St. Peter's Episcopal Church Search Process Update - January 15, 2012
Under the direction of the Bishop’s office we are working through a prescribed process to assess where “"We Are"” as a Parish, where we want to go and what type leadership "“We Seek"” in a new Rector.
In the fourth quarter of last year the Vestry selected a Search Committee consisting of ten members. We came together as a group in November and have met on a weekly basis since that time to begin the process.
One of our first steps was to offer the Corporate Prayer used this morning in the service. This search process involves each of you and we ask that you contemplate this prayer and include it in your daily prayer life and within your small groups.
We have also developed a survey for you to complete. There is one version for Adults ages 18 and older and a special survey for children ages 10 to 17. These surveys are designed to capture demographics of the congregation and to provide an opportunity to speak out on what is important to you as we go through this process. If you receive your ESP online we ask that each member of your family complete the survey online. On Tuesday, January 17th you will receive an email with a link to the survey. Families who receive the ESP by regular mail will be sent the survey on Tuesday, January 17th.
We urge each of you to take a few minutes to complete the survey. It is vitally important to establishing the “We Are” component of the search process. We have provided approximately two weeks to have the surveys completed with a due date of January 31st. Please do everything possible to complete your surveys within this time frame.
Additionally, we will host Roundtable discussions in Burns Hall on February 26th and March 4th at 8:15 am and 10:00 am. These discussions will provide an opportunity for open dialogue. A member of the search committee and the vestry will facilitate the discussion and collect valuable input and feedback from you at that time. Please make every effort to attend one of those sessions. We will remind you of these dates as they approach.
Information collected from the surveys and Roundtable discussions will serve as the building block of the “We Seek” component of the search process. These two sources of information will be assimilated into a Power Point presentation. The Power Point presentation will be shown in Burns Hall on March 25th at 8:15 am and 10:00 am. These presentations will provide an enlightened perspective of the make up of St. Peter’s and a profile of the characteristics important in our new Rector. Please make every effort to attend one of those sessions.
A vital step in the process is to create a “Parish Profile” which is the formalization of the “We Are – We Seek” initiative. The “Parish Profile” is a 1 page document to be posted on our website and distributed nationally. This “Parish Profile” serves as our offering to Rector candidates. At that time we will ask you to please urge candidates you know to apply.
This is an open-ended process with no time constraints. We are focused on a deliberate approach to produce the best Rector for St. Peter’s.
We will continue to provide updates verbally on a monthly basis. We do encourage you to look for additional updates through weekly newsletters, ESP, and the website.
Thank you,
Neil Blalock, Search Committee Chair
