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Strategic Plan

The Georgia 200 Fund: Support Strategic Planning

Submitted by the Very Rev. Tom Purdy, Dean of the Southeast Convocation and Rector of Church Church Frederica on St. Simons Island

The Georgia 200 Fund has been created by leaders from the three founding parishes of the Diocese of Georgia – Christ Church, Savannah, Christ Church, Frederica, and Saint Paul’s, Augusta – to raise funds to cover the cost of comprehensive strategic planning for the Diocese of Georgia. 200 years ago leaders from those three parishes had a vision to create the Diocese of Georgia. Now, as we look ahead to the next 200 years, those three parishes see the importance of our Bishop’s call for a comprehensive strategic plan for the Diocese.

All parishes and Episcopalians in the Diocese of Georgia are invited to make a gift to the Georgia 200 Fund in support of this important work. This invitation is not coming from the Bishop or Diocesan leadership bodies; it is not a capital campaign. The three original parishes in Georgia have come up with the idea for this fund and have made the first gifts to the fund in the hope that others will join them by making their own contributions – we are all in this together. Gifts to the Georgia 200 Fund can be sent to the Diocese with the notation “Georgia 200 Fund” or by giving online here. Georgia 200 Fund contributions will only be used for the implementation of a Diocesan strategic plan. If any funds remain at the end of the process, those funds will be put towards initiatives the strategic plan might identify.

While the work to select a firm to do this work is ongoing, the anticipated cost of a comprehensive strategic plan from discovery to listening to completion could be as high as $50,000. This amount is not in our diocesan operating budget, nor is there a likely source of funding from current revenue streams. The three founding parishes have already pledged $35,000, combined, towards this effort and hope that others will help us reach the goal.

We have much to celebrate in our 200-year history as the Diocese of Georgia! The Georgia 200 Fund acknowledges that we have a bright future and that this strategic plan will help set the stage for the next 200 years of a faithful Episcopal presence in Georgia. Thank you for prayerfully considering support for the Georgia 200 Fund.

Strategic Plan Next Steps

Bishop Logue Address ConventionIn his Address to the 2023 Diocesan Convention, Bishop Logue said, “It is time for us to work together on a strategic plan for the Diocese of Georgia.” Since that announcement, he has worked with Canon Katie Easterlin, the Rev. Becky Rowell, and the five-member Executive Council of Diocesan Council to send out a Request for Proposals (RFP) to individuals and entities that assist in facilitating this work. The RFP resulted in hearing from 14 consultants by the March 15 deadline. The Executive Council has been evaluating the proposals and meets this week to further that discernment to name the person or group to facilitate this process by the end of this month.

Every parishioner of the Diocese of Georgia will have the opportunity to assist in the creation of this plan through listening sessions around the Diocese, as well as the option to submit responses online. The listening process will result in an interim report from the facilitator(s) reviewed with the Diocesan Council and Standing Committee and the Bishop and Staff by fall. With feedback from those groups, we will use the diocesan convention this November as a time for further work toward the plan.

Following our convention, the facilitator(s) will deliver their final work naming the overall vision and key goals that will inform the strategic planning process. This will go to a Strategic Planning Committee to be appointed by the bishop with approval of Diocesan Council. That group will be responsible for working with the bishop on an executive summary, followed by comprehensive, detailed plan that identifies: shared vision, goals, objectives, strategies and tactics, while naming responsible partners and their roles, measures and outcomes, as well as identifying resource development strategies.

“This looks and sounds like a business process,” Bishop Logue said, “but we are people of prayer who know that the Holy Spirit shows up when we stop to discern what fidelity to Jesus looks like in this moment. I trust the Spirit will use this process to show us the path toward greater faithfulness as followers of Jesus.”