Brian Grieves, Maureen Shea to leave Church Center posts
Episcopal News Service. April 16, 2009 [041609-04]
ENS Staff
The Rev. Canon Brian J. Grieves, longtime peace and justice officer for the Episcopal Church and currently the senior director of its four mission centers, and Maureen Shea, director of the church's Office of Government Relations, will leave their posts after General Convention, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has announced.
Shea will retire September 1 and Grieves will depart October 15.
"I am deeply grateful for the long and faithful ministry of these two members of the Episcopal Church staff," the Presiding Bishop said in her April 16 announcement. "Each has been a powerful leader, in working to empower the leadership and ministry of others -- the central definition of servant leadership. They will be sorely missed, but we look forward to learning of the next chapter in their respective ministries. Well done, good and faithful servants."
Grieves has been on Episcopal Church Center staff since 1988, and has served under three presiding bishops. "I'm so grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had to be a part of three administrations," he said. "They've all been different and each has been a privilege. My fondest memories will be of the many people at the Church Center and around the Anglican Communion with whom I've had the joy to work. But I knew there would come a time to move on, and so now I look forward to discerning next steps. This summer's General Convention seems a good marker to lay down this part of my ministry."
Shea has been director of the Office of Government Relations since 2003. "Having come to this position after a long career in Washington, I feel truly blessed to have been able to work for my church on the justice issues about which I care most," Shea said. "Thanks to a superb staff, the support of Brian Grieves and presiding bishops Jefferts Schori and [Frank] Griswold, Episcopalians across the country, and the Bishops Working for a Just World, we have strengthened our voice on issues of both domestic and international peace and justice."
Bishops Working for a Just World is a self-selecting group of Episcopal Church bishops who help educate and influence members of the U.S. Congress with regard to the official positions of the Episcopal Church as reflected in resolutions of the General Convention.
"In the interest of good stewardship and effective service, we are considering combining the positions of Advocacy Center director and head of the Government Relations Office, locating the person in Washington," Chief Operating Officer Linda Watt said in the announcement. "As soon as the final decision is made, we will post the position and begin the search process so that this critical ministry will continue to flourish."
Prior to his appointment to the national and international staff of the Episcopal Church Center, Grieves worked for the Diocese of Hawaii for 10 years, where he has remained canonically resident. In addition to being senior director of the four mission centers, he also serves as director of the Advocacy Center. The center includes the Office of Government Relations as well as staff who work on issues of peacemaking, anti-racism, native American/indigenous ministries and social, economic and environmental justice. Grieves also works with the Executive Council's shareholder activism program which challenges corporations in the church's investment portfolio to be socially responsible.
Grieves' earlier duties as director of peace and justice took him to many parts of the Anglican Communion to build partner relationships on justice issues with other Anglican provinces and ecumenical bodies. Until last summer, he served as secretary of the Anglican Peace and Justice Network, a position he had held since 1989.
A member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill, Shea first learned of the Episcopal Church's public policy advocacy when she served as special assistant to President Bill Clinton doing outreach to the faith community. During her six years as director of government relations, she has focused her own portfolio of advocacy work on the Middle East where she has traveled extensively and served on the board and chaired Churches for Middle East Peace. She oversees the work of five staff members including public policy analysts for domestic, international, and immigration and refugee issues, as well as a grassroots director and a staff assistant.