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When the Search Committee first met with Bishop Croneberger
and Canon Hunt, head of the deployment office, we were told
that a well-executed search generally takes 18 months and
never is accomplished in less than a year. With that in mind,
although these last six months seem such a long time to all
of us eager for our new priest to arrive on the scene, we
are actually right on or even a little ahead of schedule.
Thanks to all our church family who participated in our surveys
and focus groups, we have been able to assemble a profile
of our congregation and a job description for our next priest
that both Canon Hunt and our consultant, Tom Kebba, feel is
ready to send to the national deployment office. At our most
recent meeting, the committee worked with Mr. Kebba to fill
out the national survey and describe our church in 50 words
or less, a somewhat daunting task.
All sixteen members of the search committee have worked closely
together to develop a parish brochure that will be used to
attract compatible candidates. You can see the finished product
on the St. James web site.
Shortly, we will be meeting with the Bishop who will recommend
certain candidates from within the diocese. He will also preview
any interested candidates from other dioceses to be sure that
they are worthy of our consideration. Bishop Croneberger and
Canon Hunt have both assured us that we are going to be very
pleased with the resumes we receive. And our consultant has
indicated that now is the ideal time for beginning the screening
process - the advent and Christmas season is passed and a
priest with children could potentially be in place by the
time school starts in the fall.
We will, of course, continue to keep you posted on our progress.
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