ECF Out & About: May 2026
The Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, addressed Episcopal Connections: The Church Club of New York's 139th Annual Dinner on April 27, 2026, held at Trinity Church’s Parish Hall in New York City. Dail St. Claire, President and CEO of the Episcopal Church Foundation, hosted a table for ECF Board members, staff, and guests at the sold-out event.
The Presiding Bishop shared his vision for the future of The Episcopal Church in some of his remarks as follows:
“I believe today that the gospel of Jesus Christ and our work as The Episcopal Church is a matter of life and death. That is how urgent I believe our call is in this time. It is a matter of life and death. It’s not a luxury. It’s not something we can fail to take seriously. It’s something we must pursue with a level of excellence and discipline like we've not seen. It will require us to have a strategy, but it is urgent. Lives are at stake.
And I’m here to say, to tell you that my work as Presiding Bishop is to help to reposition this church so that we can be the most effective examples to the gospel that we can in the world; that it’s going to be hard work, and that it won’t be easy, and that—as you’ve witnessed already—it won’t be done perfectly. I’ll mess it up and likely disappoint each one of you in this room. But not for lack of looking toward a vision that God has for us now.
I encourage you to bring your areas of expertise, to bring your thought leadership to this work, and to help us do something different. To help us pivot and move forward. To step away from the pull of the world toward the pull of the Kingdom of God. And to love the world as it is.”
The Presiding Bishop is Honorary Chair of the Board of Directors of the Episcopal Church Foundation.