ASSISTANT RECTOR
POSITION DESCRIPTION
“We believe the Holy Spirit is real and inspires us to be the light of Christ in our community as a reflection of God’s love.”
THE CHURCH
Christ Church St. Peter’s Parish is an active and growing Episcopal church located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in Easton. An important presence in the community since its founding in 1692, the church has experienced a tripling in its membership since our current Rector came to us almost ten years ago and for the last three years has had an average weekly Sunday attendance (ASA) of about 320. The church is in the process of reviewing its organizational structure and systemic realities to position itself to break out of the current plateau. The staff of the church has grown accordingly and now includes, in addition to the Rector, a Deacon who serves as full-time Minister of Discipleship, a full-time Director of Music Ministries and organist, a part-time Contemporary Music Leader, several contemporary musicians, a full-time Minister of Youth and Families, a professional Nursery, a part-time Director of Administration, a newly established part-time Communications and Database Administrator, , and a part-time parish secretary. There are, in addition, the Director and teachers of the Christ Church Day School (a preschool), a part-time professional bookkeeper, a part-time facilities maintenance man, and many volunteer roles filled by parishioners. The church offers a full and vibrant worship schedule in three Sunday morning services with more planned, diverse Christian education programs, and a wide range of pastoral care and outreach ministries to the membership, the community, and beyond. Our goal is to excite and nurture our parishioners in their lives as faithful disciples, and even perhaps as apostles, of Jesus Christ. Without a doubt we understand our community as a critical and evangelistic mission, recognizing that as the Parish’s hope, faith, and love grows, it will naturally reach out to bring others into the knowledge and love of God and Christ.
THE POSITION
Title
Assistant Rector
Reporting Relationship
Reporting directly to the Rector, the Assistant Rector will assist him in all aspects of parish life, eventually taking full responsibility for specific agreed upon areas of the church’s activities and goals, especially within worship, Christian education, pastoral care, and administration.
THE RESPONSIBILITES
Worship -- The Assistant Rector will regularly celebrate and preach on Sunday and all other services. He/She will also officiate at weddings and funerals and perform all other sacerdotal functions. The Assistant Rector will have the responsibility of recruiting and training of readers, officiants, and Eucharistic ministers as well as working with the Acolyte and Usher programs.
The Assistant Rector will be expected to play an important role in our evangelistic pursuit of the strategy of “building churches.” On Sunday morning the three “churches” are at 8:00am, 9:15am, and 11:00am, and each successive new worship service will be classified as another church as well. Our current active goal is the creation of a fourth worship service on Saturday evening. Our initial thought is that this will probably be contemplative in nature. Later, a fifth service is to be developed, perhaps more kinetic, that might draw younger people, including families. These services are in the conceptual stages, and will require additional research and planning; however, we see them as evangelical opportunities and are committed to developing them. Our goal is to be a relevant community of the Gospel proclamation, and worship is our principle work. We understand evangelism as our calling in Christ and expect congregational grow will take place as a consequence. Our intention for the future is to locate a number of worshipping communities at different satellite locations and at different times, and have them all be under the umbrella of Christ Church. Each “church” will be complete with a unique liturgical expression, music, a nursery, and a Christian education program.
Christian Education -- The Assistant Rector will be expected to work with the Rector and Staff to plan and execute learning opportunities that will nurture the ministries of our parishioners and the greater development of the church as the Body of Christ. We desire the development of what would amount to a school of Christian discipleship. We understand this to be a comprehensive program of education for those seeking to learn and to mature intentionally in the faith. This will include, but is not limited to, organizing presentations, seminars, seasonal classes, small groups, and on-going home/prayer groups, as well as the raising up and training/supporting of teachers, facilitators, and assistants.
The discipline of study and prayer is increasingly important to who we are becoming as an informed, rational, and Biblically-grounded congregation. The Scriptures are essential to our identity as Christians. We do not observe a literalist reading of the texts; however we do believe that the narrative and the teachings are essential to the foundation of our faith and our principles. We know that the development of mature faith requires the discipline of regular Bible study and daily prayer and we encourage these practices. In part, our efforts are designed to take the biblical and theological illiteracy of the common parishioner as an opportunity for substantial Christian education and formation. Our educational role in the developmental process of persons who are growing in faith and discipleship continues to be defined and refined. The process is underway, and we are working to continue its evolution. The Assistant Rector’s efforts will focus closely on this ministry.
Due to our growth, the congregation is home to a wide range of theological positions, liturgical preferences, and religious backgrounds. In general, although it is what might be termed “conservative” in its theological orientation, the Parish demonstrates openness with differences. This provides us with the chance to build a lively and relatively diverse community whose commonality is found in its relationship with God in Christ. This relationship, demonstrated by many expressions and attitudes, is resulting in a stronger sense of a shared, rich, and meaningful identity as the people of God.
The Assistant Rector will work in tandem with the Youth and Family Ministry. In December 2002, Christ Church hired its first full-time Youth and Family Minister, Joanne Fischer. Formerly, the Parish struggled with its Sunday morning programming for children, and there had been no meaningful youth ministry offered for many years. Since then, Joanne has successfully built her program from the ground up to be a relevant and dynamic ministry of the church.
Concurrent with the commencement of the youth program was an identified goal of breaking down the cliché limitations and expectations of what constitutes “youth ministry” and “Sunday School.” It has been slow going, with some meaningful accomplishments and some nagging difficulties. One particular area that has yet to find success has to do with parental involvement. This is not a unique difficulty; but it is one that is essential for us to effectively address. It is our hope that the Assistant Rector will make a strong impact in this area.
Our intent as a parish is to establish a broader and deeper form of education for persons of every age and stage. Children, teens, and parents form particular audiences. Our operational premise is that the home is the principle setting for Christian education, and that parents are the prime (although not exclusive) religious teachers of their children. In a consumer-minded, service-oriented society, this level of involvement is something of a radical departure from cultural norms and, hence, an up-hill battle. Regardless, the Assistant Rector’s ministry will seek to create and build a program that is intentional about calling, training, and supporting parents in their educational roles and ministries.
This program for parents is to focus on their own personal development in faith. The program will provide age-appropriate information to help parents understand the faith-development of their children; however its greater and primary emphasis will be on the parents themselves as Christians in a community. A failure of many communities is to accept church participation principally for the sake of the children, without a concurrent appreciation of the need of parents to be maturing in faith as well. Therefore, our efforts are to be designed intentionally to encourage and nurture parents in their relationship with Christ -- body, heart, spirit, and mind.
Pastoral Care -- The Assistant Rector will visit newcomers and parishioners, as well as at hospitals and nursing facilities, on a very regular basis. Christ Church hired Carol Callaghan to be “Minister of Discipleship” in January 2002, and she has since become our Deacon. She assists with four major areas of the parish’s work: newcomer greeting and incorporation; pastoral care (including leading the leaders of Stephen Ministry); and Christian education (small group bible studies; classes). She works closely with the Rector. These efforts are understood to be functional first steps, and the Assistant Rector will work with the Minister of Discipleship and the Rector as a team to increase the depth, breadth, and reach of these ministries. In concert with the Christian education effort, we want to institute a second, third, and fourth step of Christian formation, including ministry discernment.
In part, this will involve an active program to maintain contact with new parishioners, to understand their interests and callings, and to help draw them into active participation in the church’s many ministries and programs. Together we will be looking forward to the introduction and pursuit of a concurrent program of evangelism.
Administration and other aspects of the church’s life -- The ministry of the Assistant Rector will include responsibilities related to the administration and the day-to-day operations of the church.
The Assistant will be responsible for the organization and implementation of those programs he or she is involved in directly. Other responsibilities will be assigned by the Rector as the needs arise.
THE PERSON
Education/Certification
We seek an ordained Episcopal priest, though an ordained clergyperson from a theologically and liturgically compatible denomination in communion with the Episcopal Church would certainly be considered.
Experience
We are seeking a person with graceful liturgical skills, and preaching ability is considered a substantial factor in a candidate’s consideration. We are most interested in candidates who have the organizational skills, experience, ability, and enthusiasm for Christian formation, teaching, and program development. The person invited into this ministry will have an appreciation for, an inclination toward, and an enthusiasm for the fundamentals of priestly pastoral ministry: home and hospital visitation, teaching, and preaching. He/She must therefore demonstrate both talents and experience in this area of ministry. Christ Church is intent on growing a comprehensive faith community that will call, prepare, and encourage all people in their lives as Christians. We are seeking someone who will bring the gifts and calling necessary to help this come to fruition. Previous parish experience is very desirable, and an appreciation for the dynamics of growing congregations would be most helpful.
Personal
We are seeking someone who has true gifts for preaching the Word with conviction, clarity, hope, love, and relevance; who teaches well, even as he or she helps to identify and raise up and support the teachers in our midst; and who brings a compassionate faith and prayerful presence during times of crisis, as well as in his/her own daily life and witness. We seek someone who finds joyful excitement and a sense of fulfillment in his/her heart and soul working with people in the exercise of the Gospel.
The Assistant Rector will be considered a full colleague and an integral part of the entire ministry. We expect the relationship to be grounded in our common faith. We value dialogue, dedication, and determination. We expect openness and honesty, patience and cooperation.
The Assistant Rector will be entrusted with much. The person best suited for this position will be creative, energetic, thoughtful, motivated, and dependable. To understand that “good enough” is not, will resonate with our desire to be excellent in our undertakings. The person must be able to work well with others. A willingness to work with the Rector’s vision for the future of the Parish is expected. Having a good sense of humor is essential.
THE COMPENSATION AND OPPORTUNITY
The compensation package includes a competitive base salary, health and life insurance, and a pension plan. This position offers the opportunity to work closely with our Rector, who in ten years has been instrumental in tripling the size of our church through the force of his faith, leadership, preaching, evangelism, scholarship, hard work, and personality. This record is uncommon in the Episcopal Church and indeed many churches in these secular times. To work in this environment would provide an ambitious and rising priest the chance to witness and experience how it can be done and, eventually, to take what has been learned on to a new church and a new opportunity to spread the Word of God.
Please address inquiries to Father Bill Ortt: fatherbill@christchurcheaston.org. A description of expectations and goals will be negotiated prior to the beginning of service in this congregation. We would appreciate receiving from you a resume, a CDO profile, and a brief statement of your ministry.
Our website is www.christchurcheaston.org.
Additional area information may be found at the website of the local newspaper, www.stardem.com to assist in your evaluation.
The Talbot County Schools link is www.tcps.k12.md.us.
The Town of Easton website is www.eastonmd.org.
The Chamber of Commerce website is www.talbotchamber.org.
SOME INFORMATION ON OUR AREA
The Eastern Shore
Maryland's "Eastern Shore” is a place of historic and charming towns and wide bays and meandering tidal rivers. Relatively isolated until the 1950s, the area maintains much of its original rural atmosphere. We enjoy immediate access to the Chesapeake Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean is only an hour away. We are located 90 minutes away from Washington, Baltimore, and Wilmington, two hours from Philadelphia, and four hours from New York and Richmond. Annapolis, the state capital and a bustling shopping and tourist destination, is one hour away.
We generally experience mild winters, early springs, late autumns, and hot summers. In general, it is a pleasant four seasons. Those enjoying outdoor sports and recreation, on land and on the water, will have many opportunities to engage in them.
The Eastern Shore has a long history, having been colonized in the early 1600’s. A good fictional description of our history can be found in James Michener’s famous book, Chesapeake. Original and still vibrant commercial activities include crabbing, oystering, and fishing. Here too one will find various farming operations (mostly corn and soybeans), some varied industry, good hospitals, fine public schools, a number of religious and other private schools, and some very respectable colleges.
There is considerable economic disparity from one area of the Eastern Shore to another; and within many of the communities it is particularly evident. Although there is a small degree of poverty in Talbot County, where Christ Church is located, in the main it would be classified as a wealthy community.
The Eastern Shore is referred to as the "Land of Pleasant Living." In many ways it is. Its desirability can be seen in the changes which have been taking place in the last decade. The area has experienced a significant demographic and economic shift as increasing numbers of retirees and wealthy pre-retirees move here. We are seeing many new young families taking up residence in Talbot County, too. These population transitions are causing stress in the community as developmental pressures begin to infringe upon the area’s rural and rustic appeal.
The Diocese of Easton
The Tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Easton, the Rt. Rev. James (Bud) Shand, was ordained and began his new ministry as bishop in January 2003. A large number of churches are currently finishing or have finished search processes, and a sizeable percentage of new clergy persons are entering into the Diocese. There are about 38 churches in the Diocese. Easton is home to two, Christ Church and Trinity Cathedral. Christ Church is larger than the Cathedral. Although there is some moving around of parishioners from congregation to congregation, Christ Church is intent on avoiding being in a competitive mode, adopting a principle and preference of working toward a stronger community of parishes. For example, our youth ministries have been attempting multiple parish endeavors, and Christ Church recently led the initiative to start the Talbot Interfaith Homeless Service, with several churches now providing shelter as needed for homeless persons. There are five other Episcopal churches in the immediate area and within an easy drive of each other; there is one in St. Michael's (one of the largest parishes in the Diocese), one in Denton (small), one in Trappe (small), one in Oxford (small) and one in Tunis Mills (very small). Christ Church in Easton is the largest of these.
The Town of Easton
Easton is a growing community. The town stands around 13,000 people, although it feels larger. Many people live in the areas and communities surrounding the town; and some of these folks are seasonal. Easton has a small-town and, in the center, a historic atmosphere, with its concurrent limitations, quirks, and social systems. It also has its charms. The number of newcomers moving into the area is creating demand for more sophisticated restaurants, entertainment, and the like. It is, all the same, both a family-oriented place and a retirement destination. There are some very enjoyable regular activities, events, and organizations that one might consider unusually large undertakings for a town this size. These include a long established legitimate theater, an impressive small art museum, and an unusually wide array of charitable organizations and activities. There are ample shopping opportunities in the center of town and in two large but concentrated shopping areas, one off Easton Parkway and one off Route 50, known also as Ocean Gateway, as the road leads eventually to Ocean City and other Atlantic Ocean resorts as well as, further south, to Assateague and Chincoteague and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. There is a large close-by area of medical offices offering modern care as well as Easton Memorial Hospital in the center of town.
Our area is fortunate to be able to offer excellent educational opportunities. Education Week, the nation’s leading education newspaper has just published (February 2009) an article stating that Maryland’s state education system is at the very top of the national rankings, just ahead of Massachusetts. Other high-scoring systems include New York and Virginia. Maryland’s ranking is based on student performance and State education policies that reflect more than a decade of work on a preK-12 curriculum; state accountability and standards; and work on school readiness, high school reform, and preparation for college and the workplace. All nine Talbot County Public Schools, which are supported by a large local tax base, have recently received re-accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools certifying that TCPS has met the prescribed standards of the Middle States Association. The only two public school systems in Maryland that have earned Middle States Accreditation are Talbot County and Worcester County. There are, in addition, several excellent private day schools in the immediate vicinity or accessible by daily commute.
Christ Church-St. Peter’s Parish
Christ Church has its roots in the 1600’s. St. Peter’s Parish is its geographic name, which also dates to the late 1600’s. Its fourth and current church structure is granite. It was built in the 1840’s, with additions being made over time. The former Rectory is now serving as the Parish Office. The Parish Hall has three levels and has been updated through the years. The last such effort was completed in 1995. Attached to it is a two story education wing, which is home to the Christ Church Day School. In the main, the buildings are in need of either restoration or renovation. Since 2000, we have made approximately $600,000 worth of structural repairs and improvements.
Following the completion of a recent formal long-term building planning process, the Vestry is now embarking on restorations and renovations for the interior of the church. This whole process is giving us cause to examine where the Holy Spirit is guiding us as we move into the new century. The answers we discern will determine the course and extent of this effort.
Since the arrival of our current Rector, the membership of the church has tripled. In general, the Parish has been excited and supportive of the congregational growth taking place. We have made many changes, and we know there are many more to come. In particular the programming for Christian education for all adults and children, youth ministry, outreach, and pastoral care, are being developed in more serious fashions. Our music programs, under a new Director of Music Ministries and organist and a new Contemporary Music Leader, are undergoing rapid expansion and improvement. And in spite of the serious tone of the ministry description, it should be understood that we have a good deal of fun together as well.
There are three Sunday services (currently set at 8:00am, 9:15am, and 11:00am) from September through May. During the summer we have two services (8:00am and 10:00am). In the past, the services alternated week after week between traditional and contemporary music. We are in discernment about doing a concurrent program next summer, with both programs taking place in two on-site locations. The 8:00am is Rite I Holy Eucharist with organ music. The 9:15am Holy Eucharist Rite II is a blended worship service, meaning we are gently doing different things, i and uses contemporary music. Begun in September 2001, this worship service is still a work in process. The 11:00am is a traditional Holy Eucharist, Rite II. With all three services, we average around 320 folks on a Sunday (with 800-900 communicants).
We are inspired by our Parish Mission, stated above, and follow prayerfully and diligently our Parish Vision:
Our Vision is to be a Parish that:
- Joyfully proclaims the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit in companionship with Christ and with each other
- Makes disciples of Christ through lifelong Christian education
- Is a loving family in Christ
- Has a call-driven ministry that transforms people’s lives, and
- Has passionate servant-leaders effectively supporting all we do.