Associate Rector Position

At our Annual Parish Meeting in November, I challenged our congregation to commit to the funding of a second clergy member to our staff. According to Church Size Theory, a “Transitional-sized church” (average Sunday attendance of 140-225) is where single pastors begin to feel stretched thin. By the time a church reaches “Program size” (average Sunday attendance of 225-800), multiple clergy become essential.

In 2024, Emmanuel officially transitioned from a Transitional-sized to a Program-sized church. It is clear that the needs of our growing parish have outpaced the capacity of our current staff. What a wonderful problem to have! 

Just two days after the Annual Meeting, the vestry took a leap of faith and approved funding for an Associate Rector beginning mid 2025. A search committee was formed, including Mark Hamilton, Stephanie Hillard, Michelle Kaiser, and myself. By the end of December, the committee had met, created a position description, and worked with the Diocese to begin advertising and recruiting candidates. You may find this position description by clicking here.

 In the meantime, I am thrilled to share that the parish met the financial challenge.  Emmanuel’s pledges for 2025 yielded a 17% increase over last year’s. Thanks to your incredible commitment and a two-year seed gift from Kendall and Aimée Squires, we have exceeded our budgeting goals for 2025, allowing us to fund the Associate Rector position. Thank you all for your generosity and support, which are helping to propel our church into this exciting new chapter of ministry.

 We are currently accepting applications for the Associate Rector position through January 31st. I encourage you to share this opportunity with friends in the Episcopal Church and spread the word about our search. Word of mouth is often the source of obtaining great clergy members. If you know someone whom you believe would be a good fit for our team, please reach out to them or any member of the search committee.

The committee is committed to taking the time necessary to find the right candidate. While the earliest anticipated start date is April, we recognize that summer may be a more practical time for clergy families to transition.

I pledge to keep you updated throughout this exciting process!

Peace,

Morris