by The Rev. Dr. Stephen Applegate, Interim Rector

Dear Friends, 

I’m following up on late week’s update from St. Paul’s Search Committee. As they wrote, they have “been very active in evaluating a number of candidates.” This is the part of the search process known as the “quiet phase.”

The quiet phase is a confidential period during which the Search Committee evaluates potential candidates without publicly disclosing their names or any specific details of the deliberation process. This is crucial for several reasons:

• Protecting Candidates: Many candidates for St. Paul’s rector position may currently be serving in other congregations. Disclosing their names prematurely could put their current position in jeopardy.

• Preventing Misinformation: The Search Committee needs a private space to assess candidates thoroughly. Sharing information prematurely could lead to rumors or misinformation, causing anxiety and potentially harming the search process.

• Maintaining Focus: Keeping the specifics of the search confidential allows the Search Committee to focus on the discernment process, including reviewing application materials, conducting interviews, and potentially visiting candidate churches or having candidates visit St. Paul’s.

While it may seem that not much has been happening in the process, nothing could be further from the truth. 

Some of you may have been members of an Episcopal church during a previous rector transition. Others have come to St. Paul’s from other denominations. So, even though the Episcopal Church’s process was explained when the Search Committee began its work, I thought it might be helpful to provide an outline of the remaining steps in a typical process. I’m doing so after consulting with the co-chairs of the Search Committee, Bill Powel and Liz Patterson.

Since the Search Committee received the list of candidates from the Diocese, the Committee has been in discernment, reviewing written materials, watching and listening to sermons online, and interviewing candidates, all the time keeping the Vestry’s charge in mind: “finding a candidate who is an excellent match with St. Paul’s visions and goals.”

The chaplain to the committee, the Rev. Rose Anne Lonsway, has tended to the committee’s spiritual health and reminded the committee to listen for God’s voice. Anne Schmidt, the consultant, has guided the steps of the Committee along the path.

I want to stop here and ask you to imagine the number of hours the members of the Search Committee have contributed to this important work. Not only have they evaluated potential candidates, they have also served as ambassadors for St. Paul’s. They’ve given candidates a sense of the parishioners who worship and serve here. In a very real way, they have represented the parish to the candidates. Members of the Search Committee know that the discernment process is a mutual one: they are discerning about the candidates, and the candidates are discerning about St. Paul’s.

After weeks of preliminary work, the Search Committee narrows the field to a manageable list of candidates. Some parishes visit the candidates in their setting; others bring the candidates into their own settings (in this case, Cleveland Heights) to visit. It’s usually at this point that the Diocese begins to conduct background checks on the candidates so the process isn’t delayed. After the background checks have been completed, the Bishop gives approval for the approved finalists to serve as Rector if called.

After final interviews, the Committee double-checks that everything has been verified, that all questions have been asked and answered. Then the Committee takes whatever time it needs to find consensus about which priest they will recommend to the Vestry to be the next rector.

The Search Committee meets with the Vestry, provides a comprehensive overview of the candidate, shares why they believe this is the right person to provide spiritual leadership for the next period of St. Paul’s ministry, and answers the Vestry’s questions. If the Vestry accepts the Search Committee’s recommendation and elects the candidate to be St. Paul’s rector, the Senior Warden contacts Bishop Anne, gives her the name of the individual who has been elected, and asks the Bishop to affirm the choice.

Once affirmed, the Senior Warden issues the call to the candidate. Terms of the call are negotiated, which include the new rector’s start date. Once the terms have been agreed to, the candidate accepts the call, and a Vestry-approved letter of agreement (LOA) is sent to the candidate. The LOA is signed by the candidate, the Senior Warden, and the Bishop. The call is not complete until the LOA has been signed by all parties. The Vestry and candidate coordinate when the call will be announced to St. Paul’s and to the rector-elect’s current church (they try to make the announcements concurrently so neither congregation learns before the other).

Can I give you an exact timetable for the remaining steps in the Search process? No. Each step in the process I’ve described takes whatever time it takes, and it should not be rushed.

As your Interim Rector, I am not directly involved in the search process. When the Search Committee presents the candidate to the Vestry, my Letter of Agreement stipulates that I won’t attend that meeting. What I will do is what I have done all along: pray daily for a successful call and for your ministry with your new rector.

What happens to your interim once the calling process is completed? I start to wrap up the work I’ve been doing and set a date with the Wardens for my departure from St. Paul’s. There’s typically a period of time between the interim’s last day and the new rector’s first day so there’s space between saying good-bye and saying hello.

When you say hello to your new rector, an exciting new period begins at St. Paul’s, one that you have been anticipating for many months, and one during which the Holy Spirit has been ever-present!

Here are the names of St. Paul’s Rector Search Committee, the people who have been working so faithfully on your behalf:

Liz Patterson and Bill Powel Co-Chairs

I invite you to thank each of them when you see them and continue to pray for their ministry! 

Blessings, 

Stephen Applegate