AEC Annual Meeting, 7.31.2024: President’s Report

President’s Annual Report of the Association of Episcopal Chaplains (AEC)
The Rev. David Fleenor, AEC President
July 31, 2024
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We are the Association of Episcopal Chaplains (AEC). Anyone who identifies as an Episcopalian and a chaplain, whether endorsed, certified, ordained, or not, is welcome to participate. A major milestone this year was changing our name from the Assembly of Episcopal Healthcare Chaplains (AEHC) to the Association of Episcopal Chaplains (AEC). This change reflects our inclusive mission to serve all chaplains within The Episcopal Church (TEC), not just those in healthcare. Our new logo, featuring the labyrinth of the Cathedral in Chartres, symbolizes our shared journey of life and faith.

Our vision is to be a community for all chaplains in TEC that fosters recognition, connection, and growth through advocacy, community, and education. 
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We are led by a strong Executive Committee comprised of the Rev. Mark Jeske, Secretary; Mr. Andrew Peterson, Treasurer; Past-President, the Rev. Sherry Black; President-Elect, Ms. Elaine Bayless; and your truly, the Rev. David Fleenor, the current President. We also have two very valued ad hoc members: the Rev. Marshall Scott, our Web/Net Chair, and the Rev. Susan Roberts, a past president. We meet monthly to care for one another and to manage the AEC's affairs. Regrettably, Andy, our treasured treasurer, has come to the end of his service. Andy has served this association faithfully and capably for many years. I speak for all of us when I offer this heartfelt thank you. Andy, thank you for all you have done for us and this association over the years. We will miss you in that role and hope you will continue to be an active member with us. We will need to find a new treasurer soon, so if you have the skills and the time, please get in touch with us.   
In support of our vision, we have become a more active association over the last year.

• We continue to meet every other week for online noonday prayer, which is our most vital way to come together for prayer and fellowship. 

 

• Last year, we began hosting an annual retreat when fourteen of us gathered at the Trinity Retreat Center in West Cornwall, CT, for a restorative time of rest, connection, and envisioning. The Rev. Dr. Mark Bozzuti-Jones, Director of Spiritual Formation at the Trinity Retreat Center, led us in theological reflection and spiritual practices that nourished our souls as we rested, connected, and envisioned what the future might hold for us as an association and as individuals. We are grateful to the ACPE for their grant that enabled this retreat. We have secured a grant from the Constable Fund of TEC for another retreat in 2024 at the same location. Our friends from the Center for Spiritual Imagination, a ministry of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in the Diocese of Long Island, will facilitate this year's retreat. Our president-elect is leading the planning process for a 2025 retreat, for which we are exploring funding options. We are proud that we have offered high-quality retreats to our members at a low cost. So far, our retreatants have only had to pay for their travel to get to the retreat center. We hope to continue this trend for years to come. 

We maintain strong relationships with national leaders in TEC. 

• We regularly communicate with the Rev. Margaret Rose, the point person for ecclesiastical endorsement for TEC, who continues to strongly support the AEC and all Episcopal chaplains.  

 

• Similarly, we are in ongoing communication with the new Suffragan Bishop of the Armed Forces and Federal Ministries, the Right Rev. Ann Ritonia. 
  • The Rev. Susan Roberts and I had the privilege of attending her consecration in Washington, D.C., last year. 
  • She has been incredibly supportive of the AEC by providing space at her General Convention booth for us this year. Thanks to all who served on our GC subcommittee, which developed new AEC resources that were distributed at the General Convention and maintained a steady presence at the booth to share the good news of our association with other Episcopalians.
  • Bishop Ann also hosted a breakfast at the Association of Professional Chaplains’ (APC) conference this month in St. Louis, which about a dozen of us attended. A special thanks is due to Razz Waff for coordinating that event. It couldn't have happened without him. 

As we look ahead, we face two challenges: one big and one small. 
Let’s begin with the small one. The AEC is a non-profit organization. We learned some time ago that we lost our official non-profit status. We assume it was due to failures in filing annual reports with the government. We are actively working to re-establish AEC as a non-profit organization so that we may resume receiving dues and donations, which are vital to the health and durability of this association. We are actively engaged with a law firm that will help us once again become a non-profit organization. 

Now, on to the big challenge: TEC's most significant challenge at this point in our history is the steep and irreversible decline in church attendance. Twenty-five years ago, when I became an Episcopalian, we had nearly 2 million members; now, we sit at around 1.6 million. Half of all Episcopalians are ages 65 and older. Our numeric decline has been and is projected to be very steep. Our denomination is searching for ways to stem the tide of decline and discern our purpose, which will never change. And that purpose is, in a word, Love. As the American folk hymn says, Love, Love, Love, Love. The gospel in a word is Love. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love, Love, Love, Love. 

I am convinced that this grand challenge is also a great opportunity for us as chaplains. We are uniquely positioned to continue living the Gospel of Love no matter how many people choose to walk into an Episcopal Church on a Sunday. People may stop attending church, but they will always show up at hospitals, prisons, workplaces, and other so-called non-parochial settings. And in those places, we will continue to be present, providing spiritual care and doing the work of Love during some of the most mundane and most intense moments of people's lives. Our great challenge is to remain faithful to our vocations as chaplains no matter how large or small our denomination is. And the AEC is here to support us as we face and overcome this challenge, which is best done by being in community with one another.
We are people of the resurrection. As a denomination, we may be at the foot of the cross or three days in the grave. But we Episcopalians practice resurrection every Sunday and every Easter. We are prepared for this time, and we know what to do. We know how to remain steadfast in faith, trusting that we have given our lives to the God of Love, who never leaves nor forsakes us and whose very nature is oriented towards resurrection. We may not know what the future looks like, but we trust that God will bring it to pass and that we Episcopal chaplains will always have a role to play in the healing of the world.  

In conclusion, I would like to offer this blessing: 
The God of Love, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you, and remain with you always. Amen. 
Sincerely,

The Rev. David Fleenor
President, Association of Episcopal Chaplains