Latest News from Transition 4/9/15
The Rev. Deacon Michael Bordelon will be a Priest Assocaite at St. James, Alexandria from May through August 2015. He will resume his seminary studies at the University of the South in late August. The Rev. (George) Rich Snow is being called as rector of St. Timothy’s, Alexandria. We are currently looking for a part-time interim for Epiphany Opelousas. Fr. Pete Smith retired on Easter Sunday. This part-time position would require residency in Opelousas or the surrounding area. Those interested in the position should contact the Transitions Consultant immediately. Part-time would include Sundays plus two days each week. Liturgical and pastoral care would be the primary ministry, although administrative duties would be required. The compensation is negotiable. Please put the following ordination dates on your calendars: 5/16 @ 11:00: Peter Johnston (at Ascension, Lafayette on behalf of Rt. Rev. Ian Douglas of CT) 7/25 @ 11:00: Seth Donald (at Good Shepherd, LC) 8/1 @ 11:00: Michael Bordelong (at St. James, Alexandria) Peter will be ordained to the diaconate. Seth and Michael will be ordained to the priesthood.
Those who have been placed since Bishop Owensby’s ordination (including Interim Priests-inCharge): Please remember that you have a letter of agreement and you need to review it yearly, as well as assure the bishop that everyone (including the vestry) is adhering to the agreement. Included in that LOA is the yearly spiritual retreat, continuing education, an annual meeting with the bishop outside of the annual visitation, and participation in all diocesan functions. The Letter of Agreement is a guide to open communication, clergy care and congregational ministry. If you have not attended to these items, now is the time. Those who do not have a letter of agreement need to review your call and if a letter of agreement is required, contact the Transitions Consult or go to the webpage for LOA templates.
Those who have a letter of agreement that was signed during the past jurisdiction need to review that agreement, make any necessary changes to the document and get the entire vestry to sign off on the changes. Once again, templates for agreements are on the diocesan web site. Priests who are considering retirement or may believe they need to look for a call elsewhere, please contact me. I am very willing to work with you in making these transitions. Confidentiality is assured. There are resources posted on the Transitions page of the diocesan site. The Communications Office of the Episcopal Church sends a daily scan of headlines from the web where the Episcopal Church is mentioned. This scan includes stories regarding congregations, ecumenical groups that include Episcopalians, columns, regional and national news. Today’s scan included stories like: Church of the Redeemer, Kenmore, WA., preparing for Earth Day; An Interfaith group including Episcopalians in Delaware calling for the end to the death penalty; remembrances on Oklahoma City on the 20 th anniversary of the Federal Building bombing (which had a huge impact on the Episcopal Cathedral); All Saints Episcopal Church in Selinsgrove, PA and the needs of the food program that feeds children. If you are interested in receiving this daily email go to this web address and register: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/subscribe-public-affairs-lists I will be attending the Province V, VI, VII Transition meeting in mid-May. If you would like me to present you as a possible candidate for an opening in one of the participating dioceses, please let me know. Everything between us is confidential. Office of Transition Ministry Portfolios: Your OTM portfolio needs to be updated regularly. Some of you have never inputted any information on your portfolio. You may think: “I’m not looking for a new call, so why bother.” Well, a new call may be looking for you and if your portfolio is out of date or blank, transition/deployment officers will not look at you at all. Reviewing many potential candidates over the past few months has shown how a good priest, with a good reputation and a strong reference from a deployment officer will get no consideration for a call, because the OTM portfolio is incomplete, out-of-date or blank. Almost every diocese in the Church requires an OTM portfolio in order to be considered for a search process – that is true in this diocese as well. Even if you want to look at a search within the diocese, you may not be considered without an up-to-date OTM portfolio. Please get it done, and if you need help, contact me.
Blessings,
Ron +
Openings: In every situation we are open to receiving your application or nomination. Please forward those nominations to (
[email protected]). If you know someone who might feel a call to any of these positions, please forward this information to that person. Thank you.
St. James, Alexandria: The Search Committee is now reviewing the candidate pool. Last minute nominations will be taken until May 1. The profile can be found at: http://www.saintjamesonline.org/rectorsearch Trinity, Natchitoches: The search has been restarted. Please go to the Trinity web page to review the parish profile. The Search Committee is now reviewing the candidate pool. http://trinityparish.info/rector-search/our-profile/ Epiphany, Opelousas: We are currently seeking nominations for Priest-in-Charge for the Interim. This will be a minimum one-year appointment. The search will be conducted by the Vestry. The search is now open. St. Paul’s, Abbeville: Open to receive names St. Andrew’s, Mer Rouge: Open to receive names We are currently receiving nominations for the following positions: 1. 2. 3.
Assistant Rector, St. Paul’s, Shreveport Canon, St. Mark’s Cathedral, Shreveport Priest-in-Charge (part-time), Calvary, Bunkie
Current Interim Ministries in the Diocese: 1. 2. 3. 4.
St. James, Alexandria (one-year) St. Paul’s, Abbeville (one-year) St. Andrew’s, Mer Rouge, (six months) St. Michael’s, Lake Charles (two-year)
Please note that when the search process begins in these congregations, the Bishop’s Office (through the Transitions Consultant) will notify the clergy and congregations of the diocese. Openings are posted at: http://www.diocesewla.org/resources/clergy-deployment/
