The rector search committee has completed the self-study phase and is finalizing the parish profile document that will be sent to potential rector candidates to introduce them to our parish. The committee soon will begin advertising the position and moving into the evaluation and interview phases. Once those are completed, the search committee will give the vestry a list of candidates. The vestry will complete the final phase of selecting and calling a rector to St. Paul’s.

You already may have seen that one of the bulletin boards near the fireplace in the parish hall contains biographies of the search committee members. As we move into our next search phases this month, please check the bulletin board next to the one with the committee biographies. That is where you will find a visual aid the search committee has created to help represent its progress through the four main phases of the search:  (1) the parish study, (2) seeking candidates, (3) interviewing candidates, and (4) calling our new rector.

The search committee has chosen to “complete” the circle of a Celtic cross as a symbol of St. Paul’s prayerful and Christ-centered process of calling our new rector. The Celtic cross has a long history and tradition, and the circle of the cross has many different interpretations. One well-known interpretation is that the circle is a symbol of eternity, that the Celtic cross reminds us of God’s eternal love for us shown through Christ’s sacrifice, a mystery without beginning and without end.

In contemplating this symbol, we may be reminded of our call to God’s work in Christ at this place and time as the St. Paul’s community. The fourth and final quarter of the circle around the cross will be added when a new rector is called to St. Paul’s and our new rector will join our circle and move with us into the work we have been given to do.

Please continue to pray for the search committee, the vestry, our church, and our new rector during the Lenten season.  We pray that this penitential season and reflection on Jesus’ own preparation for ministry will help us to further live into God’s will for us all.