St. Barnabas' Interim
and Search News
Posted below are notices and letters providing news regarding the interim period and the search for our new rector. If you have questions, please contact Senior Warden Dave Sinclair, Search Committee Chair Jim Howe, or any of the Vestry members. Contact information can be found on the Contact Us page.
Interested parishioners can download and read the documents provided to the Search Committee by the Church Deployment Office (CDO) of the Episcopal Church on the Links page.
November 25, 2008
Search Committee Meeting
The Search Committee as a whole provided final feedback to the Survey Sub-Committee on the draft of the parish survey. Plans for the distribution of the survey were discussed.
November 18, 2008
Search Committee Meeting
The Search Committee as a whole listened to reports from the Survey and Information Events Sub-Committees, looked at and discussed a draft parish survey, and discussed the outcome of the first information event with the parish youth. Plans for further information gathering and the beginnings of the Parish profile were discussed.
November 2, 2008
Search Committee Organizational Meeting
The search team met on Sunday November 2nd. After members shared their vision for the future of St. Barnabas and the characteristics they felt were desirable for the new rector, we reviewed the near term tasks we need to accomplish.
The search process is designed so that we get the congregations input first and using that input we will prepare a Parish Profile. The profile has several parts. It includes information about the Florissant area (demographics, cost of living, cultural opportunities,...), statistical information about St. Barnabas (weekly attendance, financial status, physical facilities, etc) and insights into the desires and needs of the congregation with respect to the new Rector. This profile is our first introduction to the potential candidates and is used by the CDO (Church Development Office) to create a keyword search of their candidate database.
To develop the Profile, we have created three sub-committees. The first is a sub-committee will begin compiling the information about Florissant and the statistical information about the parish. Dusty Hassler will be heading up that group. To gain insight into the desires and needs of the congregation, two approaches are suggested. The first is a parish-wide survey. Debbie Haefner is heading up the group that will develop that survey. The second method is to hold a series of meetings to gather inputs. These meetings may be small or large, structured or casual. Rita Chapman will be heading up that sub-committee to plan those events.
We will meet again as a full committee on the 18th of November.
Jim Howe and the Search Team
October 14, 2008
Search Committee Training
The Search Committee had its first formal meeting, a two-hour training session with the Rev. Canon Dan Smith. The training session covered the steps in the search process, the building of the parish profile, suggested methods for gathering congregation input, the search committee's responsibilities and limitations and the importance of confidentiality. The Committee will meet again on November 2 to review samples of various surveys and to discuss techniques for seeking everyone's involvement. The members have been asked to write down some of their expectations for the process and the outcome as a starting point to building a strong search team.
September 18, 2008
Search Committee Names
Senior Warden David Sinclair and the Vestry have released the names of the Search Committee:
Jim Howe – Chairman
Teri Burnham
Rita Chapman
Terri Denicke
Harry Goff
Ron Grames
Debbie Haefner
Dusty Hassler
Lana Maggart
Faith Miller
Our next step will be to meet with Canon Dan Smith for a 2-hour training session provided by the Diocese. After that the committee will modify the survey provided by the Diocese adding questions particular to our Parish. We'll then distribute this survey to the Parish. When the survey is returned, we'll review and analyze the results and begin the process of developing a Parish profile. This profile will be used to describe our Parish to the candidates interested in making a move up to St. Barnabas. This activity will be followed by a period of time when the committee reviews the candidate's qualifications, selects those to investigate in detail and culminates when we recommend one to three candidates for the Vestry to interview and select.
We will need the support of the Parish. When you receive the survey respond as quickly as you can. We want to reduce the time for the search as much as possible. Additionally, we can use your support by keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.
Thank You,
Jim Howe
August 24, 2008
Search Committee Chairman
The Vestry selected Jim Howe for the Search Committee Chairman at an executive meeting held Sunday, August 24, 2008. Jim and Sheron have been members of St. Barnabas Church for approximately eight years. He has previously served on the Vestry and is currently active in the choir, bridge club, grounds beautification committee, and he also started our recycling program. He is employed by Boeing for the last 43 years and is in the Electro Physics Department as a software developer. He and Sheron celebrated their 45 wedding anniversary this year. The Vestry looks forward to working with Jim as we continue the process of selecting a new Rector.
July 31, 2008
I have officially notified Bishop Smith and Canon Smith of the vestry’s decision on the process for searching for a new priest. The vestry still has plenty of work to do. Our next step will be to appoint a Chairperson to lead the Search Committee and pick the Search Committee. Hopefully, this will be accomplished in August. After the Chairperson and Search Committee have been selected a survey of our congregation and church profile will have to be completed. Please have patience during this process. We are trying to get through this process in a timely manner.
If you have any questions please feel free to call me or any other vestry member.
Faithfully yours,
David Sinclair
July 16, 2008
To the Members of St. Barnabas' Church:
On Sunday, July 13, 2008, the Vestry took an important step in the process of selecting our new priest. The Vestry's responsibilities include making tough decisions that are in the best interest of St. Barnabas' Church. There was not a right or wrong vote, because through either process we could get a quality priest. I can honestly say that there were hours of thought and preparation that went into each members' vote. This task was not taken lightly. In each discussion there was passion, emotion and a true love for our church. I am very proud of the members of the Vestry.
The two processes to be voted on included the Priest-in-Charge and the Interim Priest/Search Committee process. Both processes have positive and negative attributes. After many hours of discussion, the vestry decided to use the Interim Priest/Search Committee process to find our new priest. The Vestry felt strongly that the congregation would be more involved in this process. Also, at this time, we feel we are in a better position to choose our new priest. This process will allow the Parish proper time to heal and transition to new leadership and it also helps us to understand who we are as a Parish, and understand what our needs are for a priest. I realize that there are members in the congregation that will be upset by the result of our vote. I hope that you will support the process selected. St. Barnabas' needs all the love, prayers and support that we can get, now more than ever. I can only promise that I will do my best to take care of our church and I can only ask that my fellow Vestry members will do the same.
I am drafting a letter to the Diocese for Bishop Smith and Canon Smith notifying them of our decision. In the near future there will be other very important processes including: selecting a Chairperson to lead our Search Committee, then creating an 8 to 10 person Search Committee, completing a congregation survey and a church profile. We are just starting this process and unfortunately this is going to take some time. Please be patient, we are going to get through this. If you have any questions please call me or any other member of the Vestry. I want the lines of communication to be open between the Vestry and the congregation.
I am very proud to be a member of St. Barnabas' Church and I am very proud of our Vestry.
Faithfully yours,
David Sinclair
Senior Warden