The Vestry of St. David’s is pleased to announce the members chosen to be on the Search Committee for a new Rector. The decision as to who to choose for the committee was an extremely difficult task as all nominees were equally well qualified to serve. The names below represent a cross section of areas within the church and parish life. Many thanks to everyone who put forth a nomination.

Justin Bartels
Carlene Deschaine
Rebecca Ford
Kevin Kane
Sally Lawrence
Gen Van Catledge
Carol Van Zoeren
Jeanne Marie Yohe

The Rector Search committee is honored to lead this process,
in which there are two main phases:

PHASE 1
The first phase entails compiling what is referred to as a parish profile and will take
several months. The search committee will need your input to create a robust and
comprehensive parish profile. In the coming weeks and months you will receive a survey asking for your thoughts and input on various components of this profile. The search
committee will also hold small group meetings in order to gain your perspective.

After the parish profile is complete, the Rector position will be posted and advertised
nationally and there will be a period of time while the committee collects and evaluates candidate resumes.

PHASE 2
The second phase involves interviewing candidates. After a comprehensive interview
process the search committee’s candidate recommendation will be presented to the
Vestry of Saint David’s.

Presenter: Sally Lawrence

Hello, for those who may not know me, I am Sally Lawrence and I am the co-chair of the search

committee for our new rector. I have been a parishioner at St. David’s for just about 10 years. I

joined when my husband, Kirk, and I moved to North Wilmington from the Washington, D.C.,

area and quickly felt welcomed and comfortable in the St. David’s community. Kirk and I have

two young daughters, Olivia and Cate. Co-chairing the search committee along with me is

Carol Van Zoeren. Carol is traveling today and cannot be in attendance, but I definitely wanted

to take this opportunity to introduce the other members of the search committee. As a

committee we were blessed to serve in this capacity at a commissioning ceremony at this

morning’s service and accept the promises and commitment that we are called to carry out.

Could the search committee members in attendance please stand? The search committee

members are Justin Bartels, Carlene Deschaine, Rebecca Ford, Kevin Kane, Genevieve

Van-Catledge, and Jeanne Marie Yohe.

I speak for the entire committee when I say that we are humbled and honored that you have

entrusted us in the search for a new rector. We are also aware of the enormous responsibility

and task ahead of us. To that end, this is not a task that the search committee can accomplish

alone, and we appreciate your support, trust, and input when called upon in the coming days,

weeks, and months.

The search committee is also operating under the guidance of a Rector Search Consultant,

Sherry Goodill. Sherry has experience in participating in a successful search at a neighboring

parish, and has and will provide guidance throughout the process regarding next steps and to

make sure we stay on track as a search committee. Canon Brad Hinton will also provide

administrative support during very specific times during the search, as his duties require, in his

position as canon to the ordinary in the Mission Support Office for the Episcopal Church of

Delaware.

Today I’m going to provide a general outline of the search process as well as expectations on

how you can help.

There are two main phases to the search process.

The first phase entails compiling what is referred to as a parish profile and will take several

months. The parish profile is a comprehensive document about St. David’s history, mission,

ministries, and congregation, and includes information that reflects on the past, reviews the

present, and asks us to look to the future of our parish. It will inform potential candidates for the

rector position about St. David’s and the Day School, what type of community we are, as well as

our wealth of activities and ministries, and vision for the future. The search committee will need

your input to create a robust and comprehensive parish profile. In the coming weeks and

months you will receive a survey asking for your thoughts and input on various components on

this profile and the search committee will also hold small group meetings (with coffee and

snacks?!) in order to gain your perspective needed for this document.

After the parish profile is complete, the rector position will be posted and advertised nationally

and there will be a period of time for resume collection and resume review.

The second phase involves designing the interview process and then interviewing candidates

who have submitted applications for the rector position and who have been preliminarily vetted

by the Episcopal Church of Delaware. After a comprehensive interview process the search

committee’s candidate recommendation will be presented to the St. David’s vestry.

The search committee has vowed to be as transparent as possible during this search for a new

rector and we will continue to provide updates to the congregation at critical junctures during

this process. We appreciate your prayers, support, and patience as we, the search committee,

strive to conduct a deliberate, comprehensive, and unbiased search that will result in a new

rector who will continue to shepherd St. David’s and the Day School, and allow us to continue to

be a vibrant and impactful congregation and welcoming community.

Thank you.

After test-driving it, The Search Committee invites parishioners to complete the Church Assessment Tool (CAT), an on-line instrument that helps to inform the Committee about the perspectives, experiences, and aspirations of the congregation. Your responses will guide the committee as we develop our church profile, shape the desired characteristics of our next Rector, and provide a good foundation for the start-up of our next Rector.

An email with a unique link to the CAT has been sent to active members of the St David’s community. We ask you to go online by clicking on the link provided and tell us about your experiences in and priorities for our church. Please note that the online survey must be completed in one sitting. Our experience is that it takes between 30 minutes and an hour, so please set aside the time for this important activity. If you need a paper copy, please come to the office, and we will provide one for you along with a self-addressed stamped return envelope. Please aim to complete the survey by June 30.

All answers will be strictly anonymous, so please feel free to candidly share your perceptions, opinions, and experiences. Our next steps as a congregation will be guided by your participation and honest answers.

If you have questions or need assistance in completing the survey, please contact any member of our Search Committee. Or to the whole committee via stdavidsdesearch@gmail.com. Also, two committee members will be available after both 8:00 and 10:15 services for in-person questions and comments throughout the month of June.

The Committee is excited as we move to this next stage, and grateful for your eagerness to weigh in on this important discernment process!

The Search Committee thanks the Parish for your energetic and thoughtful response to the Church Assessment Tool survey! We will be working with Holy Cow in the next few weeks to interpret the findings. We anticipate we’ll discover areas we want to probe further, and expect to do so with in-person meetings in August. With your input, we will be well positioned to craft a Parish Profile that truly reflects the St. David’s community and lays the foundation for the next phase of the search process.

The search committee would like to thank the St. David’s congregation for completing the Holy Cow Survey (Church Assessment Tool) and attending the listening and discernment sessions recently held to gather your thoughts that will help shape the desired characteristics of our next rector.  The search committee will work with the Diocese to post the newly created Parish Profile on the national website of the Office of Transition Ministry so that interested candidates can learn more about the St. David’s community and apply to the position.   

After the Parish Profile is made available to potential rector candidates, the search will move into the second phase which involves designing the interview process and then interviewing candidates who have submitted applications for the rector position and who have been preliminarily vetted by the Episcopal Church of Delaware. After a comprehensive interview process the search committee’s candidate recommendation will be presented to the St. David’s vestry. 

The search committee has vowed to be as transparent as possible during this search for a new rector, with the understanding that we must honor candidate confidentiality. We will continue to provide updates to the congregation at critical junctures during this process.  Please note that the second phase of the search may take several months. We appreciate your prayers, support, and patience as we, the search committee, strive to conduct a deliberate, comprehensive, and unbiased search that will result in a new rector who will continue to shepherd St. David’s and the Day School, and allow us to continue to be a vibrant and impactful congregation and welcoming community.