Reflecting God’s heart for justice through socially responsible investing is an expanding area of engagement for the Episcopal Church, both the wider denomination and the Convocation in Europe.
The Episcopal Church recently announced it had divested entirely from the fossil fuel industry, the culmination of a resolution adopted by the 78th General Convention in 2015. The chair of the Executive Council’s Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility, Sarah Lawton, recently told Episcopal News Service that “in all our work, we consider our investments in terms of our deeply held values as a church, and I am grateful that our church has followed through on this commitment to the care of God’s creation.”
The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, during its 113th annual convention in October, adopted a resolution* calling on the Council of Advice to appoint a Task Force on Stewardship and Financial Justice. Among other things, the task force should seek and promote initiatives for “socially and ecologically just investments.”
“What we do with our money – both individually and as churches – should reflect our core belief in God’s heart for justice for all his creation,” said Bishop Edington. “I know many of our individual congregations have already begun assessing ways they can align their investment decisions with our Christian beliefs and values, and I look forward to the recommendations from the newly formed task force.”
*The text of the Resolution at Convention:
Resolution 2024-7: Stewardship and Financial Justice
Resolved, that the Convention urges the Council of Advice to appoint a Task Force on Stewardship and Financial Justice to explore new approaches to stewardship as a spiritual practice,
and be it further
Resolved, that this Task Force shall:
a) Learn from the wisdom of each community in the Convocation regarding treasure and the sharing thereof,
b) Articulate a theological and spiritual vision of stewardship drawing on our communities’ resources and the wisdom of Christian and Anglican tradition, and communicate its vision to the congregations in the Convocation,
c) Assist the Convocation in reviewing current budgets, spending and saving practices, and investments held by or on behalf of the Convocation, and suggest changes to promote financial justice and sustainability,
d) Collaborate with existing committees and other Convocation initiatives to promote the envisioning of the mission of our churches through socially and ecologically just investments.
Moved and seconded, the resolution was approved unanimously.