Transition Talk, April 5, 2019
From the Rector
Last Sunday, I announced to the congregation at both services that Archbishop Melissa Skelton had accepted my resignation as Rector of St Hilda effective June 30. I shall begin a new role as the Executive Director of the Sunshine Coast Association of Community Living (SCACL) starting July 1.
This has been a decision made with careful discernment of where God is calling me to serve after nine blessed years of ministry as your priest. I see my new work with SCACL as an extension of my ministry as a priest rather than a departure. Moving forward, I shall remain a priest in the diocese and will function more like a worker-priest who earns a living somewhere else. Part of this transition would require me to find a new church home to serve as an honorary assistant.
Working with people with developmental disabilities will complete a full circle in my ministry. It was my many friends I met at L'Arche Daybreak who affirmed and helped me understand my vocation before I was ordained. I feel a great privilege to have this opportunity to express my vocation working closely again with people with developmental disabilities and their families as I take on my new role at SCACL in July. In the coming three months, I plan to visit as many of you as possible so that we may part ways in a good way and make room for the Holy Spirit to lead you to call a new servant leader to be your next Rector.
Clarence
From the Wardens
You may be wondering what will happen to St Hilda’s when Clarence leaves at the end of June. We, the Wardens, spoke with the Ven. Douglas Fenton, the Executive Archdeacon for the Diocese, about the transition process. The Diocese will post the opportunity for an Interim Priest immediately, for a period of two weeks. The Diocese will forward any applications to the Canonical Committee (Wardens, Delegates to Synod and Alternates), and we will interview any candidates who seem to be a good fit for St Hilda’s.
The Interim Priest will ideally be in place as of July and may work full time or part time, for up to a year. His or her role will be to be the Priest in charge and to help us prepare for a new Rector, by working with us to create a parish profile and a statement of qualities, experience, and skills that we are looking for in a Rector. When the profile and statement are ready, the Diocese will again post the opportunity, and we will again have a chance to interview candidates.
Ideally, the new Rector will be in place in July of 2020.
At St Hilda’s, we have been through the interregnum process many times and we have also gone through several soul-searching struggles, not the least of which was last year’s remediation process. Each time we have come through these periods even stronger than before. To us, this shows that we, at St Hilda’s, are an amazingly strong congregation. With the support of the Diocese, our deacon Bruce Morris, and most importantly the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we will once again move forward into an exciting new future.
Rest assured that the Wardens, the clergy, the staff, and other parish and diocesan leaders are here to make sure that the ministry of St Hilda’s continues through this journey. If you have any questions or concerns, please send us an email (contact information on the last page of the bulletin).