Our History
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship was founded in New York City on November 11, 1939 with the mission to pray, study, and work for peace. EPF was originally titled the Episcopal Pacifist Fellowship by its founders: John Nevin Sayre, Walter Russell Bowie, Elmore McKee, Eric M. Tasman, Luke White, Katharine Pierce, William Appleton Lawrence, Walter Mitchell, and Paul Jones. EPF adopted our current name in 1965.
Currently, EPF supports local chapters and issue-focused action groups as well as individual members. EPF is a sister organization with the Fellowship of Reconciliation (an international, interfaith movement from whose members EPF was born) and the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship (based in the United Kingdom).
Our Purpose:
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship is an inclusive community rooted in active love. Her members endeavor to follow Jesus into the world, bearing witness to injustice, while striving for justice, and prayerfully expecting that peace will follow. We offer resources to help form human beings who understand that our call to be Christ’s hands and feet compels us to live into our Baptismal promise to strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of every person. We cannot imagine our lives as followers of Christ without doing the work of social justice advocacy. We are about using our prophetic voices for radical peacemaking. Our places are marked by our dedication to nonviolence, and to creating peace even with those with whom we deeply disagree. Our movement is ever toward the immovable cornerstone, Jesus, who can always be found standing beside the other and the stranger, the oppressed, the marginalized, the disenfranchised, the victims of a broken justice system, the displaced, and those who are alone or who have lost hope.
Our Leadership
The Episcopal Peace Fellowship leadership comes from our National Executive Council (NEC), which meets regularly to discern the direction of EPF at an executive level.
Interim Chair & Treasurer - The Rev. George Clifford (Boston, MA). Email George
Interim Vice Chair - Dr. Linda Gaither (Richford, NY). Email Linda
Clerk - The Rev. Deacon Maureen Hagen (Portland, OR). Email Maureen
The Rev. Paul Colbert (Claremont, CA)
The Rev. Deacon Bob Davidson (Winchester, MA)
Martha Gardner (Somerville, MA)
The Rev. Brian Grieves (Oakland, CA)
Randy Heyn-Lamb (Pasadena, CA; EPF Palestine Israel Network Representative)
The Rt. Rev. Edward Lee (Haverford, PA)
The Rev. G. Thomas Luck (Fredericksburg, TX)
Richard MacMaster (Gainesville, FL)
Paul Ricketts (Ft. Wayne, IN)
Michael Wallens (Alpine, TX)
Richard Pitre (South Portland, ME)