Episcopal Press and News
McGonigle, Menuez Accept Top Posts
Episcopal News Service. August 21, 1986 [86176]
NEW YORK, (DPS, Aug. 21) -- Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning has named an Executive Council member and a veteran Church Center staffer to two senior executive positions -- positions created as he implements a restructuring announced this spring.
In a letter to the staff, Council members and bishops, Browning said he was naming George L. McGonigle as Senior Executive Officer and D. Barry Menuez as Senior Executive for Mission Operations. Both positions are new and both will be effective in September.
As senior executive officer, Browning said, McGonigle will "serve as my principal deputy for all Church Center activities and will have full authority to act for me in all matters not requiring my personal pastoral and sacramental ministry as Presiding Bishop." Reporting to him will be Menuez as senior executive for mission operations, an executive for mission support/treasurer and an executive for mission planning. The existing units or departments of the staff will report to one of these three "cluster" executives.
Browning said in the same letter that the existing units of Communication, Education, National Mission, World Mission, Women's Ministries and Stewardship would report to Menuez as operations senior executive. Administrative, financial and other support functions would report to the mission support executive/treasurer. The executive for mission planning will head a new unit, the structure of which awaits the report of the Mission Planning Group established by Executive Council.
Commenting on the appointments, Browning said "While serving in his fourth year as a member of the Executive Council, George has also been serving as a consultant to my Office for staff and organizational issues. He resigns as an executive of a regional investment banking firm in Texas to accept this appointment. His prior employment includes serving as Provost of the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, and over 30 years with a major energy company, serving in a variety of professional managerial and executive positions involved with corporate services, development and operations.
"Barry's ministry in areas of education, training and program development for the National Church has its beginning in 1965, when he began as the field officer for the Joint Urban Program of the national church."
McGonigle, 59, is a native of Texas and a graduate of the University of Texas. In addition to his long career in business, he has been active in civic and community development affairs, diocesan activities and a deputy to General Convention since 1976. He has also studied at Columbia University and been a visiting fellow at ETS-SW.
An 21-year veteran of the Church Center staff, Menuez has been Executive for Education for Mission and Ministry since July 1983. Prior to that time, Menuez was serving as the field officer for the Council for the Development of Ministry and deputy to then Executive Bishop Elliott Sorge.
Menuez, 53 and a native of Ohio, holds degrees from Kenyon College and the University of Chicago Divinity School. After service as an Air Force security officer, he was a project organizer for five years with the Industrial Areas Foundation, a private Chicago institution created by Saul Alinsky to assist communities in achieving social change. He has also served here as assistant director of the General Convention Special Program and lay ministries coordinator.
The Presiding Bishop noted in his letter that some other entities, such as the Board for Theological Development, Church Deployment Office, the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief and the United Thank Offering would be lodged in Mission Operations "for the time being" but will be part of continuing study.
The letter stated that Menuez' appointment was on an acting basis with "full authority to act in all capacities," and a spokesman for Browning explained that this was done because of the continuing evaluation and testing of the structure.
In the same sense, Browning had said that some functions of Communication might be shifted later to Mission Support.
He said he hoped to announce the appointment of the executive mission support/ treasurer soon and expected to make appointments to vacant units in September.