Search Committee Update for May
Hallelujah! The Easter season of joy brings new life all around and for many of us, a renewal of our lives lived outside our homes. We rejoice in opportunities to reconnect with those we have not seen in person in many months, and we are stumbling around opportunities to make new acquaintances. With anything new, it sometimes feels hard, but there is a welcome ache in using muscles that have been idle.

For the Rector Search Committee, this season of newness is intensely upon us. We have received a stack of resumes and application letters from priests who are enthusiastically and prayerfully imagining joining our community at St. Philip’s. The committee is carefully reading each and beginning our own imaginings. Soon we will begin a series of zoom interviews where we will meet these candidates. Along with these virtual interviews, we are watching recorded sermons and worship services from each priest, and reviewing their published writings and web presences. Our minds and hearts are flooded with possibilities. Individually and as a committee, we are relying on the hopes and prayers that you shared with us back in January to be our touchstones and to lead us on our path of discernment. 

The zoom interviews and virtual work will consume the rest of the month of May. After which, we will settle down to the work of finding just a few candidates whom we will invite for in-person interviews. With God’s help and your prayers, we will be able to refer one candidate to the Vestry in July. The Vestry will want to conduct their own interview and will need to communicate with the Bishop. There are many unknowns, but we hope to have a new rector with us at the end of the summer. We ask that you hold us up in your prayers and be understanding when we are vague in replying to your questions. This process depends on confidentiality and discretion, and committee members are not permitted to reveal details of the candidates. Nonetheless, we are committed to being open and honest with you and keeping you informed of our progress. 

We are walking this path one step at a time, with your prayers and support! 

Grace and Peace, 
–Rector Search Committee