Rector search
Rector Search Process at The Falls Church Episcopal
​
Welcome! Please check in here to see updates as we go through our Rector Search process. If you have any questions, please email Mark Hadley, chair of the Search Committee, at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org.
​
​
Our Prayer
​
Almighty God, thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon this church, and for the guidance you continue to provide. In this time of transition, allow us to hear the Holy Spirit through the congregation. We pray for the gifts of listening, wisdom, patience, trust, and strength so that we may discern your will in choosing a rector who will help our parish fulfill its vision and mission.
​
​
​
January 1, 2021
In July, the committee completed the Community Ministry Profile (CMP) and vacancy announcement, which was approved by the Vestry and Diocese in August.
The CMP was posted on Sept. 1, 2020 and was closed on October 31, 2020.
From November onwards, the committee has been working in confidence to vet candidates (which includes, but is not limited to, reviewing application materials, viewing online sermons, and rounds of interviews).
Diocesan materials can help you learn more about the process.
​
Please continue to pray for our search committee as they discern God’s will for the leadership of our church.
Please feel free to send questions or suggestions to the committee at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org
July 8, 2020
The committee received 251 surveys, and thanks all who sent in a response. If you missed the presentation on June 28, you may watch the recording here.
Please feel free to send questions or suggestions to the committee at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org.
June 25, 2020
The Rector Search Committee is hosting a webinar on Sunday, June 28 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Login here
​
The survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TFCErectorsearch) is still open through July 4.
Please feel free to send questions or suggestions to us at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org.
Thank you,
The Search Committee
June 17, 2020
​
Please click here to view a message from our Rector Search Committee. They are eager to update the congregation on their progress and are hosting a webinar on Sunday June 28 at 7pm, via zoom. Mark your calendars!
May 27, 2020
​
Greetings!
While the survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TFCErectorsearch) is still open, the next step in the information gathering phase of our search is underway. We have been meeting with targeted focus groups via Zoom, and the conversations have been fruitful, rejuvenating, and enormously helpful. We hope you will join us in these online conversations. There are still openings for several targeted groups: Evergreens, Sunday School teachers, and choir. But we now also have four opportunities open to anyone in the congregation.
If you would like to join a group to discuss questions not specifically covered on the survey, and to share your thoughts in fellowship with others, please use this link to the signup genius. Please select the ONE group that best fits your schedule, and we look forward to seeing you online.
Please feel free to send questions or suggestions to us at, rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org.
Thank you,
The Search Committee
May 13, 2020
​
Greetings,
We hope you and your families are all well. We wanted to take a moment to update you on the activities of the search committee and invite you to participate in focus groups.
All of us are adjusting to a world of COVID-19 and the disruptions associated with it—social distancing, telework, remote learning, and heaping loads of uncertainty. The search committee is a microcosm of the experience of the entire Parish. There have been days when we felt we couldn’t possibly move forward. And there have been days when moving forward gave us strength.
We are grateful to report that we have been moving forward at an accelerating pace. As you may know, the first phase of the search process is devoted to information gathering. We have been able to learn many interesting things about The Falls Church Episcopal and our community. We hope to share some of those in the coming weeks. The primary vehicle for gathering information to date has been the survey. We would like to hear from each person, for each of us is a Member in Christ. If you have not already participated, and you would like to do so, you can find the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TFCErectorsearch.
The survey addresses many of the issues in our parish life. It was adapted from materials provided by the Diocese, and is intended both to help us learn more about who we are, and to help us discern what we want in a new Rector. There is another set of questions, though, that are best answered in conversation—just as we all are in conversation with the Holy Spirit.
To hold those conversations, we would like to meet in small groups. More specifically, groups of 10 people joined by 2 people from the search committee. Each group will discuss some variation of the questions that follow this message. In better times, these would have been a series of face-to-face meetings. Instead, we will use Zoom.
Here is a link to the signup genius. Please pick ONE meeting to attend. We have included many groups and times, so that people have as many choices as possible. In addition to these targeted focus groups, broader groups will be held at a later time for anyone who has not yet had a chance to participate. As you might imagine, we will also have some meetings that are not part of the general sign-up. For example, we plan to speak with the staff of the Falls Church and the Day School, and will also have separate meetings for the High School and Middle School Youth.
Please feel free to send questions or suggestions to us at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org
Thank you,
The Search Committee
April 22, 2020
​
Members of The Falls Church Episcopal,
We hope that you are well, staying safe, and taking care of yourselves these days. When the Search Committee was first commissioned to begin the process of identifying a candidate for Rector, we certainly did not anticipate the current circumstances or the challenges we would face in gathering feedback from the congregation. We were hoping to hold a variety of in-person listening sessions where you all could discuss the aspects of the Church and Rectorship that are important to you. Obviously, those will have to wait, but there is something you can do now to help us advance the process.
We have crafted a survey, which we hope you and your family members will complete. It should take about 20 minutes (unless you know you like to spend more time), and each family member can submit their own responses.
In these uncertain times, we hope that thinking about the Church and sharing your thoughts might bring us all closer together. We look forward to reading your confidential (and anonymous, if you choose) submissions, and we thank you for your help in this important process.
Please stay well, and stay connected. The link to the survey is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TFCErectorsearch.
Peace,
The Search Committee
March 2, 2020
​
Please check out the following pdf from the Search Committee for information on their overall approach, and work plan.
​
​
January 19, 2020
​
On Sunday, January 19, 2020, The Falls Church Episcopal commissioned the search committee: Walt Cooper, Mark Hadley (Chair), Walker Hardy, Stephanie Pegues, Lara Ramsey, Carla Wilson, and Maury Wray.
​
Rev. Dr. Mary Brennan Thorpe, the Canon to the Ordinary, presided and offered her blessings. During adult forum and in a meeting with the Vestry and the search committee in the afternoon, Rev. Thorpe described the search process. The committee will study the parish, listen to the congregation, pray, and craft a statement that describes where the parish has been, where it is now, and where it is going. Priests from around the country will also be thinking and praying about whether their gifts and talents are being called to The Fall Church Episcopal. She emphasized that this is a process of mutual discernment where every step is soaked in prayer. Rev. Thorpe explained that at many parishes the discernment process takes 12-14 months, but in each case the discernment process is governed by kairos (God’s appointed time) rather than chronos (sequential time).
As the committee proceeds through the study period, it will reach out to the congregation in various ways. But in the meantime, additional resources can be found on the Diocese’s website. If you have ideas about what you would like to see in a new Rector or questions about the process, please feel free to email Mark Hadley at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org.
Adult Forum - January 19, 2020
click here to listen!
Stephanie Pegues, Walker Hardy, Mark Hadley (Chair), Maury Wray,
Carla Wilson, Lara Ramsey, & Walt Cooper (not pictured)
Rector Search Process at The Falls Church Episcopal
​
Welcome! Please check in here to see updates as we go through our Rector Search process. If you have any questions, please email Mark Hadley, chair of the Search Committee, at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org.
​
​
Our Prayer
​
Almighty God, thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon this church, and for the guidance you continue to provide. In this time of transition, allow us to hear the Holy Spirit through the congregation. We pray for the gifts of listening, wisdom, patience, trust, and strength so that we may discern your will in choosing a rector who will help our parish fulfill its vision and mission.
​
​
​
January 1, 2021
In July, the committee completed the Community Ministry Profile (CMP) and vacancy announcement, which was approved by the Vestry and Diocese in August.
The CMP was posted on Sept. 1, 2020 and was closed on October 31, 2020.
​
From November onwards, the committee has been working in confidence to vet candidates (which includes, but is not limited to, reviewing application materials, viewing online sermons, and rounds of interviews).
Diocesan materials can help you learn more about the process.
​
Please continue to pray for our search committee as they discern God’s will for the leadership of our church.
Please feel free to send questions or suggestions to the committee at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org
​
July 8, 2020
The committee received 251 surveys, and thanks all who sent in a response. If you missed the presentation on June 28, you may watch the recording here.
Please feel free to send questions or suggestions to the committee at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org.
June 25, 2020
The Rector Search Committee is hosting a webinar on Sunday, June 28 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Login here
​
The survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TFCErectorsearch) is still open through July 4.
Please feel free to send questions or suggestions to us at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org.
Thank you,
The Search Committee
June 17, 2020
​
Please click here to view a message from our Rector Search Committee. They are eager to update the congregation on their progress and are hosting a webinar on Sunday June 28 at 7pm, via zoom. Mark your calendars!
May 27, 2020
​
Greetings!
While the survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TFCErectorsearch) is still open, the next step in the information gathering phase of our search is underway. We have been meeting with targeted focus groups via Zoom, and the conversations have been fruitful, rejuvenating, and enormously helpful. We hope you will join us in these online conversations. There are still openings for several targeted groups: Evergreens, Sunday School teachers, and choir. But we now also have four opportunities open to anyone in the congregation.
If you would like to join a group to discuss questions not specifically covered on the survey, and to share your thoughts in fellowship with others, please use this link to the signup genius. Please select the ONE group that best fits your schedule, and we look forward to seeing you online.
Please feel free to send questions or suggestions to us at, rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org.
Thank you,
The Search Committee
May 13, 2020
​
Greetings,
We hope you and your families are all well. We wanted to take a moment to update you on the activities of the search committee and invite you to participate in focus groups.
All of us are adjusting to a world of COVID-19 and the disruptions associated with it—social distancing, telework, remote learning, and heaping loads of uncertainty. The search committee is a microcosm of the experience of the entire Parish. There have been days when we felt we couldn’t possibly move forward. And there have been days when moving forward gave us strength.
We are grateful to report that we have been moving forward at an accelerating pace. As you may know, the first phase of the search process is devoted to information gathering. We have been able to learn many interesting things about The Falls Church Episcopal and our community. We hope to share some of those in the coming weeks. The primary vehicle for gathering information to date has been the survey. We would like to hear from each person, for each of us is a Member in Christ. If you have not already participated, and you would like to do so, you can find the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TFCErectorsearch.
The survey addresses many of the issues in our parish life. It was adapted from materials provided by the Diocese, and is intended both to help us learn more about who we are, and to help us discern what we want in a new Rector. There is another set of questions, though, that are best answered in conversation—just as we all are in conversation with the Holy Spirit.
To hold those conversations, we would like to meet in small groups. More specifically, groups of 10 people joined by 2 people from the search committee. Each group will discuss some variation of the questions that follow this message. In better times, these would have been a series of face-to-face meetings. Instead, we will use Zoom.
Here is a link to the signup genius. Please pick ONE meeting to attend. We have included many groups and times, so that people have as many choices as possible. In addition to these targeted focus groups, broader groups will be held at a later time for anyone who has not yet had a chance to participate. As you might imagine, we will also have some meetings that are not part of the general sign-up. For example, we plan to speak with the staff of the Falls Church and the Day School, and will also have separate meetings for the High School and Middle School Youth.
Please feel free to send questions or suggestions to us at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org
Thank you,
The Search Committee
April 22, 2020
​
Members of The Falls Church Episcopal,
We hope that you are well, staying safe, and taking care of yourselves these days. When the Search Committee was first commissioned to begin the process of identifying a candidate for Rector, we certainly did not anticipate the current circumstances or the challenges we would face in gathering feedback from the congregation. We were hoping to hold a variety of in-person listening sessions where you all could discuss the aspects of the Church and Rectorship that are important to you. Obviously, those will have to wait, but there is something you can do now to help us advance the process.
We have crafted a survey, which we hope you and your family members will complete. It should take about 20 minutes (unless you know you like to spend more time), and each family member can submit their own responses.
In these uncertain times, we hope that thinking about the Church and sharing your thoughts might bring us all closer together. We look forward to reading your confidential (and anonymous, if you choose) submissions, and we thank you for your help in this important process.
Please stay well, and stay connected. The link to the survey is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TFCErectorsearch.
Peace,
The Search Committee
March 2, 2020
​
Please check out the following pdf from the Search Committee for information on their overall approach, and work plan.
​
​
January 19, 2020
​
On Sunday, January 19, 2020, The Falls Church Episcopal commissioned the search committee: Walt Cooper, Mark Hadley (Chair), Walker Hardy, Stephanie Pegues, Lara Ramsey, Carla Wilson, and Maury Wray.
​
Rev. Dr. Mary Brennan Thorpe, the Canon to the Ordinary, presided and offered her blessings. During adult forum and in a meeting with the Vestry and the search committee in the afternoon, Rev. Thorpe described the search process. The committee will study the parish, listen to the congregation, pray, and craft a statement that describes where the parish has been, where it is now, and where it is going. Priests from around the country will also be thinking and praying about whether their gifts and talents are being called to The Fall Church Episcopal. She emphasized that this is a process of mutual discernment where every step is soaked in prayer. Rev. Thorpe explained that at many parishes the discernment process takes 12-14 months, but in each case the discernment process is governed by kairos (God’s appointed time) rather than chronos (sequential time).
As the committee proceeds through the study period, it will reach out to the congregation in various ways. But in the meantime, additional resources can be found on the Diocese’s website. If you have ideas about what you would like to see in a new Rector or questions about the process, please feel free to email Mark Hadley at rectorsearch@thefallschurch.org.
Adult Forum - January 19, 2020
click here to listen!
Stephanie Pegues, Walker Hardy, Mark Hadley (Chair), Maury Wray,
Carla Wilson, Lara Ramsey, & Walt Cooper (not pictured)