St Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church
Rector Search Committee
The search committee met Tuesday night,
July 1st, and after much discussion, we made several decisions regarding the content, the timing, cost, and other
particulars surrounding the upcoming parish survey. Relevant decisions include:
· Using a very attractive vendor, Holy Cow! Consulting, as our survey instrument designer and results tabulator
· Designing a plan to inform our parish about the importance of taking the survey
· Asking parishioners 16 years old and older to take the survey, either at home or at church
· Planning for computer availability at the church and assistance for those parishioners unfamiliar with computer
techniques
· Preparing a timeline for the survey, and
· Making editorial changes to the standard survey format in order to accommodate our particular needs.
Thanks go out to Gordon Moore and
his sub-committee, including Ellen Hartsfield and Lenora Lee, for their preparation work on the survey plans. Thanks also to David Rose for taking the lead on managing the parish access to the survey and the computers
that will be available for parish use.
Here are some particulars:
- The survey will be available beginning on Sunday, August 31st and continuing through the month of
September, closing on Tuesday, September 30.
- Parishioners are encouraged to go to the church website (www.sfaec.org) and take the survey; it will be automatically
tabulated and is anonymous unless the parishioner wants to attach a name to the survey.
- Survey time required: approximately 30 minutes.
- Hard
copies of the survey will be available for those reluctant to use a computer, but by far the most helpful way to take the
survey is via the church website, as any hard copy survey results must be hand entered by a volunteer.
PLEASE NOTE:
this survey will be our primary avenue of collecting data about who we are and what our hopes and dreams for St. Francis
are, now that we know they include finding a new rector to lead us into further ministry together. Acknowledging that taking surveys is not popular, it is critical to note that the more data we collect
on our parish, the more likely we are to find the very best person to be our leader.
Please resolve to take the survey faithfully and on time.
In the meantime, the search committee will
see that every avenue of information will be utilized to get the word out about the survey and how to take it. Further, the search committee will spend the rest of the summer weeks before initiating the survey August
31st working on getting financial data from the vestry, preparing to make computers available for the survey takers, and getting our search request formatted and complete before we go to the national
church office with it.
Our next meeting is Tuesday, August
26th. You can help us by continuing to pray for our plans and deliberations. Our energy remains high, and we have good leadership in Stephen Askew from the Diocesan
Office. We are committed to seeking God’s will in this process and working
toward completion in a deeply meaningful way. Thank you for your partnership
with us in this process.
For the search committee,
Curtis Baggett