Reflections by Lou - God Bless and Guide the Rector Search Committee

As you probably know, the Vestry (the parish governing body) has established a Rector Search Committee, chaired by parishioners Geoff Hurd and Eileen Sharbaugh. Those of you who were at any of the weekend services on April 9/10 met them as they were introduced by our Senior Warden, Jon Delano. We will be commissioning and blessing the members of the Rector Search Committee at the 10:45 service on April 24.

(If you’re just arriving at St. Paul’s, we are beginning the search process now because I will be reaching the mandatory retirement age of the Episcopal Church next year. My actual departure date will likely be early in 2017, but will depend primarily on the length of the search process.)

Our search committee is an excellent group and I’m confident they will do a wonderful job of preparing a parish profile and searching for the person that God would have serve as the next Rector of St. Paul’s. Please keep them in your prayers.

I continue to get questions about the search process. Some are surprised to learn that in the Episcopal Church, congregations are normally able to choose their Rector rather than having a higher authority send us the next Rector. There are similarities to a search process in the secular world, but important differences as well.

One significant difference is the role of the entire congregation in developing the hopes and dreams for the parish and the desired characteristics and gifts of the next Rector. There will soon be an opportunity for all parishioners to participate in this process. This results in an online document known as a Parish Profile that will be available to clergy nationwide. It will tell St. Paul’s story and help priests determine whether they might be interested in pursuing a call to the parish.

The other, and most important difference, is that we believe our process is guided by the Holy Spirit. Our process is about discernment, not just recruitment. It’s about discerning God’s will for the future of St. Paul’s and the person God is calling to be the Rector to help lead the parish into that future. The process doesn’t result in a hire, it results in a call – God’s call. The Rector Search Committee will pray regularly that God will lead them to the person that God would have serve as the next Rector. I offer that prayer daily, and I hope you will too.

As I have said in previous occasions, St. Paul’s will be considered a very attractive parish and will generate a lot of interest on the part of clergy around the country. The number of large, growing, and financially stable parishes is sadly small. The fact that Pittsburgh is frequently cited as one of the best places in the country to live will help too. And anyone with school-age children would be attracted to our area given its excellent school systems.

I pray that God will lead the Search Committee to the person who is ready to lead St. Paul’s for the next decade of its journey. May God bless, empower, and guide the Rector Search Committee!

Blessings,