Additionally, he was the first bishop in the history of the Diocese to hire a woman for the important and high-ranking position of Director of Deployment. Today there are four women in senior leadership positions on the diocesan staff, the largest number ever. Also during his episcopacy, the Diocese of New York elected its first woman bishop, the Rt. Rev. Catherine Roskam, only the fourth woman to be elected bishop in the United States. Bishop Grein was a driving force in the establishment of Episcopal Charities in the Diocese, an innovative approach to strengthening and increasing financial and management support for the myriad of community service programs of local congregations.
Strong parishes mean a strong diocese.
When Bishop Grein became Bishop of New York, the Diocese had no endowment. Quickly realizing that an endowment was necessary for the long-term stability of the Diocese, he put the wheels in motion. But Bishop Grein also looked beyond the boundaries of the New York Diocese. When the Diocese of Klerksdorp in South Africa was carved out of the Diocese of Johannesburg, the bishop supported continuing a companion diocese relationship with the new body. He also established partnerships with the Patriarchate of Moscow and the Anglican Diocese of Seoul.