You are here
COLORADO: PR firm recruited by Episcopalians
Boulder company would help diocese communicate better
By Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News
September 15, 2004
The Episcopal Diocese of Colorado likely will announce soon that it has hired a Boulder public-relations firm to help communicate with its 35,000 churchgoers.
Stratecom Inc. of Boulder, a 13- year-old public-relations, advertising and marketing firm, already was being identified Tuesday at the diocesan headquarters and at Stratecom's as handling the Episcopal account.
Calls to Stratecom about the Episcopal Church were referred to Ellen Brilliant, who until a year ago served as spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
Brilliant, who joined Stratecom in February as a vice president, said Tuesday that the firm has held discussions with Bishop Rob O'Neill but "nothing is official" until he makes an announcement.
O'Neill is in London this week to discuss the tumultuous state of the American Episcopal Church with the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the de facto leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which operates as 38 autonomous provinces.
The Episcopal Church USA, which is one of those provinces, is under fire from conservative members at home, as well as a majority of the provinces worldwide, for giving official support to an openly gay bishop and to the development of same sex blessings.
In Colorado, a $500,000 decline in pledges this year is being attributed, at least in part, to anger over the trend to further gay rights in the church, which O'Neill also supports.
O'Neill made no secret of the fact that, two weeks ago, he used a public-relations firm - not Stratecom, however - to help release the results of a task force report on how the deeply divided diocese could continue to "live together in disagreement."
Brilliant said discussions with O'Neill have centered on how the diocese and its members can most effectively share concerns.
END
