Annual Meeting Search Committee Remarks
244 Annual Parish Meeting
January 27, 2008
Cynnie Thunem Search Co-Chair Remarks
St. Mark's Church,
Good Morning! I’m speaking on behalf of my co-chair and Search Committee when I tell you we sure wish we were standing before you, announcing the name of our new rector! But that was not meant to be. As we have said several times in print, we’ve had a disappointing set back in our Search process: our number one candidate decided at the last minute to withdraw his name. We’ve learned that this has happened in many other parishes. Although it is devastating, it is not unheard of. Many of you have expressed your frustration with this and the Search Committee and Vestry share the frustration of the entire congregation. Many of you have asked for more details about why the candidate withdrew. The answer is, we may never know. For whatever reason, he did, and in hindsight (which is always 20/20) we are blessed that he made his decision before we called him rather than after! Many of you have also expressed your support for us as we regroup from the set-back, and we thank you. As we said in the beginning of our search in October 2006, we would not “settle” for a candidate and we did not in this case; we did not go back to candidates we had already ruled out. We have lived through the pain of disappointment and have re-grouped to move forward.
The Search Committee met in December and January. We will meet with the new Vestry on Feb. 4th to discuss the mechanics of the “renewed” search, especially for the members elected here today. The Search Committee and the Vestry will meet again with the Rev. Erik Larsen, Canon for Transition Ministries on Feb. 12 to formally get the list of names.
The “window” for new candidate submissions has been open since late November. Word that our search had re-opened spread very quickly through the clergy world. We have received names again from a variety of sources: parishioners, clergy, friends of St. Mark’s, The Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes, and self-submitted clergy. The “window” closes this week. To date, we have 16 names.
Our goal is to have an abbreviated process. In the first round, we started with 62 names and interviewed 21 candidates. In this round, we will formally interview approximately 8 to 10 candidates. Our consultants tell us that the process will go more quickly because we have been through it before. Speaking for myself, I wanted it done yesterday, so for those of you who are eager to move on with a new rector, we are on the same page. Having said that, we, again, have to ask for your patience. We don’t know how long it will take, but we will move deliberately and carefully. This is not our decision. It is in God’s hands, and it will happen in God’s time, and if there is one thing that I have learned the hard way, it is that I can’t change God’s will no matter how hard I try, and I’ve tried! We all want this to be done, and we all want it to be done right. As many of you have said to me, we can’t afford to get it wrong. Your Search Committee and your Vestry are doing all that we can to get it right and, after that, we all need to put our trust in God.
