Overview of the transition process

The Vestry of St. George’s Church decided, at the recommendation of the Diocesan Deployment Officer and our interim rector, to use a three step process to prepare for and select a new permanent rector. We selected and are working through a Strategic Planning Committee, a Profile Committee, and a Search Committee. The roles and membership of each of these committees is detailed below, along with an expected schedule of their activities. You can also read prayers for our transition.

Transition FAQ's

Parish Profile

Instructions for candidates

Strategic Planning Committee

Throughout the fall and early winter of 2009, the Strategic Planning Committee conducted the research necessary for the parish profile that will be used in the search process for our new Rector. The information they gathered included:

• demographics of the parish (and trends);
• demographics of Arlington County, VA;
• a compilation of the hopes and concerns of the members of the parish about the future of the parish, with special attention paid to the work done by our Discernment Group;
• impressions of how the parish sees itself – strengths and weaknesses (challenges); and
• traits that members of the parish seek in a Rector.

Profile Committee

The Profile Committee wrote a profile of St. George’s Episcopal Church, based on information gathered by the Strategic Planning Committee. The profile includes:

• a brief history of the parish;
• a description of Arlington County and Northern Virginia;
• a description of the Diocese of Virginia;
• membership and pledging data for the past five years;
• financial information covering the last ten years;
• challenges and plans for the parish; and
• traits that the parish seeks in a Rector.

Search Committee

The Vestry has charged the Search Committee to present to them 1-3 candidates for the position of Rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church. To accomplish this task, the members of the Search Committee will:

• Meet regularly, usually each week;
• Use the information provided by the Strategic Planning Team as a guide;
• Use the parish profile generated by the Profile Team and approved by the Vestry as a tool for recruiting;
• Keep information about the candidates confidential; and
• Keep the parish well informed about the search process.

The Search Process will include some or all of the following steps:

• an initial review of candidates by means of written documents;
• telephone interviews with candidates;
• bullet visits to the candidates' parishes;
• bullet face to face interviews in Arlington;
• bullet assistance to the Vestry in hosting candidate(s) for the final Vestry interview(s); and/or
• other steps as determined by the Vestry and the Search Team.

The Interim Rector, the Rev. Philip Wiehe, will serve as the Search Consultant for this process. Throughout the fall and early winter of 2009, the Strategic Planning Committee conducted the research necessary for the parish profile that will be used for the search process.

The Search Committee will meet with the Vestry and Lindsey Ryland, the diocesan deployment officer, at the beginning of their work and will meet 3 - 4 times for team building and training prior to beginning the Search Process. Other guidelines to be determined by the Vestry include:

• Rector’s Salary and benefits;
• geographic range of search; and
• preferences not covered by survey data.

Schedule

The Search Committee has begun it’s initial meetings, and now that the profile is posted on our website they will begin accepting applications. We expect to have a 4-6 week open period to receive the applications.

The Search Committee will review the applications, and through written, phone, and in-person interviews over the summer and early fall, narrow the field to the top 1-3 candidates, who will be brought to St. George’s to meet the Vestry, and to see the church first hand. The Search Committee will make a final recommendation of one candidate to the Vestry, and the Vestry will decide whether to accept that recommendation, or to select from one of the other two top candidates. The Vestry will make the final decision as to which candidate will be selected.

We expect the final decision to be made by the Vestry in the November 2010 timeframe, and a call to be made to the selected rector candidate at that point. We expect that the new rector will join St. George’s around January 2011.

Questions?

Any questions or comments on the processes described above can be directed to StGRSC@gmail.com.

Prayers for our transition

Ever-present God, You call us on a journey to a place we do not know. We are not where we started. We have not reached our destination. We are not sure where we are or who we are. This is not a comfortable place. Be among us, we pray. Calm our fears, save us from discouragement, and help us to stay on course. Open our hearts to your guidance so that our journey to this unknown place continues as a journey of trust. Amen.

O God, you know us better than we know ourselves. Guide us throughout our time of transition. Empower each one of us to use our unique ministries, to share openly and honestly our thoughts, to respect the opinions of others, and to encourage humility, patience and joy. Instill in us a vision of the Church’s family; that guided by your Holy Spirit we will be united in love and joyfully accomplish this mission, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, giver of every good gift, look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a Rector for Saint George’s parish, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

(Book of Common Prayer, page 818)

Our call?

A Discernment Group has been meeting for some time—quite unrelated to our transition and rector search processes—to discern what God would have St. George’s be and do: In short, to discern what our call is. The group completed its work on June 2 and is in the process of offering its work to the parish to continue the discernment process. Visit the Our Call 2009 page to see how the group’s work resonates with you.

Transition FAQ's