A Message from Roy McLeod, Senior Warden
My Fellow Parishioners,
As Epiphany ends and we prepare to move into the Penitential Season of Lent, there is and has been a great deal of activity in our Parish. We have had the sorrows of several funerals and the joy of a wedding at year-end.
We have, with Paul Davis’ leadership, conducted our sixth Stop Hunger Now event in which over 130 individuals worked to pack over 30,000 meals in less than three hours! Our Lenten Program Committee, under the leadership of Holly Walker, Junior Warden, has planned an appealing and thought-provoking series of programs for Lent featuring a number of highly qualified outside speakers who will explore the theme of “Going Beyond the Doors of the Church”.
In addition, since the retirement of our Rector on October 31, 2015, we have elected a new Vestry; engaged a Search Consultant; and formed and charged a Search Committee, led by Chandler Williams as its Chair and Chuck Catlett Vice Chair, which is now meeting on a regular basis.
At its January 9, 2015 Vestry Meeting and Mini-Retreat, the Vestry conducted normal business and organized itself for the coming year. It spent a great deal of time discussing and planning future actions to carry out the consensus top three priorities which over 125 of you identified in your responses to the February 2014 Church Assessment Survey. They were:
- Make necessary changes to attract families with children and youth to our church.
- Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to reach new people and incorporate them into the life of the church.
- Provide more opportunities for Christian education and spiritual formation at every age and stage of life.
All Committees have been asked to review their activities and identify ways they can contribute to making these priorities an actuality. You will hear more about these plans in the coming weeks.
An immediate area of concern is the selection of an Interim Rector. We have been blessed with a rich and varied group of supply priests during the Rector’s sabbatical and since his retirement as our Rector at the end of October. During this period, the Vestry has been actively engaged, with the assistance of the Diocese in reviewing and considering potential Interim Priests – those whom we have identified to the Diocese and those supplied to us by the Canon for Clergy Development and Transition. Candidates from locations such as Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois, Nebraska, and Utah as well as Virginia have been considered.
Several took positions in Virginia and Maryland as a result of negotiations begun before we contacted them. Several were not qualified and did not meet the approval of the Diocese, while others did not fit the Vestry’s vision of the person to lead our unique Parish in the Interim Period. Currently, we are in active discussion with three possible qualified interims.
The pool of qualified (trained in the Interim process) and interested clergy is limited and the process is taking time. The Spiritual Leadership of the Parish, as represented by our Supply Priests and our potential Interim, is our major concern and the focus of our efforts at this time.
In periods of transition, an organization cannot communicate enough about events and activities. We will try to keep you informed and not overdo it. We ask you to approach any member of the Vestry with your concerns, questions and suggestions. We need your input.
Finally, we give thanks for three years of service and leadership by those who are leaving the Vestry: Michael Walker for his leadership as Senior Warden and Ginger Marsh for her many committee activities, as well as service on the Administrative Committee. And, it will be difficult to fill the void that our loss of Priscilla Condyles created in so many areas.
Lord look favorably upon your people,
Roy McLeod
Senior Warden
Note: As Manakin moves through this transition period, members of our congregation will be contributing to the Rector’s Message section of our web site.