Connecting the Dots, Strengthening Ministries: Diocesan Leadership Summit

Bishops and other diocesan leaders carry a sacred responsibility: to shepherd the people and ministries entrusted to their care. Yet even the most seasoned at the helm can find themselves navigating confounding issues around clergy and lay employee wellness, pension benefits, clergy deployment, property stewardship, and long-term sustainability—often only once a crisis arises.

This fall, our inaugural Diocesan Leadership Summit invites bishops and up to two senior leaders in each diocese to join a special conversation. For the first time, from November 4 to 6 in New York City, we’re bringing together these decisionmakers with the leadership team at CPG to explore how we can work in deeper alignment—strengthening ministries, supporting the people who serve the Church, and equipping dioceses to flourish.

Pulling the Right Levers

“This will be a two-way discussion,” the Rev. Canon Arlette Benoit Joseph, CPG’s Chief Church Relations Officer, explains. “We want to hear what leaders across the Church are experiencing right now—and have conversations about how CPG can help.”  

Together, we’ll explore the practical levers dioceses can pull to support the well-being of clergy and lay employees—before challenges escalate. We’ll also discuss what Episcopal institutions can do to better protect their buildings and assets, ensuring that they remain vital centers of ministry for generations to come.

Fortifying the Future

For more than a century, CPG has adapted to meet the Church’s changing needs by listening closely to those we serve. We’ve heard recurring themes in our recent travels around the Church: rising stress among both clergy and lay employees, shifting deployment models, increasing costs, and the strain of caring for aging or vulnerable facilities. We want to make sure that the people and institutions we serve are fully aware of the resources, tools, and solutions available to them.

Our November Diocesan Leadership Summit will help participants connect the dots between CPG’s array of resources and a stronger Church—now and in the future. Bishops who are interested in attending, please let us know if you haven’t already.  

Why Leaders Are Saying Yes

This Summit—bringing together dioceses from large to small, from rural to urban—is designed for bishops as well as leaders responsible for employee benefits, risk management, or property stewardship.

The Rt. Rev. J. Scott Barker signed up as soon as he received the invitation.

“In this time of exceptional change and challenge in the dioceses of The Episcopal Church, I’m eager to hear more about CPG’s products and services,” he says. “In addition, I look forward to learning from my fellow diocesan leaders about what’s working—and not working—for them, and to ensuring that our friends at CPG truly understand both the sacrifices and the blessings that are driving our mission and ministry in this critical moment.”

Comments? Questions? Concerns? CPG is listening. Please reach out to us at corpcomm@cpg.org.