Are you encountering problems balancing next year’s budget? Raising a special fund to fix the roof? Planning a capital campaign?  Your prospects for success will improve materially if you set the stage properly for members and prospective members. We will examine the connection between mission and money and offer solutions that can improve parish financial sustainability.

FACILTATOR: Jim Elrod helps lay and ordained church leaders identify and address the strategic and financial challenges their parish faces. He is on the faculty of Yale Divinity School where he teaches courses on finance and crisis management. Jim also serves on the governing boards of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, Christ Church Greenwich, The Church of the Ascension (Saranac Lake, NY), Yale New Haven Hospital, and Yale New Haven Health System. His most recent book ‘Creating Financially Sustainable Congregations’ was published in 2021.

After learning the basics in Sowing Seeds 1, come gather with Baby Boomer Gail Lebert and Elder Millennial Canon Sarah Louise Woodford for conversation and learnings around marketing strategies for newcomers to your church and event planning for your church community as well as for the community your church is a part of. There will also be time for peer-to-peer learning and problem solving with the results of your church’s completed communications audit. Please complete a communications’ audit for your church here (coming soon) a week prior to our workshop.

FACILITATORS: For over 25 years, Gail Lebert has worked as a Consultant to ECCT. She has helped parishes in transition and vestry teams recognize their gifts and discern where God is calling them to be. Gail was formerly the Publisher of Hartford Business Journal and led the talented HBJ team to evolve from a weekly newspaper into a business information company.     

Canon Sarah Louise Woodford is ECCT’s Canon for Communications & Media. She has over ten years of experience in religious and non-profit communications. She particularly enjoys helping religious organizations find new and creative ways to make communications and technology work for them.

ECCT parishes have historically experienced great variations in their Stewardship results, which have had little to do with income levels of the communities they serve. Our parishes have tremendous variation in the levels of pledge participation. In addition, parishes serving communities with comparable income levels have considerable variations in average pledge amounts.  Effective Stewardship Appeal campaigns can affect both these important drivers of parish finances. This session touches on Stewardship Appeal campaign content and practical and effective process management. The Reverend Adam Thomas and former ECCT Canon for Mission Finance and Operations Louis Fuertes discuss: 

• Defining your parish’s Stewardship Appeal goals and focus
• Recruiting a Stewardship Appeal Team
• Defining the scope of Stewardship Appeal activities
• Developing and delivering an impactful central message
• Augmenting it with messages for different current and prospective pledgers
• Utilizing different media channels for conveying these messages
• Creating a work plan, schedule and responsibility map
• Embracing spreadsheet madness! (for focusing, tracking and reporting)
• Conducting a candid “after action” evaluation to guide next year’s Appeal

Adam and Louis hope that leaders of ECCT parishes – both large and small – will benefit from this session, and the opportunity to network with colleagues whose Stewardship efforts do so much to advance God’s mission in their parishes and in communities across our diocese. We encourage discussion and sharing at the conclusion of our presentation.

FACILITATORS: Louis Fuertes served as Canon for Mission Finance and Operations for the Episcopal Church from 2014–2019, following earlier work coaching parishes on financial issues under Canon (now Bishop) Audrey Scanlon. He previously served as his home parish’s Treasurer and has co‑chaired its stewardship appeal for the past three years. Before church work, he spent 20 years in commercial banking and nine years as a management consultant. A spry Baby Boomer, he enjoys cooking, traveling, gardening, music, and time with his three grandsons. He holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in Engineering and an MBA.

The Reverend Adam Thomas began his ministry with the people of St. Mark’s in February of 2014, after having served two previous parishes in Massachusetts and West Virginia. “The best part of ordained ministry,” says Adam, “is walking with people through the most important moments of their lives – both the joyful and the sorrowful.” He has a passion for preaching, writing novels, and playing board games.

Discover new ideas and resources to spread God’s work on fertile soil using efficient tools to market your church. Make your marketing more effective by knowing who you are trying to reach, how to reach them, and what to say. The topics will include audience identification, communications for church newcomers, newsletters, using social media, and creating simple marketing plans. Come sow the seeds of church communication with Baby Boomer Gail Lebert and Elder Millennial Canon Sarah Louise Woodford!

FACILITATORS: For over 25 years, Gail Lebert has worked as a Consultant to ECCT. She has helped parishes in transition and vestry teams recognize their gifts and discern where God is calling them to be. Gail was formerly the Publisher of Hartford Business Journal and led the talented HBJ team to evolve from a weekly newspaper into a business information company.     

Canon Sarah Louise Woodford is ECCT’s Canon for Communications & Media. She has over ten years of experience in religious and non-profit communications. She particularly enjoys helping religious organizations find new and creative ways to make communications and technology work for them.

In the online world, websites are a church’s digital front door—it is the first thing online visitors notice about not only when your service is, but what the “spirit” of your worshipping community may be like. This workshop will look at website essentials for parishes and how to make them happen with little to no cost and minimal volunteer time. It will also connect attendees with TEC and ECCT website resources. Come learn how to develop and maintain your website with Baby Boomer Gail Lebert and Elder Millennial Canon Sarah Louise Woodford! 

FACILITATORS: For over 25 years, Gail Lebert has worked as a Consultant to ECCT. She has helped parishes in transition and vestry teams recognize their gifts and discern where God is calling them to be. Gail was formerly the Publisher of Hartford Business Journal and led the talented HBJ team to evolve from a weekly newspaper into a business information company.       

Canon Sarah Louise Woodford is ECCT’s Canon for Communications & Media. She has over ten years of experience in religious and non-profit communications. She particularly enjoys helping religious organizations find new and creative ways to make communications and technology work for them. 

Join us for the Checklist Challenge! Best practices and good standing aren’t just about compliance—they’re about stewardship, transparency, and building long term trust.  This practical, engaging training invites leaders to take part in the Good Standing Checklist Challenge, a guided walkthrough of best practices that strengthen governance, financial accountability, and operational health. Together, we’ll break down essential requirements into a clear, usable checklist—helping you assess where you are, identify gaps, and leave with concrete next steps you can put into action immediately. Whether you’re new to leadership or simply want to ensure your parish’s practices align with current standards, this session offers clarity, confidence, and tools you can use year-round. Come ready to check the boxes, ask questions, and strengthen your ministry for the future.

FACILITATORS: Rosanna Rosado serves as the Canon for Mission Finance and Operations and the Treasurer for Donations and Bequests (D&B) for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. She holds a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Management and Finance and a Certificate in International Business from Iona. She is currently pursuing her credentials as a Certified Management Accountant. She brings 20 years of leadership experience in non-profit finance and operations management and diverse work experience with numerous religious and not-for-profit organizations. Rosanna’s core strengths are in management and operations, finance for the maximum utilization of resources, strategic planning, identifying opportunities and building alliances, establishing sound financial footing, improving business structures, ensuring compliance, establishing systems and internal controls, reducing budget deficits, mitigating risks, and augmenting revenue streams.

Gigi Leackfeldt is the Data Analyst Manager for The Episcopal Church in Connecticut, with 13 years of experience in nonprofit data strategy, analysis, and operational improvement. She holds a B.A. from the University of Hartford and a Data Analytics Certificate from Cornell University. Her work emphasizes data integrity, process optimization, and trend analysis. At ECCT, she oversees data strategy for major initiatives, including the five‑year Joining Jesus campaign, and supports statewide financial and administrative projects for parishes.

This presentation will cover the significance of managing parish archives, what kinds of parish records need to be stewarded for long-term preservation, and the best practices for doing this work. Focus will be on the management of electronic and analog records using application tools such as cloud storage and artificial intelligence. 

FACILITATOR: Greg Farr serves as the Director for Archives and Record Management for the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. Greg majored in Religious Studies at the University of Montana and has also received master’s degrees in theology (MTS) at Boston University and library information science (MLIS) at Drexel University. Since 2010, Greg has worked professionally as a corporate archivist and is both a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists (ACA) and a certified Digital Archive Specialist through the Society of American Archivists (SAA).  Greg lives in the NW corner of CT (Colebrook) and is an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Torrington.

Please join us for an informative session on the fundamentals of legacy giving and its importance in fundraising.  We will touch on topics such as the current landscape of giving in America, philanthropic trends, planned giving vehicles, donor advised fund basics and donor motivations. With the greatest wealth transfer in history underway and an estimated $84 trillion in assets expected to move from Baby Boomers to younger generations and charitable organizations in the next 30 years, understanding how to talk with generous supporters about how they can leave a meaningful legacy to your organization has never been more crucial.  We look forward to sharing information and tips to help you navigate this important moment. 

FACILITATORS: Elizabeth A. Barnette is a Managing Director and Senior Philanthropic Strategist with the National Consulting and Advisory Practice at Bank of America Private Bank.  She has over 25 years of experience working with nonprofits. Managing a team of philanthropic professionals who provided planned giving, administrative, and fiduciary oversight services to more than 500 nonprofit clients, including colleges and universities, churches and other religious organizations, community foundations, hospital systems, and arts and culture organizations. Elizabeth specializes in planned giving, sub-fund accounting, donor-advised fund administration, and board governance.  

Martin Morrissey is Treasurer of Saint Paul’s Church in Southington and a life-long Connecticut resident. His professional career involved healthcare administration and finance serving in executive positions in the hospital and behavioral healthcare arenas. Those responsibilities included oversight of various investment, self-insurance, and endowment portfolios. Early in his career he also spent fifteen years as president of a family-owned commercial printing company. Currently retired, Martin is a Boston College graduate, a CPA, and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. 

Theresa Dupont has been a member of the board of trustees of Donations and Bequests (D&B) since 2014 where she is the Secretary and Director of Operations servicing the D&B participants. Theresa has participated in Big Brothers and Sisters of America and volunteers in her community. Theresa graduated from Sacred Heart University with a B.S. in Accounting. 

Not thinking about a merger? Join us for a conversation about imaging a new future for your parish…. honest conversations about moving forward listening to the Holy Spirit, telling the truth, and building connections in new and life-giving ways.

FACILITATORS: Bishop Laura Ahrens, Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, is passionate about exploring with congregations how parish leadership, lay and ordained, can engage God’s Mission in their local context through prayerful discernment and collaborative partnerships. With Bishop Jeff, she seeks to create vibrant and engaging spaces where Christians can deepen their understanding of God’s love and try on new ways of speaking about and sharing that love with others.

Joy Dorin was the junior warden at St. John’s, Vernon, and the prior senior warden at St. Mary’s, Manchester. In her role as senior warden, she was part of the team that guided the activities and discussions of possible options for St. Mary’s that led to the eventual union between St. Mary’s and St. John’s and created the new St. John’s in October 2023. It’s a privilege for Joy to share her experience with other parishes as they pray about their future.  

The Reverend Mark Santucci is the Priest-in-Charge at Grace Church, Yantic. He was the priest at St. John’s, East Hartford, when they joined with St. John’s, Vernon, in a merger that helped establish procedures in the diocese. Since then, Mark has worked with several parishes as they navigated the merger process.3. It’s a privilege for Joy to share her experience with other parishes as they pray about their future.

Parishes with as few as one employee need to be familiar with human resources practices as well as their obligations under employment laws. Even the smallest employers are covered by laws governing matters such as minimum wages and overtime, meal breaks, reporting of new hires, timekeeping, personnel files, electronic monitoring, employee classification, family and medical leaves of absence, anti-discrimination, and sexual harassment prevention training. This workshop will cover the basics of human resources and compliance issues throughout the employment relationship, including hiring, wage and hour matters, personnel files and policies, documentation, leaves of absence/time off, and the end of the employment relationship. There will be time for Q&A; bring your questions!

FACILITATOR: Carla Harris is an active and dedicated member for many years at Trinity Church, Portland. She’s served in various roles, including on the vestry, teaching Sunday school, helping with fundraising, and supporting outreach efforts. In her professional life, Carla has built a career in human resources, working in different roles to support teams and organizations. She has experience in HR operations, change management, culture transformation, and talent management. Currently, Carla is the VP of Total Rewards and People Operations at American Eagle Financial Credit Union. She works to create rewarding experiences for team members, overseeing benefits, compensation, recognition, wellness programs, and tools like HR software and survey platforms. She also manages vital processes like leave of absence, payroll, and status changes. Carla is passionate about helping people thrive — whether by supporting her colleagues at work or contributing to the life of her church community.