Search Update, May 2012

The Search Committee conducted interviews over Skype with a terrific group of candidates and is now preparing to bring a narrowed field of candidates to Charlotte for more in-depth conversations. These visits will give us a chance to spend extended time with each candidate in social settings, a lengthy interview, and worship. The candidates and their spouses or partners will get a chance to see St. Peter’s and explore Charlotte.

These visits will be with the Search Committee only. We will not introduce the candidates to the vestry, staff, or parishioners on these visits. We cannot tell you these candidates’ names, where they are from, their ages or genders, or any other information about them. I know everyone understands and respects that we have to maintain confidentiality.

The Search Committee is excited about the wonderfully gifted candidates in our discernment process. We are not worried about whether we will find a great rector, but who among the talented pool is just right for St Peter’s right now. We are looking forward to these visits. The next step after these visits will be for Search Committee members to visit candidates at their parishes. Please pray for our committee, for St. Peter’s, and for our candidates as we continue to discern God’s call for all of us.

Josephine Hicks, Chair

Search Update, March 2012

From Remarks made by Josephine Hicks, Search Committee Chair, at the Annual Meeting

The Church is in the season of Lent. Our parish is in the season of Advent. We are waiting. Henri Nouwen writes: “The secret of waiting is the faith that the seed has been planted, that something has begun. Active waiting means to be present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it.” If we are patient, we are “willing to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us” (Henri Nouwen, “Waiting for God,” Watch for the Light; Readings for Advent and Christmas). In our discernment process, something has indeed begun. We have explored together what we love about St. Peter’s and our hopes for its future. As we move through the next steps of the process, we will live out who we are and what we have discovered about ourselves, as we are confident in the belief that something hidden will manifest itself to us – namely, the identity of our new rector. Where are we in the process? We have just received applications, which include resumes and answers to 9 questions – almost identical to the questions we answered about St Peter’s in our profile. The questions each candidate answers include:

• “Describe a moment in your recent ministry that you recognize as one of success and fulfillment.”
• “Describe your liturgical style and practice.”
• “How do you incorporate others into ministry?”
• “Describe your involvement in the wider Church”
• How do you engage in pastoral care?”
• “How are you preparing for the Church of the future?”
• We are reviewing those applications now.
• We have every application – none were screened out

We cannot tell you

• How many applications we have now or will be considering at any point as we go forward
• demographics of the applicants – where they are from, whether men or women, ages, married or single, ethnicity
• Names

Be patient with us. I will say that:

• We have a healthy number of applications
• We have good diversity in this group, in many respects
• We have exciting prospects in the group we’ve seen so far
• The diocese is still accepting names, but that will likely close soon
• If you know of good candidates or hear from priests who are interested – ask them to go to our web site or the diocesan web site to look at our profile and, if interested, apply through the diocesan web site
• We cannot take names directly – they must apply through the diocese

What happens next?

• We will narrow the field by reviewing applications to decide who to interview
• We will conduct interviews by Skype; then narrow the field again
• The Canon to the Ordinary will prescreen the remaining group of candidates through phone calls to his peers and other informal means
• We will check references
• We then bring select candidates and their spouses or partners to Charlotte for face-to-face interviews and interaction with the Search Committee
• We will narrow field after the in-person interviews
• Bishop Curry interviews the candidates in final pool of 3-5
• Search Committee members will visit top candidates at their home parishes
• Search Committee will decide who to recommend to the vestry; we will meet with the vestry and recommend one name
• Vestry will conduct a Discernment Conversation (in-person interview) with that priest
• The final steps include Bishop Curry giving verbal permission to call the rector; an Oxford Document Background Check; working out details

We will keep you informed as best as we can. Please be patient. Again, we won’t be able to tell you much, other than where we are in the process. Please pray for us, and for the candidates – this is a mutual discernment process.

Search Update, January 2012

Waiting. We don’t like it. We live in a “get it done yesterday” world of demands, in which technological advances seem to make everything possible in an instant. In the Church year, we have just come through the season of Advent – a season of waiting. In our parish life, however, the waiting continues: Waiting for our discernment process to culminate in the calling of a new rector.

Henri Nouwen writes: “The secret of waiting is the faith that the seed has been planted, that something has begun. Active waiting means to be present fully to the moment, in the conviction that something is happening where you are and that you want to be present to it.” If we are  patient, we are “willing to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us” (Henri Nouwen,  “Waiting for God,” Watch for the Light; Readings for Advent and Christmas).

In our discernment process, something has indeed begun. We have explored together what we love about St. Peter’s and our hopes for its future. As we move through the next steps of the process, we will live out who we are and what we have discovered about ourselves, as we are confident in the belief that something hidden will manifest itself to  us – namely, the identity of our new rector.

Where are we in that process? The search committee has prepared a profile, which the vestry approved. On January 3 the search committee will meet with Canon Michael Hunn from the Diocese to review the profile and get his comments. We hope to get the profile up on our web site and on the diocesan web site shortly after that. Canon Hunn will also brief us on the next steps, which will include accepting names of applicants and conducting interviews. Watch this site for news on next steps, and continue to pray for this discernment process.

Josephine Hicks, Search Committee Chair

Adult Forum, September 18

1. Overview

a. Search Committee members

i. Steve Bentley

ii. William Bellamy

iii. Judy McLeod

iv. Jan Keny

v. Kent Carpenter

vi. Mary Griffin

vii. Des Keller

viii. Jim DiMartino

ix. Toni Moore

x. Sydney Burgess

xi. Ann Hinson

xii. Josephine Hicks

2. Expect 12 months or more

3. Differences from past processes

a. Vestry members on the committee

b. Search Committee will give one name to the vestry

c. Canon to the Ordinary (Michael Hunn) is our consultant (Come hear him preach Sept 25)

d. Profile – most is already on the web site

i. History

ii. Photos

iii. Mission statement

iv. Descriptions of ministries and activities

v. Service schedule and other schedules

vi. List of clergy and staff

e. Candidates must apply; we cannot take names to consider unless they apply

i. Apply with Bishop Curry

ii. Apply on diocesan web site

iii. Apply on St Peter’s web site

4. Next step for our process – congregation meetings to explore what’s important to you about St Peter’s and our future – “This is your church; This is your chance” – let’s dream together about what St Peter’s can be in its next chapter

a. Oct 1 – 9:30 am– 11:30 am

b. Oct 11 – 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

5. Following congregation meetings:

a. Oct 30 adult forum to report back what we heard

b. Search Committee will write narrative for web site and send it to Diocese along with info re: statistics, answers to standard questions for information they will make available on Diocesan web site – all with vestry approval

6. Meanwhile, interested candidates are writing answers to narrative questions about their experience and interests

7. The Diocese posts our information for interested candidates to see

8. Diocese accepts names; we accept names through our web site

9. After 8 weeks, we combine lists of interested candidates

10. Search Committee reviews info on interested candidates, including reading or listening to sermons and other writings on line, interviewing by telephone – whatever we want to do at that point to narrow the list to 8-10

11. Canon to the Ordinary (Michael Hunn) conducts pre-screening checks, discussions with his counterparts

12. Bishop Curry does not select our rector but has to be comfortable with candidates

13. We will bring “short list” of candidates and spouses to Charlotte for interviews; will likely conduct a Eucharist for the Search Committee, meet briefly and informally with the vestry.

a. less expensive than sending committee members out for multiple trips; we will make visits only to top candidates’ parishes

14. Key facts to know about Episcopal clergy today

a. Average age of today’s seminarian is 47

b. Only 12% of clergy are between the ages of 35 and 45

c. Many seminarians are in second careers; have management and other skills and experiences

d. Many expect to work and have vibrant careers beyond age 65

15. Process will be transparent, to the extent we can be

a. We cannot reveal names of clergy being considered;

b. demographic info of people being considered (age, gender, etc);

c. numbers of people being considered at any point in the process

16. Process of spiritual discernment, for us and our new rector

17. We don’t know who our new rector is yet, but God does

18. Pray for our process, pray for our new rector, pray that God helps us find each other

First Meeting!

The St. Peter’s Search Committee held its first meeting on Tuesday, August 9. Joining committee members was the Reverend Canon Michael Hunn, who serves as the diocesan adviser to the committee and helps churches throughout the diocese manage their transition process. Back in the spring, Canon Hunn led a lively meeting with the St. Peter’s vestry.

Josephine Hicks writes:

“I could not be more excited about the search committee members. I am grateful to all of them for agreeing to serve and am looking forward to working with them. Michael Hunn’s guidance and assitance will be invaluable.  The committee was impressed with his experience, good, practical advice, and clear spiritual grounding. This process is not just a search. It is a spiritual discernment, for St Peter’s and for our new rector. I hope everyone at St Peter’s will pray for God to guide all of us, including our new rector, in this discernment process.”