Service in America (ECSA) is an independent, 501c3 non-profit organization. Voluntary membership in ECSA is open to any health or social service provider or foundation that is affiliated with the Episcopal Church. ECSA founding members. Included are Episcopal Community Services of Northern California, San Diego, Michigan, Minneapolis and Virginia; Episcopal Charities of San Francisco, and Rhode Island; The Saint Francis Academy; Episcopal Social Services of Connecticut, West Missouri and Kansas; the Good Samaritan Center in San Antonio; The Episcopal Church Home, Diocese of Kentucky, Grace Hill, St. Louis, and Ubi Caritas, Diocese of Texas.

ECSA members have access to a host of critical resources designed to add value to their ministries. Such support can take a variety of forms, from advocacy before governmental or regulatory bodies to individualized technical assistance to annual conferences that highlight best practices in the human service fields and sharing methods of achieving excellence in programming. ECSA also serves as a receptacle and disbursement point for funds contributed or granted by individuals, organizations, dioceses and governmental entities interested in promoting the good works of health and social service ministries. The members of ECSA have distinct missions and serve diverse constituencies. In many instances, the ECSA members have their origins in successful parish outreach activities initiated in response to identified community needs. Once these programs outgrew the volunteer resources of the parish, they typically were spun off as independent 501c3 organizations. Church affiliation was maintained usually through the office of bishop of the diocese.

The charter organizations of ECSA share the belief that one of the Episcopal Church´s greatest assets is a growing enthusiasm for reaching out to those who are less fortunate, as demonstrated by the proliferation of over 509 church-affiliated human service agencies and foundations in 85 dioceses across the country. The individual value of these ministries is laudable but the members of ECSA believe that the impact could be expanded exponentially if greater coordination and structure were applied. Roman Catholic and Lutheran followers reached similar conclusions years ago when they founded Catholic Charities of the U.S. and Lutheran Services of America. These templates of experience -- coupled with the histories and contributions of a myriad of Episcopal-affiliated agencies and foundations -- were analyzed by the ECSA charter organizations during a three year planning phase begun in 2000. The participants were inspired by the possibilities they saw in a nationally organized effort to nourish the good works of which our church is justifiably proud. They honored this potential with the founding of ECSA on October 25, 2002 at Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis.

The underlying intent for all ECSA endeavors is to show Christ´s people that in serving the helpless they are serving Christ himself. But service without standards can be incomplete; to serve others as Christ would demands consistently high levels of efficiency and effectiveness. A primary devotion of ECSA is to ensure that all members maintain a community presence that is marked by a commitment to quality.

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