I have been the Priest in Charge at St. Mark's for two years and three months!

One goal established in my contract with St. Mark's was to raise our income and organize our expenses so that the church could offer at least the Diocesan minimum salary for a Full-Time Clergy person, a first step towards callin a Rector. In the Episcopal Church's system, a Rector is the priest of a parish that is functioning independently. Priest in Charge, Interim or Vicar is the title given to a priest in a church that is in some way not able to be fully independent. That can be because they cannot offer a full time salary, they have had a significant conflict of some kind or have asked for extra support from the Diocese.  St. Mark's budgetted the minimum salary for a full time priest in the 2011 budget and has been successfully fulfilling that obligation this year.

After the 2011 budget was passed at the January Annual meeting. The Senior Warden of the Vestry Rob Schoenbohm wrote a letter to the Bishop asking for guidance on moving the church back to a Rector from a Priest in Charge.  The process below was sent to us. We are on step three.  On May 13 and May 20, the Vestry and Priest in Charge will meet with a consultant to determine a Mutual Study of Ministry process and goals.  We will report the results of those meetings in this blog.

After 20 years, St. Mark's is well on its way to a new stage in our life and growth.  We ask your prayers as we begin this process. It is quite something to accomplish so much growth in these difficult times. We have a lot to be proud of.

The following is the process the Bishop allows when a Parish requests the option of calling their Priest in Charge to be their next Rector:

1. The Parish and Priest agree to a three year letter of agreement and process.
2. They spend the first two years establishing trust and stability, developing leadership, and re-establishing their relationship with the diocese.
3. At the end of the second year, the parish and priest may request that the bishop allow them to begin a formal process to consider the option to call the priest in charge as rector.
4. The process is initiated and takes form in the context and structure of a Mutual Study of Ministry, conducted by a trained consultant.
5. During the third year, the parish and priest will work on the goals defined in the Mutual Study of Ministry, with special focus on the roles and relationship of the clergy, the congregation, and the diocese not only in the present but also in the past.
6. These goals and relationships are re-examined and progress is assessed six months after the initial Mutual Study of Ministry.
7. At the end of the third year, again within the context of a Mutual Study of Ministry, the Parish and Priest formally decide whether they wish to call the Priest in Charge as Rector.
8. If they chose to call, the Bishop is notified for his approval.
9. If they chose not to call, the Parish begins a formal search process immediately and the Priest in Charge has the option to remain until the search is completed and the next Rector is called.
10. The Bishop reserves the right to final approval and to withdraw the option of calling the Priest in Charge as Rector.

Your congregation has completed steps 1 to 3 and we are ready to move forward with

In addition, before approving any call the Bishop requires a written proposal from Wardens stating how this position will be funded and assessing the Parish's financial health and stability to provide and to continue for every aspect of clergy compensation. Specifically, the Bishop wants reported to him the streams of funding and how much of the compensation is being subsidized by general operating income, plate and pledge, endowment, savings and investment funds held by the Parish.