The Episcopal Project
The Episcopal Project
Origins and Mission
Edna Johnston is a historian who grew up in rural Dinwiddie County in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia where her father was the Rector of Bath Parish that was founded in 1742. The closing of her home church of Calvary, which was founded in 1844, along with a kick from the Almighty, prompted Ms. Johnston to put her skills and resources to work to preserve the records of Calvary and the other churches in the parish. Johnston pulled in her staff at History Matters, the company that she founded in 1999, got the blessing of The Right Rev. Edmond Browning who baptized her, and began deploying the knowledge, advice, and labor of a cadre of gifted librarians, archivists, system engineers, storytellers, church elders, and many, many volunteers.
With the encouragement and prompting of the Rev. (now Canon) Willis O. Foster, Sr., the records of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, a church that was started by formerly enslaved Virginians in 1867 in Petersburg, was added. Johnston, Foster, and their colleagues started to explore how the records of churches, and the stories of Episcopalians in the Diocese of Southern Virginia could be collected, digitized, and made accessible. In 2023, they launched The Episcopal Project with a mission to expand this work to Episcopal churches nationally.
By providing expertise and means for immediate and long-term care of their historical records, individual stories, and sacred spaces, The Episcopal Project seeks to create tools and digital infrastructure that serves The Episcopal Church and its congregations and that protects it from bad actors.
We give special attention to church records and individual stories at the greatest risk of being lost due to the age of our elders, locations in areas of environmental threat or disaster, the displacement of people and records due to church closures, and the consolidation of churches in rural and urban environments. We focus on preserving and protecting records and recording stories that reflect the full history of The Episcopal Church.
Origins and Mission
Edna Johnston is a historian who grew up in rural Dinwiddie County in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia where her father was the Rector of Bath Parish that was founded in 1742. The closing of her home church of Calvary, which was founded in 1844, along with a kick from the Almighty, prompted Ms. Johnston to put her skills and resources to work to preserve the records of Calvary and the other churches in the parish. Johnston pulled in her staff at History Matters, the company that she founded in 1999, got the blessing of The Right Rev. Edmond Browning who baptized her, and began deploying the knowledge, advice, and labor of a cadre of gifted librarians, archivists, system engineers, storytellers, church elders, and many, many volunteers.
With the encouragement and prompting of the Rev. (now Canon) Willis O. Foster, Sr., the records of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, a church that was started by formerly enslaved Virginians in 1867 in Petersburg, was added. Johnston, Foster, and their colleagues started to explore how the records of churches, and the stories of Episcopalians in the Diocese of Southern Virginia could be collected, digitized, and made accessible. In 2023, they launched The Episcopal Project with a mission to expand this work to Episcopal churches nationally.
By providing expertise and means for immediate and long-term care of their historical records, individual stories, and sacred spaces, The Episcopal Project seeks to create tools and digital infrastructure that serves The Episcopal Church and its congregations and that protects it from bad actors.
We give special attention to church records and individual stories at the greatest risk of being lost due to the age of our elders, locations in areas of environmental threat or disaster, the displacement of people and records due to church closures, and the consolidation of churches in rural and urban environments. We focus on preserving and protecting records and recording stories that reflect the full history of The Episcopal Church.
Board of Directors
The Rev. Canon Willis Foster, Chairman
The Reverend Willis Foster is Canon for Transformation, Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia (DIOSOVA). Prior to his retirement in 2020, he was Rector of St Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Petersburg, Virginia for over 10 years. He has been active in both lay and ordained ministries in DIOSOVA, and has been involved in small church planning and development in lay and ordained capacities. He is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina and a third generation Episcopalian.
Edna Johnston, Treasurer and Founder
Combining her expertise and training with her love for the Episcopal Church, Edna Johnston founded the Episcopal Project to help Episcopal churches digitize, preserve, and protect their history. Johnston is the Principal of History Matters, the historic preservation and research firm that she founded in 1999 and is a member of board of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church (HSEC).
Ann Lloyd Breeden, PhD, Secretary
Ann Lloyd Breeden is Vice President and Secretary to the Board of Trustees at the University of Richmond. From 1996 to 2007, she served in various roles in the President’s Office at Georgetown University, and earlier in the Office of University Development at the University of Virginia. She has also been involved in the operational start-up of non-profit and for-profit entities. She also serves on the board of the League of Women Voters of Virginia.
Kimberly Ferguson, Director
Kimberly Ferguson is Head of Legislative Information Systems Management for the Congressional Research Service in Washington, DC. She leads a team of librarians who manage legislative data for Congress.gov, focusing on current and previous day data, plus long term historical digitization projects to incorporate Congressional documents dating from 1789.
Kendra Hamilton, PhD, Director
Dr. Hamilton is Associate Professor of English and Director of Southern Studies at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, whose latest publication entitled Romancing the Gullah in the Age of Porgy and Bess (University of Georgia, 2024) reveals hidden histories of the Harlem and Charleston Renaissance. A lifelong Episcopalian, she grew up in Calvary Episcopal Church in her native Charleston, SC.
Nate Kettlewell, Director
A self-described PK (preacher’s kid), Nate Kettlewell has worked for 20 years in digital product management, i.e. helping companies and organizations deliver technology that solves problems. Based in Portland, Oregon, Nate brings a wealth of tech sector experience in several different business categories and the ability to communicate effectively to a wide variety of clients.
Board of Directors
The Rev. Canon Willis Foster, Chairman
The Reverend Willis Foster is Canon for Transformation, Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia (DIOSOVA). Prior to his retirement in 2020, he was Rector of St Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Petersburg, Virginia for over 10 years. He has been active in both lay and ordained ministries in DIOSOVA, and has been involved in small church planning and development in lay and ordained capacities. He is a native of Greensboro, North Carolina and a third generation Episcopalian.
Edna Johnston, Treasurer and Founder
Combining her expertise and training with her love for the Episcopal Church, Edna Johnston founded the Episcopal Project to help Episcopal churches digitize, preserve, and protect their history. Johnston is the Principal of History Matters, the historic preservation and research firm that she founded in 1999 and is a member of board of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church (HSEC).
Ann Lloyd Breeden, PhD, Secretary
Ann Lloyd Breeden is Vice President and Secretary to the Board of Trustees at the University of Richmond. From 1996 to 2007, she served in various roles in the President’s Office at Georgetown University, and earlier in the Office of University Development at the University of Virginia. She has also been involved in the operational start-up of non-profit and for-profit entities. She also serves on the board of the League of Women Voters of Virginia.
Kimberly Ferguson, Director
Kimberly Ferguson is Head of Legislative Information Systems Management for the Congressional Research Service in Washington, DC. She leads a team of librarians who manage legislative data for Congress.gov, focusing on current and previous day data, plus long term historical digitization projects to incorporate Congressional documents dating from 1789.
Kendra Hamilton, PhD, Director
Dr. Hamilton is Associate Professor of English and Director of Southern Studies at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, whose latest publication entitled Romancing the Gullah in the Age of Porgy and Bess (University of Georgia, 2024) reveals hidden histories of the Harlem and Charleston Renaissance. A lifelong Episcopalian, she grew up in Calvary Episcopal Church in her native Charleston, SC.
Nate Kettlewell, Director
A self-described PK (preacher’s kid), Nate Kettlewell has worked for 20 years in digital product management, i.e. helping companies and organizations deliver technology that solves problems. Based in Portland, Oregon, Nate brings a wealth of tech sector experience in several different business categories and the ability to communicate effectively to a wide variety of clients.