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Letter From Bishop Susan | Campaign Background | Campaign Goals | FAQ | Download Courageous Love Booklet

What is Courageous Love?

Christian hope is loving hope, it is courageous hope. In Jesus, God’s love has been poured into our hearts, and it is God’s love that we are giving to the world. At the beginning of her episcopacy, Bishop Susan began to enact the vision of courageous love for each other and our communities. This work began by comprising a diocesan strategic plan in 2019. Not long after the completion of this plan, the world was brought to a halt as we addressed the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as we addressed the myriad challenges this brought, the diocese courageously hoped that we could begin to move towards the aspirations set forth in this plan. The world may look different now, but the message of the gospel is unchangeable. Animated by the good news of Jesus Christ, the Diocese intends to be a growing, diverse, worshiping community of Jesus Christ’s followers, courageously sharing God’s transforming love in our neighborhoods and beyond.

Background

The 2020 Diocesan Strategic Plan established that a fundraising campaign would be required to meet the plan’s objectives. In September 2021, EDSD staff began to review previous giving in the diocese in preparation for a future fundraising campaign. Between December 2021 and March 2022, lead donors across the diocese were interviewed. From April to October 2022, major donors were surveyed. In January 2023, the Executive Council authorized the Bishop to nominate a committee to guide campaign development and make final recommendations to the Bishop and Council. In July 2023, the campaign committee’s recommendation was reviewed by the budget committee and then submitted to the Executive Council, which approved the Courageous Love campaign. Directed by diocesan leadership, the Courageous Love fund will support the efforts of our strategic plan to strengthen congregations, serve our neighbors, and grow the church.

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Campaign Goals

The Episcopal Church has a vital and essential witness to offer the world: God loves every human being – and through God’s Son, Jesus, God offers redemption, hope, and promise to all creation. We must proclaim this witness courageously and imaginatively, in word and action. The Courageous Love fund will support the efforts of our strategic plan to strengthen congregations, serve our neighbors, and grow the church. Our goal is to raise $2.5 million to answer God’s call to mission in our diocese.

Grow The Church

Grow the Church
Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
The bustling, diverse, energetic communities of southern California and Yuma are full of promise – and our church needs to be right there with them. God calls us to:
Plant new churches in communities that haven’t heard about Christ’s love.
Support our current congregations in committing themselves to evangelism and community engagement.
Reach out intentionally to the marvelously diverse populations around us with worship in new languages and new cultural expressions.
Develop discipleship among children, youth, and young adults to pass the Christian faith on to new generations.
Your contribution will help us plant two to five new congregations, grow our current congregations through intentional evangelism and outreach to new populations, create campus ministries, and support children’s and youth programs across the diocese.
Strengthen Our Congregations

Strengthen Our Congregations
Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7
As congregations emerge from the pandemic and respond to decades of decline across the Episcopal Church, God calls our diocese to strengthen congregations for ministry vitality, leadership development, and financial sustainability.
Develop new leaders from diverse backgrounds, including recruiting and equipping leaders of all ages and ethnic backgrounds to minister in our diverse community; provide financial, mentoring, and ministry support to a new generation of leaders; equip lay and ordained leaders for a new era of mission through congregational development training.
Support congregations in developing real estate projects to support congregational mission. Our Mission Real Estate Project will provide technical expertise and feasibility support to help our congregations: guide congregations toward long-term financial sustainability; provide affordable housing and other services for clergy and the wider community; and help our congregations expand their missions with new community partners.
Provide grants to congregations in amounts between $10k and $50k for mission and evangelism that will: strengthen their mission; support launching worship services to reach new populations; improve congregational outreach and invitation practices; underwrite community outreach events.
With the generous contributions of donors like you, we will cultivate congregational leaders who guide our parishes and missions to thrive in their context, growing in membership, serving new populations, and sharing the Good News of Christ throughout this region.
Serving Our Neighbors

Serve Our Neighbors
“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40
As we look at the people in our communities, many needs are clear – affordable housing and care for those without homes, food security, and support for immigrants and refugees, to name a few. Many of our congregations and diocesan institutions work tirelessly to alleviate suffering in their neighborhoods. We want to strengthen our work of service in God’s name.
Mission and Evangelism Grants to congregations will support visionary service projects in local churches.
The Mission Real Estate project will meet community needs for housing and other facilities while supporting our congregations financially and missionally.
Diocesan-level projects to care for homeless people, migrants, refugees, and others might lead us to create new service initiatives that call together efforts across our diocese.
It’s been a challenging couple of decades in the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. But God is not finished with us yet. We believe a new era of growth in spirituality, ministry, and numbers is about to begin. With your support, we can grow our church, strengthen our congregations, and serve our neighbors. Won’t you join us in God’s call to Courageous Love?

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FAQs

Why is it called the Courageous Love campaign?

Christian hope is loving hope, it is courageous hope. In Jesus, God’s love has been poured into our hearts, and it is God’s love that we are giving to the world. Courage is an act of the heart that leads us to take action even when we are hesitant or afraid. At the beginning of her episcopacy, Bishop Susan shared a vision of courageous love for each other and our communities, resulting in a diocesan strategic plan published in 2020. Animated by the good news of Jesus Christ, the Diocese intends to be a growing, diverse, worshiping community of Jesus Christ’s followers, courageously sharing God’s transforming love in our neighborhoods and beyond. The Courageous Love campaign will support the efforts of our strategic plan to strengthen congregations, serve our neighbors, and grow the church.
Why is a campaign necessary?
Why are we doing this now?
How will my congregation benefit?

We will work to strengthen congregations by equipping them for evangelism, discipleship, leadership development, community engagement, and financial sustainability. Grants for service, mission, and leadership will be available to congregations through this campaign. Additionally, this campaign intends to increase the number of faith communities in our diocese. The more Episcopalians, the more each congregation benefits. Congregations with real estate with unmet potential will be candidates for mission real estate developments.
Why shouldn’t I give directly to my congregation?

We encourage you to support your congregation and this campaign. Simply put, we are better together. Much of the common programs offered by the diocese benefit congregations that could not offer these on their own. Individually, each of our congregations has certain strengths and charisms, but together we are stronger and have more potential to learn quickly from the experiences of each congregation.
How much should I give to the campaign?
Why should I pledge rather than give a one-time gift?
How will my gift be collected?
What methods of payment are accepted?
Can I make a matching gift with my employer?
What if I am unable to fulfill my commitment?
What will these funds be used for?
What if I am passionate about something specific?

The Courageous Love campaign has several aims, but it is one fund. These aims impact each other. No matter which of these areas excites you, your gift will support your interest. When we serve our neighbors, our congregations discover new members. By housing our neighbors, we generate income for our congregations. When we start new ministries, we are introduced to future leaders of our church whom we may not have met otherwise.
Will there be reporting on the campaign?
What is the cost of running the campaign?
Other questions?

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Courageous Love Evangelism Grants

These grants are made possible by the generous donors to the Courageous Love Campaign. The funds raised through this campaign will support the efforts of EDSD’s strategic plan to strengthen congregations, serve our neighbors, and grow the church. Our strategic plan calls us to equip Episcopalians to share God’s love and Christ’s Good News with people who may not know him. Through this, we fulfill Jesus’ great commission by increasing the number of Episcopalians in the diocese. These grants are available throughout the year.

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The focus will be on projects that:

Establish missional expressions among military, college campuses, and other communities
Increase congregational membership and average weekly attendance
Engage congregational discipleship programs and resources (e.g. small groups)
Events where half of the participants are not members of your congregation
Start worship services that reach a new population
Improve congregational outreach and invitation practices
Underwrite community outreach events

Applicants will be expected to:

Define their evangelism project
Demonstrate how community demographics have impacted this project
Describe previous efforts and experience related to this project
Explain how effectiveness will be gauged
Demonstrate how the congregation will contribute to the project
Provide a project budget
Describe how the project will be supported after grant funds are used

A congregation’s vestry or bishop’s committee must approve a project before a request is reviewed. Once a request is submitted, the bishop’s office and executive council will review the application. A bishop’s staff or executive council member may contact you for clarification on your application if needed. When a decision is made, a bishop’s staff or executive council member will contact you. If you receive a grant, you will be asked to provide periodic updates to the bishop and executive council and contribute to an article for the diocesan news after the completion of the grant.

If you need inspiration for your evangelism efforts, we recommend reviewing projects shared at these Episcopal websites:

EDSD.org | EpiscopalChurch.org | ECFVitalPractices.org | EES1862.org

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Jason Evans, Canon for Mission, at jevans@edsd.org.