July 30, 2009
By Lynette Wilson

The board of trustees of the Episcopal Church Building Fund (ECBF) announced plans July 30 to move in the fall the $7.5 million revolving loan fund's administrative offices to Richmond, Virginia from the Episcopal Church Center in New York.

"The Building Fund has been located at the Episcopal Church Center in Manhattan for 34 years and has enjoyed a strong collegial partnership that has reaped abundance for both," said Bishop Dabney Smith, the board's chair, in a news release. "Today, we begin a new chapter in our 129-year history."

Founded in 1880 to meet the growing needs of the Episcopal Church, the autonomous, self-supporting building fund makes loans of up to $350,000 at a fixed rate to Episcopal and Anglican congregations and organizations for building projects related to the construction, improvement, repair or purchase of church owned land and buildings.

The move has been planned for one year and is part of the trustees' larger plan to consider what the church of the future needs, and what the fund needs to do to position itself to meet those needs, said Sally Dresser O'Brien, the fund's vice president, in a telephone interview.

"Their job is making sure our mission is up-to-date with current needs of congregations. The board felt it was important to be on the ground and closer to the life and community of the church, and to feel the pulse of the dynamics of what's going on with thriving congregations," she said. "The board is also aware that should it want to expand, it's expensive and very difficult to bring people into the New York metropolitan area."

The fund's board of trustees, comprised of clergy and laity, is scattered nationwide. The administrative headquarters will move to St. Stephens Episcopal Church, a large, thriving congregation, in Richmond, O'Brien said.

"We warmly welcome the Episcopal Church Building Fund into our parish community," said the Rev. Gary Jones, rector, in a news release. "We are excited about the forward-looking and creative leadership of the ECBF, and we look forward to a mutually beneficial partnership in serving the larger church."

O'Brien and the fund's president, Julia Groom-Thompson, will relocate to Richmond.

"While we will miss their presence in the church center, we celebrate the vision and creative energy that is evident in the building fund as it strives to find new ways to support congregations and dioceses in the 21st century," said the Rev. Canon C. K. Robertson, canon to the presiding bishop, a news release.

Episcopal News Service
Lynette Wilson is staff writer, Episcopal Life Media.