Episcopal Church (United States) by the House of Deputies for a nine-year term. The Presiding Bishop is the chief pastor and primate of the Episcopal Church and is charged with providing leadership in the development of the Church's program as well as speaking on behalf of the Church. The Presiding Bishop does not possess a territorial see; since the 1970s, however, the Presiding Bishop has enjoyed extraordinary jurisdiction (metropolitical authority) and has authority to visit dioceses for sacramental and preaching ministry, for consulting bishops, and for related purposes. The Presiding Bishop chairs the House of Bishops as well as the Executive Council of the
Episcopal Relief & Development Project, and fundraising campaigns. Episcopal Relief and Development began a "Hurricane Harvey Response Fund" to provide support for communities affected by Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in Texas on August 26, 2017, where more than 185,000 homes were damaged and 9,000 destroyed. One of the immediate ways Episcopal Relief & Development and its partners help individuals is by handing out gift cards to local stores so that people can choose what they need the most. Episcopal Relief and Development’s most recent 2016 financials, annual summaries and 990 federal tax returns are available online. According to its 2015 federal tax return,