Transition Puzzle

Transition Puzzle

The hits just keep on coming, don’t they?Such is life in a state of transition.I know many of us are confused or anxious about all of the change, but we will be okay.

Some have said these types of changes – having your Associate Rector leave soon after your rector; having your Interim Rector leave before the replacement is found; etc. – are normal during the times of transition.I am not sure I believe that, but we will be okay.

Here are the pieces of the puzzle.First, we know that Father David announced his retirement and day of departure well in advance, which allowed vestries past to gear up for the search for his replacement.According to members of the Diocesan office, we have been pushing their process harder than anyone can remember and expect to begin interviewing candidates the week of May 15.The Vestry is hopeful that we can discern God’s call for our new Rector by early July, but we will not rush this for the sake of expediency.Father Jim’s departure in July is not ideal and will leave us a little short-handed, but we are working with the diocese to get any gaps filled.

Second, with any change in rector, church custom dictates that other members of the clergy would change to allow the new rector to build his or her new team.So, we expected that we would also have to deal with the departure of Father Greg.Knowing this, Greg had entered his own discernment process, which resulted in his call to St. Patrick in Mooresville.While it may have been more sudden and earlier than we would have liked, it was not unexpected, and it seems a good example of God’s hands at work.

If we were like most parishes, we would have held off on the search for Greg’s replacement until the new rector was in place given the critical chemistry between these two roles.At St. Alban’s, however, the Associate Rector is also the Diocese’s chaplain at Davidson College.Given the realities of the school year, we felt it was critical to get a replacement in the chaplain role by mid-summer so that we don’t have a drop-off in our programs and outreach at Davidson.Therefore, we have identified two candidates that we are interviewing in early May with the hopes that one of them will be God’s choice for the position.Finally, to preserve the integrity of our new rector’s position, we are making this call on a one year contract, which the new rector will be able to renew if he or she chooses.

Third, Deacon Rebecca is not going anywhere, at least until the new rector is established and present in our parish.She does work for the Bishop, however, and he likely has plans for her once our new rector has taken over, but we have his commitment and hers that she will not leave before the new rector is both called and here, however long that may take.As she may be our only clergy for a period, we will be shuffling some of her duties so that she can focus on leading our worship and pastoral care.She will need our support and prayers during this time, and while we all know our beloved Rebecca is up to the challenge, we want her to come out the other side intact!

Finally, Father Ed Pickup was brought on board by Father Jim in May as a part time rector to support Father Jim and Rebecca.He was not a replacement for Greg but rather someone to lend a hand while we were searching for Greg’s replacement.With Father Jim leaving, we may lean on him a little harder, but we should also expect other “guest rectors” over the course of the summer while we are assembling our puzzle.

It is normal and natural to be sad when saying good-bye to beloved members of our community such as Father Greg and Father Jim.And, trust me, any anxiety we have is providing increased focus and urgency in our mission to rebuild our clerical team.We have to, because what really makes up our church, the foundation, the energy, and the activity, is still moving full steam ahead and won’t or can’t be stopped by this transition:

• We still have a full slate of pre-schoolers who we care for, providing a critical foundation for their future in school and as one of God’s people;
• We have Sunday School classes to teach to spread the gospel to our younger members;
• We have a dozen new Eucharistic visitors who have been trained and are taking our sacraments to those who cannot join us in church;
• We have dozens of programs scheduled every day of the week offering a wide variety of ways to fill yourself with God’s love and share it with others;
• We have dozens of ministries and an excellent staff that are truly keeping this church running behind the scenes;
• We have dozens of Outreach programs providing hands-on help to our wider community;
• We have new members who are arriving every week that we need to welcome;
• And, at some point, we have a parish hall to build.

This is St. Alban’s.This is who we are.This is what we are doing.We’re too busy doing God’s work to be slowed down by this transition.And that’s why we will be okay.Let’s all pray for a Rector and Associate Rector who can keep up.