Search Update: Interviews Completed!
Over the last three weeks, St. Peter’s Rector Search Committee hosted each of our final candidates on a two-day visit to St. Louis. Two or three members of the Search Committee served as the primary hosts for each candidate: sharing meals, showing them the best of what St. Louis and Ladue have to offer, touring Christ Church Cathedral, and visiting three outreach ministries with which St. Peter’s has been involved during the pandemic - The Haven of Grace, Tabernacle Community Development Center, and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. The candidates then spent time with (almost) the entire Search Committee over two dinners, one of which was held in our parish undercroft and capped off a tour of our campus. Most importantly, each candidate led worship in our sanctuary for Committee members, offering a homily and presiding at the Eucharist. This time together provided the opportunity for everyone to ask and answer any remaining questions and to share in spirit-filled conversations.
Through our in-person visits, Search Committee members got better acquainted with the finalists, discovering more about their individual visions of ministry and the unique gifts and qualities that brought each of them this far in our process. Our time together has left the Committee excited and hopeful as we enter our final stage of discernment, leading to our recommendation to the Vestry.
Other important work is also being completed as part of this final phase:
- Committee members are speaking with 3-4 references provided by each finalist.
- The Diocese is conducting in depth background checks.
- Each finalist has a Zoom conversation with Bishop Deon.
Two weeks ago, the Reverend Susie Skinner, our Search Committee Chaplain, preached about times of change and the hopes, fears, and anxieties “imposed change” can bring. The “unknowing” of what comes next, what God has planned for us, is not always comfortable. In this time of discernment, all of us at St. Peter’s are called to do as the apostles did in the days between Christ’s ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. During this time of “unknowing,” God calls us to let our faith be our guide, to pray as we wait, trusting that God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, is ever present in this process.
As we celebrate the joy of Pentecost, just as the apostles prayed and as the Holy Spirit came upon them, St. Peter’s Rector Search Committee is praying and listening. And we are grateful for the prayers of the parish to bring clarity, peace, and blessing as the Search Committee meets next week for what we hope, and with God’s help, will be our final discernment meeting to identify the candidate we feel will best serve St. Peter’s as our next rector.
Once the Search Committee reaches a consensus, its chosen candidate will be presented to the Vestry for approval. If Vestry agrees, a call will be made, and, once final negotiations are completed, Bishop Johnson will be notified. Finally, timing of the introduction of the 16th Rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will be coordinated among the Vestry, the Bishop, and our new Rector’s current parish, and a joyous announcement will be made. Alleluia!