Forward Movement is an agency of the Episcopal Church, publishing Forward Day by Day, a pamphlet of daily meditations, with a circulation of 500,000, as well as a wide range of other devotional and spiritual literature.

"I am delighted that Dick Schmidt has accepted the position, and look forward to working with him in the years ahead," said Peggy Beers, chair of the Forward Movement Executive Committee. “He comes to us with a good deal of experience in the publishing field, and he is equipped as well to lead us in our core mission to support people in their lives of prayer and faith. I am most excited that, as Ted Gleason completes our first ever capital campaign, Dick Schmidt is coming on board to implement the initiatives for which funds have been raised.”

"I commend the Forward Movement Executive Committee on their careful process and very successful outcome in the choice of the Rev. Dr. Richard H. Schmidt to be their next director and editor," commented Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold. "May this be the beginning of another fruitful chapter for Forward Movement in their long ministry of dedicated service to the church."

Schmidt, 60, is a native of Shelbyville, Kentucky, and holds degrees from Kenyon College, Vanderbilt Divinity School, and Wesley Theological Seminary. Ordained in 1970, he has served Episcopal parishes in West Virginia, Missouri, and Alabama, and as a missionary in Nigeria. He is the former managing editor of The Episcopalian and the author of three books: Glorious Companions: Five Centuries of Anglican Spirituality (2002), Life Lessons from Alpha to Omega (2005), and Praises, Prayers, and Curses: Conversations with the Psalms (2005).

Schmidt and his wife of thirty-seven years, Pamela, now reside in Chesterfield, Missouri. They are the parents of three grown sons.