On February 7, the vestry met with the Rev. Debra Kissinger, diocesan Canon for Transitional Ministries, to plan the next steps in the process to call a new rector. In keeping with the diocesan plan, a group from the vestry prepared a nomination form with text identifying the qualifications desired for prospect members of the search committee. Those forms were distributed to the congregation and collected March 17. The search committee will be announced soon.
A second group from the vestry will engage in a discernment process to imagine an ideal search committee. After nominations have been received, the vestry will deliberate over these materials and make a final selection of those who will be called to serve on the search committee. The committee will be commissioned during services on a Sunday to be announced. Meanwhile, the vestry will also create a charge for the search committee.
The Diocese of Indianapolis has a variety of requirements that must be completed before a congregation may engage in a search process. It is the responsibility of the congregation to demonstrate that it is financially able to sustain itself and to provide the requisite compensation and benefits for clergy for at least a three-year period following the calling of the clergy. The treasurer, wardens, and interim rector have already provided some of those documents to Marsha Gebuhr, Canon for Administration, and others will be submitted soon.