Things are heating up with our Rector search! On Tuesday, the search committee met with the Rev. Lynn Carter-Edmands, our Diocesan Transition Officer, and received the names of our applicants. The names we received have been vetted by the Diocese for any red flags (misconduct, etc.) but not evaluated for qualifications or fit – that is entirely up to us. This is a very exciting moment in the search – after the months and months of soul-searching and preparation, we are finally ready to start interacting with the flesh-and-blood people who feel called to explore the possibility of joining us at St. Stephen’s.

From here on out, the committee will need to follow strict confidentiality rules that do not allow us to talk about our applicants with anyone outside the committee. Even our spouses are not privy to the number of applicants we have or where they are currently working, let alone their names. What we can say is that we are very happy with the names we have received and are moving forward joyfully.

We will also continue to share everything we are allowed to, which includes where we are in the process. Over the next week, the committee members will each read through the applications carefully, looking in particular for a number of qualifications and skills that we feel are essential for our next Rector to possess. When we meet next week, we will discuss the applicants and decide who we wish to speak with in first-round interviews, which will be held via Skype between March 7 and 18. Once we have wrapped up that process, we will regroup and decide who to carry forward into the next phase of the interview process.

Please keep us and our candidates in your prayers, and we will keep you posted with our progress along the way.

~Melanie Schlosser, Search Committee Co-Chair