The Rev. Edmund Harris Receives ECF Partners Fellowship

Congratulations are due to The Rev. Edmund Harris, Assistant to the Rector at Church of the Epiphany in East Providence, RI. Yesterday it was announced that The Rev. Harris is one of 6 fellows in of the Episcopal Church Foundation’s 2013 Fellowship Partners Program.

For nearly 50 years the ECF Fellowship Partners Program has enabled emerging Episcopal Church leaders to pursue studies and ministries that they might not otherwise be able to.  This year Edmund’s award is a particular honor, as the Fellowship Partners Program received many more  applications than ever before.

"We were amazed at the quality of the applications we received this year," said Donald V.  Romanik, ECF President.  "These people are making a fundamental difference in our beloved Church and we are proud to walk with them." 

Edmund was awarded the fellowship because of his work with Church Beyond the Walls (CBW), a new ministry he has led his parish to create in our diocese.

CBW is a recently planted street church that gathers each week in Providence, RI near Kennedy Plaza, outside of Burnside Park. This ministry is offering people on the streets food and the gifts of church, while offering people from traditional congregations the opportunity to articulate their faith in the world outside of church buildings on Sunday mornings. CBW has come to be an integrated worshipping community that address the needs of both groups of people.

“The Holy Spirit is moving in and through the present realities to call the Church to become a community of disciples concerned less with church maintenance and more with co-operating with God’s mission,” said Edmund. 

In addition to bringing church outside of the building’s doors, This year’s ECF fellows are exploring relationships between environment and spirituality, seeking to understand how Christianity grows in different cultures and contexts, developing models for bicultural and bilingual worship, working with youth, and engaging in urban ministry.

ECF says “our 2013 Fellows will help chart the course for the future of the Episcopal Church”. We are honored that Rhode Island is represented among that group.