Browning Names Stough to Senior Staff
Episcopal News Service. February 11, 1988 [88023]
GADSDEN, Ala. (DPS, Feb. 11) -- The Rt. Rev. Furman Charles Stough, announced last week his intention of resigning as Bishop of Alabama in order to accept an appointment as senior executive for planning for the Episcopal Church and deputy for the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief.
Stough will be responsible for increasing the extra budgetary development efforts and providing strategic mission planning for the entire Church in response to emerging mission opportunities. He will be part of the senior staff of the Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning and will be responsible for fulfilling Browning's expanded plans for the role of the Presiding Bishop's Fund in developing innovative approaches for the implementation of the mission of the Church.
Stough plans to take up his new posts this fall, following the acceptance of his resignation from the Diocese of Alabama by the House of Bishops.
Commenting on the appointment, Browning said "It is with great joy for me and for the Church that Bishop Stough has accepted my invitation to join the staff at the Episcopal Church Center. His dedication to a ministry of servanthood in the Diocese of Alabama and throughout the Church has witnessed to his deep concern for the mission of the Church. He will bring this commitment as well as his administrative skills with a meaningful theology of stewardship."
"Stough's ministry as an overseas missionary, as chair of the World Mission committees of both the House of Bishops and the Executive Council, and as an active participant in several Partners in Mission consultations will provide him with a broad understanding of the global mission of the Church."
"His leadership in helping to develop mission strategy will enhance the vision that I have for this Church. I know that the Church throughout the United States will rejoice with me in this appointment."
Stough announced his plan to move to New York in his address to the annual convention of the Diocese of Alabama. In that address, Stough noted "It is time for me to respond to God's call to a new ministry. And I do so with great pride in you and what has been accomplished -- both materially and spiritually. I am deeply honored personally by the Presiding Bishop's call, and believe that the call greatly honors the diocese also."
Stough added "We need not be anxious about the coming months and the transition. It offers a time for excitement and growth. It should be interesting, different and creative. All the diocesan machinery will continue. Our many and varied diocesan departments and agencies will all fully function, and as many of you know, they are involved in many very strong and creative programs and projects. You will not find a diocese with any more exciting or helpful offerings and projects than you will find through this diocese. It all goes on unabated."
Stough, 59, is a Montgomery, Ala. native and a graduate of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. He received his Bachelor of Divinity Degree in 1955 from St. Luke's Seminary, Sewanee, Tenn., and an Honorary Doctor of Divinity from the University of the South in 1971.
He expects to complete his Master of Arts at Fuller Theological Seminary in California, this spring. After serving in the United States Army, he was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in 1955. In 1971, he was consecrated bishop of the Diocese of Alabama. He has served the Episcopal Church in many capacities including, currently, as a member of the Executive Council and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, the organization he will now head.
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