Greetings from your Discernment Committee Chair!

Your Church of the Messiah Rector Discernment Committee has been busy at work this summer. On July 7, the Committee met for an all day meeting at Kitty Crary’s lovely home. To prepare for the meeting, the members of the Committee spent several weeks reviewing the candidates’ resumes and responses to written questions posed to them by our Committee. We received a variety of materials from the candidates, including sermons and on-line materials, all totaling hundreds of pages. We also reviewed materials on the candidates which we had found on the internet, such as writings and videotaped sermons. At the July 7 meeting, we discussed, in detail, each of the candidates who applied for the Messiah rector position, and made decisions as to which candidates will be interviewed, which is the next step in the process. After a full and thoughtful discussion, the committee reached a consensus on which candidates would be interviewed. The discussion was lively and honest, but respectful of every opinion. Special thanks to Kitty for hosting, to Janet Hryniewicki for her dedicated note-taking of the discussions, to Leonora Will for her spiritual direction during the meeting, and to Biff Baker and Lamar Hill for their exhaustive internet research on the candidates.

The interviews will be held over the next several weeks. Then, the Committee will meet again to decide which candidates will be visited in their parishes. Members of the Committee will go in groups to visit the candidate’s parish and attend a service. After these visits, the Committee will meet to decide which names will be presented to the vestry. Our Committee is completely aware of the amazing responsibility with which we have been entrusted. Please continue to keep the Committee, as well as the candidates, in your prayers as we search of the next rector of this great church.