Once I had children, I knew it would be important for me to be able to provide them the same beginning that I had. We began attending Good Shepherd Episcopal Church of Hilltown in the late 80s. Our adopted son, Philip, joined us in 1988 when he was 3 years old. Philip was well known in the congregation for roaring out ‘and God be with you!’ to Reverend Frank Toia’s utter delight.”
One day, Reverend Toia invited Virginia (Ginger) Goodrich to speak. She was serving as a member of Bishop Bartlett’s staff at the time and is a parishioner of St. Thomas’ Church, Whitemarsh. I recall her presenting on the topic of tithing and how ECS was a charity close to her heart. When she came in, her story was so powerful. We had so much that had gone well for us—so much had gone right in our lives. We thought …we can’t ignore poverty anymore. We need to respond.