RI Priest Named New Executive Director of Forward Movement

The Rev. Scott Gunn will lead Forward Movement Publications in its mission to “reinvigorate the life of the church.”

Gunn, a priest of the Diocese of Rhode Island, has been named by the Board of Directors and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as the new executive director of Forward Movement, the publisher of Forward Day by Day meditations as well as books and pamphlets about spirituality and The Episcopal Church. He begins his ministry with the Cincinnati-based Forward Movement in late July.

“Our church is at a critical and thrilling point as we seek to find our way forward in the 21st century,” said Gunn. “Forward Movement is positioned well to be a leader in proclaiming the Gospel that is at our core.”

With a worldwide circulation of more than 300,000 subscribers, Forward Day by Day will continue to play a central role at Forward Movement. At the same time, Gunn will lead the agency in the exploration of new content—and new methods of delivery—both to support current readers and to attract new audiences.

“We will continue to offer our dedicated readers the materials which nourish them, while expanding our audience through new kinds of content delivered in new ways,” Gunn said. Active both on the local and church-wide level, Gunn served two congregations in the Diocese of Rhode Island as well as in leadership positions on Diocesan Council and as deputy to the 2009 General Convention. He is a member of Episcopal Communicators and the Episcopal News Service Advisory Committee and an active blogger (http://www.sevenwholedays.org/).

Prior to his ordination, he worked for several technology and communication companies, including the Atlantic Monthly and the MIT Media Lab. He also holds degrees from Brown University and Yale Divinity School.

“We welcome Fr. Gunn as he joins the work of leading Forward Movement into the next chapter of its ministry,” said Jefferts Schori.
As Gunn takes the helm of the 76-year-old institution, he is looking to current subscribers and prospective readers to dream with him about how Forward Movement can better “tell the story of God’s work among us in way that our world can hear the Gospel.” Send him your ideas and dreams—for content and for new ways to deliver these stories E-mail him at sgunn@forwarddaybyday.com . To learn more about Forward Movement and its work, visit http://www.forwardmovement.org/ .