RECTOR SEARCH INFORMATION that we may receive a faithful pastor

Transcription

1 RECTOR SEARCH INFORMATION that we may receive a faithful pastor

2 Qualities We Seek In A Rector In seeking our seventh Rector, St. Paul s participated in a parish-wide survey administered during July August 2018 by Holy Cow Consultants. The participation of the parish was an excellent 107% of average Sunday attendance. We also held two Listening Sessions on Sunday mornings for parishioners to discuss and share favorite stories and feelings, as well as their concerns and hopes for the church they know and love. The following information is a compilation of this data. We prioritized the personal qualities that we would value in our new rector, and also attributed a set of practical abilities necessary to support these qualities. Preaching and Teaching We seek a rector who is an inspirational and effective preacher and a teacher who is able to connect a theologically diverse congregation to God s word. We desire someone with the scriptural literacy necessary to feed and motivate a highly educated congregation. We are lifelong learners with a strong belief that faith is central to our lives, and we desire a wide variety of educational opportunities to equip us for ministry. We thrive in the historic Episcopal framework for worship, but need someone to challenge us to try some different approaches occasionally. Pastoral Care The people of St. Paul s have always placed a high value on caring generously and effectively for those experiencing loss and pain. Needed now is a rector who invests in relationship building, engages people empathetically, and prioritizes care for persons in times of need. The new rector will encourage and implement effective pastoral care through the pastoral care council, utilizing rich parish resources of supporting clergy, staff, lay ministers, and willing parishioners. Our parish is also experiencing a growing emphasis on caring for people outside our church and has currently expanded the effort and resources we give to our outreach ministries. These concerns and efforts stand to benefit from the focus and leadership of our new rector. Strategic Leadership The survey indicates that St. Paul s is well-positioned for new challenges and is capable of great positive growth as a parish, yet we could become complacent unless our new rector inspires us to move beyond our established approaches to ministry. God has created the space here for a new rector who thinks strategically and generates clarity of purpose. We seek a rector with the focus and inspirational leadership to intentionally build relational networks for continuous renewal and high impact externally focused ministry. How is St. Paul s becoming God s presence in our community? Additional Practical Skills We also look for a rector who is an effective administrator, possessing the ability to manage church operations, including facilities, finances, and staff. We need a priest who can lead in times of change, both within the denomination and within our parish as our development reflects the growth and change in our community. We look for a leader who can shepherd our church through the challenges surrounding the issue of same-sex marriage with love and generosity to all, regardless of their position. We as a parish value unity, not uniformity. We look for someone skilled in building consensus through loving relationships, managing possible conflict, and helping us keep our eyes on Jesus. Last but not least, we look forward to increasing engagement with our neighbors. We desire a priest who can relate to a variety of individuals and groups in the community to help address critical issues that have captured the heart of St. Paul s people.

3 Priorities And Goals Through our recent parish survey, the people of St. Paul s identified several priorities for our future work together. These areas express the parish s desire for further connection, and may be examined as an extension of our mission to worship, bring, and equip. Although several of these priorities are already being actively addressed, we hope to see them expand and flourish in the future under the leadership of our new rector. Growth The first priority of St. Paul s is to reach new people and incorporate them into the life of the church. While this is commonly a high priority for all churches, at St. Paul s each age group rated this as one of the top three parish needs. We believe that faith is central to our lives and we work to connect our faith to all other aspects of our lives. We are positively, passionately, and persuasively engaged in the mission of our church and we desire to share it with others. With the expansion of our facilities and completion of our new parish hall in 2015, we are already focusing on this goal. Meaningful Connections The need to create more opportunities for people to form meaningful relationships is a strong and unusually very high priority in our church. Parishioners in ages advocate most strongly for this, as well as for providing opportunities for connections through Christian education and spiritual formation. Parishioners under 35 desire to build coalitions through service and advocacy in the community. Parishioners over 65 are very interested in being supported and supporting others to do meaningful work. This goal is currently being addressed through multiple initiatives of Vision 150. Our new rector will need to foster intentional ministry to build relational networks. Pastoral Care and Outreach Ministries The parish survey showed that members of St. Paul s have a very high readiness for ministry index. The church has helped members identify their gifts and connect them to ministries that best fit those gifts to a high degree. This understanding of lay ministry is apparent in parishioners priorities for St. Paul s. Developing ministries that work towards healing those broken by life circumstances, both parishioners and others in our community, is a priority and is related to the desire to strengthen the pastoral response of the church in serving those with special needs. Parishioners in the under 35 group and those also are interested in working as advocates for change so that the values of the kingdom of God may be reflected in our society. This is a very distinctive quality of St. Paul s and a very broad area of ministry that will require strong leadership, clarity, focus, and marshaling of lay ministers. Another distinctive priority of St. Paul s is to revitalize the community around St. Paul s through coalitions with partners, of which the new CONNECT program is an example. An Assistant to the Rector for Outreach was appointed in August 2017 to foster communication with the parish regarding outreach.

4 Children and Youth Ministries The parish also feels that we can do more to attract families with children and youth. Today s families are faced with tremendous competition for their time and energy. While the Church no longer enjoys its traditionally privileged position in our culture, we strongly believe that it offers a way of life that sustains and supports families in dealing with the challenges and busy-ness of their lives. Our ministry is not focused around one principal youth leader, but rather its strength is built upon a core of youth volunteers who work with our youth to bring them to a full understanding of their life in Christ and equip them to engage in the life of the adult church. Our vision of ministry to children and youth emphasizes relationships over programming, and is based on integrating children and youth into the broader life of the parish. We seek a rector who can help us discover new ways of doing that, and who is able to focus the desires and the energies of the parish into ministries that help families discover the value of a life in Christ.

5 St. Paul s by the Numbers 130 parishioners have attended a Cursillo weekend (40% of our average Sunday attendance!) 86% have a college degree (and 49% have a graduate degree!) Volunteering services to the community: 50% serve through activities that are sponsored by St. Paul s 53% serve through activities not sponsored by St. Paul s Church Attendance

6 St. Paul s by the Numbers Age of Adults* n % n % n % n % n % *according to a recent survey Tenure at St. Paul s Household Size

7 Financial Highlights In the 21st century, St. Paul s has embraced God s call to love and serve the Lord with visionary thinking matched by a willingness to commit material resources. The financial numbers from the past two decades tell a story of dedication both to expanding ministry and to nurturing our parish community. Over the two decades from 1997 to 2017 we have Acquired and renovated a building to serve our youth ministries and outreach efforts Acquired adjacent properties to provide the real estate needed for the new footprint of our campus Renovated and refurbished our parish office building Renovated and refurnished the original chapel Conducted a successful capital campaign to fully fund the purchase of a Létourneau organ Conducted a successful capital campaign to build a new worship space and nursery building (2002) Conducted another successful capital campaign a decade later to build a new parish hall (2015) Collectively, these undertakings over the past twenty years have increased the value of our long-term assets (property and equipment) from just under $1 million in 1997 to over $6 million in With the exception of approximately $1.2 million of debt outstanding as of June 30, 2018, all of these assets are owned outright. During this same time period, our combined operating pledge and plate income has grown from approximately $332,000 in 1997 to approximately $967,000 in 2017, a nearly three-fold increase. As the accompanying charts from the last decade illustrate, our debt has again begun to steadily decline after an increase in 2015 to build the parish hall while our combined pledge and plate income along with our investment in property all continue to increase. We are equipped to move into God s vision for our future on solid financial footing thanks to the commitment of our parish and are blessed to go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.!

8 Vision 150 Established in 2017 for St. Paul s, Murfreesboro Progress Report, 2018 In 2017 we celebrated the 125th anniversary of St. Paul s ministry to Murfreesboro and the wider world. In looking back at our rich heritage, we developed a plan Vision 150 to build on our accomplishments and move forward with purpose into God s plan for us in the next twenty-five years. Looking ahead to our 150th anniversary, we established a number of initiatives in 2017 and then moved forward where possible in 2018, through the efforts of our Interim Director, staff, and strong lay leadership. Modify the Mission Statement to Recognize Our Ministry of Equipping: The church exists to equip, or educate, God s people. The church helps people become more like Christ in their thoughts, feelings, and actions, equipping them for ministry. Our new parish hall, with its cornerstone reading Empowering for God s Service, is visible evidence of our equipping ministry. In November 2017 we changed our mission statement to incorporate the word equip. It now reads, The mission of St. Paul s is to worship God, to bring all into a loving relationship with Jesus Christ, and to equip all for ministry. Also, the staff, along with the ministries of the church, have been reorganized around (1) worship, (2) bring, and (3) equip. Create a Standing Year-Round Stewardship Committee: At St. Paul s we teach that faithful stewardship involves the giving of one s whole self to God. As we seek to expand our notion of stewardship, including environmental stewardship, the vestry has created a year-round stewardship committee with eight parishioners agreeing to serve three-year terms. The committee is seeking to fill the remaining spots with younger members of the parish. The committee, which would oversee all aspects of stewardship including the annual stewardship campaign, would be appointed and overseen by the vestry. In 2018 there is a focus on the stewardship of God s creation. Also, the committee will expand our efforts in the area of legacy giving (gifts, memorials, and endowments). Hire a Part-Time Communications Coordinator: Communications was high on the list of values to be strengthened. To help us communicate more effectively we propose hiring a paid part-time communications coordinator. Developing and implementing a mission-based communications plan, the communications coordinator would determine what gets communicated, in what priority, using what vehicles. This staff member would also maintain our website and social media presence and work with our current graphic designer. In 2018 the vestry decided to hold off on hiring a part-time Communication Coordinator until we better understand our communications needs. Recognizing the importance of communications, we have created a vestry committee to oversee and improve our communications. This committee, composed of Dale Tipps and Paul Adams, has surveyed the parish regarding communication at St. Paul s. Using the information gathered from the survey, they are developing a communications plan that includes a job description for a part-time Communications Coordinator to be hired at a later date. The vestry did decide to develop a new website for St. Paul s. This website was launched in September of 2018 Hire a Membership Coordinator: Because of the parish s generosity we have been able to move forward with this initiative. On April 9, 2018, Krista Phillips joined the St. Paul s staff as our new Membership Coordinator. Working twenty hours per week, Krista oversees our membership database while fostering connections within the parish. She seeks strengthen the personal relationships within the church, ensuring that all members are connected to, and involved in, the life of the church. Her work includes overseeing the Shepherding Ministry and working with staff to assimilate visitors and new members. See Shepherding Ministry description below.

9 Create a Shepherding Ministry: In the book of Acts, priests/pastors are encouraged to keep watch over the churches they serve. Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son (Acts 20:28). In a small church, it is possible for the priest to be a shepherd. Because the church family is small, the priest is personally connected to the lives of each parishioner. If someone misses Sunday worship for a few weeks, the priest will notice. However, as a church grows, this becomes much more difficult. The Shepherding Ministry is a way to care for one another as we continue to grow. Each shepherd would be responsible for six to eight family units. The role of the shepherd would be to keep watch. The shepherd would reach out at least once a month, checking in, asking if there are any needs, including prayer, which the church needs to know about. In addition, shepherds will foster communication, personally conveying important information about the church. In July 2018 we began a pilot program. In September 2018 we began to roll out the Shepherding Ministry. It is our hope that the ministry will be fully in place by March Define and Equip Our Existing Small Groups: Small groups are essential for any church, especially in a church our size. Small groups enable churches to fulfill the one another commands of Scripture. We are told to love one another, instruct one another, pray for one another, and bear one another s burdens. Small groups provide the church with unique opportunities to build relationships where we can hold one another accountable, pray for one another, challenge one another, and support one another. As we seek to grow small groups, we must first recognize and support the small groups that already exist at St. Paul s. In addition to groups such as Cursillo reunion groups and ministry formation groups, we have a large number of task-oriented small groups. These include our outreach groups, such as the group of parishioners who support our Coldest Nights ministry; our pastoral care groups, such as our Eucharistic Visitors who bring the sacrament to the sick and homebound; and our teachers in our discipleship programs, such as our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd catechists. In addition to maintaining and developing new small groups, we must help task-oriented groups recognize their potential as small group communities. Using our newly adopted Realm software we have begun defining existing small groups at St. Paul s. The staff is currently meeting with the leaders of each small group, helping them understand how to manage and communicate through Realm. We are also gathering information on how each group might be supported by the church. Vestry Emphasis on Incorporation, Rather than Maintaining Ministries: As a church grows, the role of the vestry changes. When a church is small, vestries must oversee all aspects of the church, maintaining its programs and ministries. However, as a church grows, more and more of this work is overseen by staff and committed lay volunteers. Because of the growth of St. Paul s we propose to shift the focus of the vestry from maintaining ministries to the incorporation of members into the ministries and small groups of the church. The incorporation of members into the life of the church does not happen automatically. It is the church s responsibility to take the initiative. Working with the staff, vestry members will help incorporate parishioners into the life of the church. The 2019 vestry will discuss this initiative during their January retreat. Establish a New Member Class: A number of studies have shown that the way people join an organization greatly influences how they function in that organization after joining. This is true of joining a church. A strong membership class helps to build a strong congregation. During the membership class, we will discuss the value of belonging to the church, articulating the kind of commitment that belonging to a church family implies. We will also discuss our expectations of them and the expectations they can have of St. Paul s. Our intent is not to create a list of requirements for membership but rather to articulate what belonging looks like, inviting them to fully belong to our church family. After researching different types of new member classes we created St. Paul s 101 which is offered every 6 weeks. This class is modeled after the Church of the Incarnation s (Dallas, TX) successful membership class. Create a Christian Formation Plan that Equips for Ministry: Discipleship doesn t just happen. It only occurs in churches that are intentional and have a plan to put it into practice for all parishioners. While we

10 have strong discipleship ministries at St. Paul s, we often fail to present our programs within an overall plan of Christian maturation. In response, we have restructured our Christian formation programs to provide a clear process to be equipped for ministry. This process begins for newcomers with a personal mentoring session with Dr. David Rowe, Assistant to the Rector for Liturgy and Christian Formation. Using an online assessment tool, David helps each newcomer understand which classes and programs might be best for them, as well as helping them to connect with fellowship and service groups. Our formation process begins with 1) Pilgrimage, our faith exploration program. Pilgrimage is not only for newcomers, but for all parishioners seeking to grow their understanding of the faith. In the fall, Pilgrimage focuses on the doctrines of the church by exploring the Outline of Faith in the Book of Common Prayer. In the spring, Pilgrimage builds on what was learned in the fall by focusing on application of Christian beliefs in our day-to-day lives. Following Pilgrimage, parishioners will be encouraged to participate in our 2) Gifts and Talents workshop. Joyce Adkins has agreed to lead this workshop once per year. After discerning their gifts and talents, parishioners will be encouraged to participate in our 3) Ministry Formation Small Group Program. We believe these three programs will lay a strong foundation for faith and ministry. Regarding Sunday morning Christian Education, we received feedback that parishioners desire to engage in the direct study of Scripture. Responding to this need, we will spend Sunday mornings in small group Scriptural studies. While our focus will be on the Scriptures, we will be using different formats throughout the year. Lastly, we spent four weeks in Sunday morning Christian Education during the fall of 2017 exploring the meaning of Christian ministry and the unique ways we are called to minister as individuals. We plan on offering a series of classes each fall to help parishioners reflect on, and develop, their own plan for Christian ministry. Celebrate Pilgrim Sunday Twice a Year: Pilgrimage is our faith exploration class at St. Paul s (see description above.) Meeting for nine-weeks, twice a year, participants discuss the tenets of the Christian faith in the fall, learning about the Christian life in the spring. On March 18, 2018, St. Paul s celebrated its first Pilgrim Sunday. Our Pilgrim graduates processed in the service and were recognized and introduced to the congregation during announcements. The fall Pilgrimage Sunday is scheduled for November 18, Be More Specific When We Pray on Sundays: Each Sunday during the Prayers of the People we lift up the names of our loved ones who are in need of God s help and healing. We pray using first names. The problem is, because we only use first names most of us are unable to connect these prayers to a particular person and need. As we seek to support one another through prayer, we proposed to be more specific in our prayers. As Teresa of Avila writes, Prayer is an act of love. By using a full name and need we seek to be able to love one another more fully through our prayers. In December 2017 we introduced new prayer request cards in the pews. Parishioners are now able to share the full name of an individual with his or her prayer need. If parishioners desire, the first name only can be listed. Also, to keep our prayer list at a manageable length and focused on our most urgent prayer needs, prayers remain on the public prayer list for only four weeks. If continued prayers are needed we ask parishioners to fill out a card every four weeks. About a third of the Sunday prayers now include the full name of the individual with his or her need. Appoint an Assistant to the Rector for Outreach: Part of our mission statement reads, to bring all into a loving relationship with Jesus Christ. This work involves not only bringing people into the church but also bringing the love of Christ to the world. We bring Christ to the larger community through our acts of loving service. Liz Huber was appointed Assistant to the Rector for Outreach in August Since that time she has been facilitating our outreach ministries. She fosters communication to the parish while helping to incorporate parishioners into the outreach ministries of the church. Currently, Liz is developing our new CONNECT Ministry, a ministry based at St. Paul s where individuals can find support for their financial needs and other problems they may be facing.

11 Staff The Reverend Colin M. Ambrose, Interim Rector The Reverend Gene Wise, Priest Associate and Rector Emeritus Dr. David Rowe, Assistant to the Rector for Christian Formation and Liturgy Kathleen Herzog, Assistant to the Rector for Pastoral Care Joyce Adkins, Assistant to the Rector for Congregational Development Liz Huber, Assistant to the Rector for Outreach Angela Tipps, Organist and Director of Music (Choir & Choristers) Krista Phillips, Membership Coordinator Cindy Guévart, Children s Ministry Coordinator Dierdri Matteson, Nursery Director Kathy Warlick and Alice Gibson, Co-Administrative Assistants Sharon Teets, Parish Administrator/Financials Art Growden, Communications Director Jennifer McGuire and Jeanmarie Martin, Parish Nurses Vestry Ed Arning, Senior Warden Scott Telford, Junior Warden Paul Adams Mike Becker Melanie Clayton Justin Davis Jenny Fayter Lisa Halliburton Alex Hollis Barry Huber Dale Tipps Marta Van Hoose Search Committee Alicia Hollis, Chair Jonathan Bartsch Kim Baumann Don Clayton Lisa Eveleigh Nancy Loucky Newton Molloy Chuck Phillips Libby Willis

12 For Further Information The Reverend Canon Andrew Petiprin Diocesan Transition Ministry Officer The Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee 3700 Woodmont Boulevard Nashville, TN (615)