Transition Committee: Prayer, Good Work and Hawiian Shirts

Here we are! As you can see by our Hawaiian shirts and summer attire, we strive to balance work and play! As Marilyn noted previously, we have hit the ground running. We are busy preparing for video interviews, in-person opportunities in early October and the election itself. And although the events seem a long way off, work has already begun on Bishop Smith's retirement celebration and the Consecration of our new diocesan Bishop in April 2010.

In addition to the hard work that is ongoing by all the various members of of our committee, we took some time during our recent meeting to remind ourselves how important, as committee members and as people of the Diocese, it is to approach this election and process with a posture of openness. We have been blessed by the presence of our Chaplain, Rebecca Scruton, at each of our meetings. Her presence and leadership help us to remain prayerful throughout the process. We are reminded that it is through a discernment of God's will and the workings of the Holy Spirit that this Diocese will have a new Diocesan Bishop.

We were reminded yesterday, in the letter to the Ephesians, “the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.” Thanks be to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit which sustains and guides us through all the work that we do!


Submitted by Molly James, Transition Committee

A Microcosm of the Church: Transition Committee Moves into High Gear

I certainly hope that all the members of the Search and Nomination Committee have had some good vacation time by now. They really earned it! They worked so hard, and so intensively, to bring us a slate of nominees who fit the Diocesan Profile better than any others. They produced a terrific web presentation. They met and worked and wrangled and got exhausted and partied together and came out on the other side changed and grown. They formed some friendships that they know will endure. We on the Transition Committee give them our hearty thanks and congratulations, and we hope you do, too.

Like the Search and Nomination Committee, our Transition Committee is manned (womanned?) by many people from all over the diocese. They come from many walks of life; they’re male and female; some have computer skills, some not; some are still active in their occupations, some are retired; some are lay and some are clergy. All are giving their expertise and time and enthusiasm to the work of presenting the nominees, helping with the election, helping plan Bishop Smith’s retirement, and coordinating a wonderful Consecration for our next diocesan bishop.

Like the Search and Nomination Committee, we began our work last December. But our timeline is much longer. We’ve had the luxury of taking several months to build a good foundation. And now we hit the ground running!

Our work is focused right now on what comes next: continuing to remind the diocese about our nominees with bulletin inserts, interviewing the nominees and making their interviews accessible on the website (ctbishopelection.com), and planning for the big weekend in early October when we introduce them face to face to the diocese. It’s been a learning process for all of us. For me the big piece of learning has been to trust God more and more for gradual and reliable guidance. A child of this culture, I am overcaffeinated and overexpectant. This process teaches me each day to trust and to wait and to know that God is the one pulling the strings—even as we all continue to work like crazy. It’s just the latest incarnation of such learning, and I’m sure not the last.

Won’t you join us in praying for the nominees and for the process and the diocese? Hold them up to Jesus, give them to God. Let the Spirit whisper and shout as we walk this way together. And know that all will be well—and we don’t have to pull the strings so hard.

Submitted by Marilyn Anderson, Committee Chair

And the Nominees are....

It’s July 1^st, and as promised, here are our nominees (in alphabetical order):

Rev. Mark Delcuze, Rector, St. Stephen’s, Ridgefield, CT

Rev. Ian Douglas, Angus Dun Professor of Mission and World Christianity, Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge, MA

Assoc. Rector, St. James’s Church, Cambridge. MA

Rev. Beth Fain, Rector, St. Mary’s Church, Cypress, TX

Rt. Rev. James Curry, Bishop Suffragan of Connecticut (Under the Suffragan Bishop nomination process)

And here is our new web-site, where you can learn all about them: http://www.ctbishopelection.com

We have a plethora of goodies on this site: a biography and essays as well as a picture and video clip to introduce you to each of the candidates. There are also prayers and scripture readings (the same scriptures that we, the search committee studied and prayed over in our meetings), that we encourage all delegates to use as tools to your discernment process as you prepare for the election in October. The site also includes information about the petition process and plans for introducing the candidates to the diocese. Additional information about the candidates, any petition candidates and the election process will be added to the web-site as time goes on.

And this blog will also be continuing. The transition committee will be taking it over. Keep checking back for details on their plans for introducing you to the candidates, the election and the installation.

It has been a great pleasure to serve as a member of the Search and Nomination committee. When we first started in December I knew only two other members and neither of them well. Over the past seven months we have become a community, and while I (and especially my family) am happy that I have my Saturday’s back, I am looking forward to seeing everyone again in October at Diocesan convention, if not sooner at some of the activities introducing the candidates.

I hope that you have enjoyed sharing the nomination process with me through this blog and that you will continue to enjoy it as the transition committee shares their journey with you.

Cathy Schrull

Please Stand by....

Hi,

Our web-site announcing all the details of the nominees for the 15th Bishop of Connecticut is still being tweaked. We REALLY want everyone to go to that web-site to learn all about them. The blog post announcing the nominees will be re-posted later today...after the official email announcement with the link to the official web-site goes out to the diocese.

Selecting a Slate

Our six final candidates have come and gone and the Search/Nomination Committee has selected the slate of candidates that we will be announcing on July 1^st. Our two and a half day long retreat ended with a closure activities and celebration party for the committee.

Wednesday night’s Eucharist and reception with the candidates, their spouses, the Diocese’s chancellor, cannons and current bishops started this phase of the process on the perfect note. This was the first time that that anyone outside of the committee learned who any of our candidates are. The reception time was put to good use by the candidates as they learned more about the diocese of Connecticut, and what it means to be Bishop in Connecticut from Bishop Smith and our suffrigans.

Thursday morning began with a group breakfast with the committee, the candidates and their spouses. The breakfast ended with a time of scripture and prayer, where we read, again, the passage from 2 Samuel, where Samuel searches for the next King of Israel from amongst Jesse’s sons and anoints David. Focusing on that passage, each of us offered up a one phrase prayer for the day.

The remainder of the day was spent by the committee meeting with each candidate for 90 minutes. We started each session by asking the candidate to pray, and then asked them how their individual discernment process had progressed. Each candidate was then asked a number of questions, some of which were asked of all of the candidates, and some of which were tailored specifically for that candidate based on what we had learned about them. We finished up by asking each of the candidates about their relationship with Jesus and then by joining hands and praying for the candidate. It was such a joy to hear how much each of these priests of the church love our Lord!

Friday afternoon, the committee’s final and most important task began: selecting our final slate. On this day we began with the Eucharist. We then prayerfully discussed each of our candidates. What were the “pros” of this candidate? What where the “cons”? Did we find anything in their reference checks? And as superficial as it sounds, how are their social skills? We prayerfully rated each candidate on a scale and added each candidate's ratings together. We prayed. We discussed the candidates again. We prayed again. We discussed again and prayed again. Finally we voted, placing our ballots in the chalice, and came to consensus on our slate.

We have an extremely gifted slate of candidates. Each and every one of them will make a marvelous Bishop for our diocese. I can’t wait until you get to meet them!

Right now we are completing the web-site that will introduce them to you. Check back, either here or at our the dioceses web-site ( http://ctdiocese.org ) on July 1^st for the link to our new web-site that will introduce you to our nominees!

Hospitality

From the very beginning of our process, one of the goals of the Search and Nomination committee has been to share the spirit of hospitality with our candidates. Now we get to directly demonstrate Connecticut hospitality to our candidates.

Late afternoon, Wednesday, June 23, our six candidates will gather with the Search and Nomination committee, our three bishops and several diocesan officials for a Eucharist and reception at a central Connecticut parish. Each candidate will have a host to ensure that they have a time during the reception to meet one-on-one with Bishop Smith, and an opportunity to meet Brad Babbitt, Chancellor, Jack Spaeth, Canon for Finance and Marge Roccoberton, Canon to the Ordinary.

Waiting for our candidates and their spouses at their hotel will be Diocese of Connecticut tote bags, containing, among other things, a selection of made-in-Connecticut products. It is at this hotel that the entire committee will be conducting our final interviews with each of the candidates on Thursday. These interviews can be expected to be blunt and rigorous, with the committee asking tough questions of the candidates, and the candidates asking tough questions in return. As prayer has played an integral part in all of the committee’s activities, we expect prayer to be an integral part of our interviews with each of our candidates.

While the candidates are busy with the committee, a non-committee host will act as tour guide to the spouses. And Thursday evening a group of two or three committee members will host each candidate and their spouse for dinner at one of the local restaurants.

Friday morning, we will bid our candidates goodbye. And then the committee’s final and most important task begins: discerning which of these candidates will be announced at nominees for election of the 15^th Bishop of Connecticut.

Six Invitations

Our visits to our remaining candidates completed, the committee met this last Saturday, June 13th, to discuss our visits to our remaining candidates.

As always we began with scripture and prayer. This week we began with a study of 1 Samuel 16:1,6 – 13, when Samuel was searching for the next King of Israel, anointing, at the direction of God, the “runt” of Jesse’s sons, David.
Although different aspects of this scripture struck the various members of the committee in different ways, all of us heard that we should trust God and be attentive to each other.

As we discussed our remaining candidates, the pros and cons and gifts and skills of each, it was clear that all of them are more than qualified to be our next Bishop. Taking regular breaks for prayer and doing a lot of “holy listening” to each other we talked about what each candidate would bring to us from their home setting, their personalities and how they will live among us as Bishop.

Now, as our mutual discernment process continues, we are inviting six candidates to come visit us.

Breaking Bread with Our 7 Candidates

First a word about the individuals that make up the Search and Nomination committee: Our names and parishes are listed on the diocesan web-site, but who exactly ARE these folks that are examining our potential candidates for the 15^th Bishop of Connecticut? The Standing Committee, in consultation with Bishop Smith, selected the members of our committee from representatives submitted by the Deaneries. We have five active priests, two retired priests and a vocational deacon. We have a high school student, two high school teachers, an IT Geek, a lawyer/entrepreneur, a state employee and some Moms/”full time volunteers”. We are men and women, Afro-American, Hispanic, Chinese and various flavors of white/Europeans in background. We live in cities, suburbs and rural areas. We come from rich and poor parishes and from parishes in between. We root for the Yankees or the Red Sox, but we all root for UCONN Women’s Basketball! Theologically we are liberal and conservative, and right in the middle. We are the diocese of Connecticut and we are united by the Holy Spirit in selecting the best possible candidates to be our next Bishop.

And, as we break into smaller groups for the current interview processes, we try to make each sub-group as diverse as possible.

And now back to our regularly scheduled blog….

Having completed conference calls with our second round candidates, the Search and Nomination Committee met together May 23^rd to review the interview results. We had prepared for this meeting by listening to the recordings of our conversations with the candidates. We also had in hand the synopsis of each interview, as prepared by the “recording secretary” of each interviewing group.

As always, we began with scripture and prayer. Drawing upon our notes of the interviews, and referring back to our candidates’ applications, we prayerfully considered each of the candidates we had interviewed. As we discussed the candidates, we continued to go back to our profile: Can the candidate articulate a vision for the diocese’s future? Are they formed by scripture and prayer? How do they speak about nourishing the clergy, supporting lay ministry and helping us reconcile with one another? Do they have a diverse background of experiences to draw upon? We also asked ourselves what additional information we wanted to know about each individual.

Removing candidates from our “go-forward” list is getting more and more difficult, but at the end of the meeting, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we had discerned a list of candidates that we wanted to learn more about. Those candidates that we did not go forward with received a personal phone call from our Chair, Sylvia Ho, thanking them for their participation in our discernment process.

And now we are visiting our seven remaining candidates. Once again breaking up into teams of three, some visitations occurred this last weekend (May 30 and 31), with others occurring this coming weekend (June 6 and 7). Our visits consist of attending a Sunday service at our candidate’s parish and listening to them to preach. We are also interviewing five references, and conducting a further, in person, interview with the candidate that includes a list of standard questions that all of the candidates are being asked, as well as the individual questions that the committee wanted to ask each particular candidate. The questions, to both the candidates and the references, are designed to give us further insight into how the candidate matches up to our profile.

The most fun and relaxed part of each visit is sharing a meal with the candidate and, if they are married, their spouse. For everyone, this has proved to be one of the most enjoyable parts of the visits. Gathered around the table at a favorite restaurant, it is an informal time of fellowship and unstructured conversation. An opportunity to share stories and talk about mutual interests, and often discover mutual friends!

The committee will meet as a whole again on June 13^th. At that time, we will discuss our “on-site” experiences and discern which candidates will be invited to come and meet with the entire Search and Nomination committee (and a few selected others) for the final round of interviews.

As always, thank you for your prayers. Please keep them coming, especially for those members of our committee that will be traveling this weekend!

Heard Any Good Rumors Lately?

We have!

There's a lot of information out there! We hear a lot of information being passed around that is not, well, NOT ACCURATE! So, please, if you want to know what is happening, please check on this blog, or email our chair at chairctbishopsearch@gmail.com.

There's a lot of confidential stuff because we need to respect the privacy of people who are applying. But, there is a lot of other stuff you can know too. If you email our chair, we will make sure that as much public information is available on this blog as possible.

Thanks so much for your interest and love of our diocese.

Talking with our Candidates

This week we are finishing up phone interviews with our current list of candidates. The committee divided up into teams of three for this process: One to ask the questions, one to take notes and one to listen and pray. Each candidate was asked the same five questions: How do they take care of themselves, their family and encourage others to take care of themselves; to tell us about an instance where they needed to implement change and an instance that required great pastoral sensitivity, about a situation when they were totally unfamiliar with the cultural norms and finally, about what they like most and least about their current position.

We all met on a “bridge” or conference line that not only allowed us all to listen and hear one another, but also, with our candidate’s permission, to record each conversation. Each conversation began and ended with prayer, and if the interviews that I took part in are any indication, each conversation was thoughtful, enjoyable and not going to make it any easier to discern who we should not go forward with to the next step. Each candidate my team talked to has so many wonderful experiences and talents to offer to our diocese!

The note taker for each team has written up their notes of the interviews and posted them on the committees’ private web-site for us all to review. In addition, committee members can play back and listen to any interview that they want to get more direct information on.

We are meeting again this Saturday, May, 23^rd to prayerfully perform the difficult task of further reducing the number of candidates that we will go forward with.

As always, we ask you all to continue to keep us, and our candidates in your prayers as we go forward.

Four Chalices

It is a bit of a daunting task to carefully read 25 applications (consisting of a resume, six essay questions, a CDO form and three recommendations each) in just seven days. Never-the-less, that is exactly what we members of the Search/Nomination committee did.

We gathered at the Incarnation Center in Ivoryton on Saturday morning. After sharing the Eucharist together in the chapel, we met to come to consensus about which of our candidates we would ask to go forward with us to the next step.

This was NOT an easy task! We have an enormously talented pool of priests of the church offering their gifts to us. But our group worked to carefully to discern the will of God through prayer and intercessions throughout the day. We were faithful in carrying out the spirit of reconciliation and unity expressed by members of the diocese in our surveys and focus groups.

As we reviewed each candidate’s application we were asked to keep the qualities of the bishop listed in our profile in mind and discern for each application: Does this applicant have all the qualities needed in our next Bishop? Is this an applicant that looks promising, but needs further discernment? Is this an applicant that does not quite meet our profile, or is this an applicant that is called elsewhere?

Reading from Acts reminded us what of what we were doing. Just as the apostles did when selecting Judas’s replacement, we cast lots. Each committee member placed slips containing each candidate’s name in one of four chalices, based on our discernment of the candidates’ applications. At the end of this casting of lots, we had a few candidates that we were sure that we wanted to go forward with, and few candidates that we were sure are called elsewhere. And a number of candidates that needed additional prayerful discernment. Each candidate was the subject of our prayer and our careful reflection. We discussed each in detail.

It is amazing how the Holy Spirit can work with our diverse group of individuals that is the Search/Nominating committee! We asked questions about how each candidate would respond to our profile: would they nourish the clergy? Could they articulate a vision for the 21st century? Are they formed by scripture and prayer, having a heart for evangelism, mission and ministry of the youth? Do they appear to be creative problem solvers and reconcilors of division? How would they excite and lead us as one body in Christ?

After closing with evening prayer, we left the Incarnation Center to write thank you notes to the candidates that we will not be going forward with. Each candidate whom we felt that God called elsewhere will receive a personal note of thanks from a committee member. While they may not be called to be our next bishop, they are wonderful priests who love the church and engaged in a faithful call to discernment with us. Phone interviews with our remaining candidates begin this week and go forward into next week.

We want to thank everyone who has been praying for us during this time. Please continue to pray for us over the next six weeks as we continue this process of discernment.

Whew!

Our application email box has been very active this past week. We are really excited to see how many folks have decided to enter into this discernment process with us and we want to thank EVERYONE who worked to meet our extremely tight deadlines.

So who responded? We have 25 candidates….men and women…from all over the country and with many different backgrounds. We have preachers, teachers and community builders. We have folks who speak two and even three languages. Folks with urban experiences. Folks with rural experiences.

Now begins the committee’s most difficult work. We have a week for each us to get to know, through the applications, essay questions and recommendations, each of these 25 candidates. We will be meeting next Saturday, May 9^th, in a retreat setting, to discern, with the help of the Holy Spirit, who should go forward with us to the next step of the nomination process.

Please pray for us and for all our candidates as our mutual discovery process moves forward.

Five Days to Go!

Now that Easter and tax day have passed we are seeing applications arrive in our in-box. We are excited to see the variety of people who God is sending to us from all over the country and we want to thank everyone who has or is in the process of applying. We also want to thank everyone for referring folks to our web-site and encouraging them to apply. Keep up the good work!

Some potential candidates have contacted us expressing reservations about whether or not we are really looking for out of diocese candidates. We are! We have been telling these folks about the FAQ page on our web-site addressing just these questions and also telling them about the interest (and even excitement!) expressed during our focus groups in candidates from “outside”. We want to work with everyone that the Holy Spirit is nudging to apply.

Connecticut is committed to hospitality as a diocese, so during our last Search and Nominations Committee meeting we discussed just how to express that hospitality to candidates working with us through the nomination process. We are currently working on those plans.

And there are still five days to get those applications in!

Have you Seen? It's Up!

It’s up and it’s beautiful.

Having had less than a week to finish their design after receiving the final details from the Search/Nominating committee, our web-designers worked through most of last night to put the finishing touches on our new web-site for our profile and applications material.

Perfectionists that they are, a small number of additional “tweaks” may be occurring over the next several days, but it is well worth visiting now. Come take a look! www.CTBishopSearch.com

We would also like to wish everyone a blessed Holy Week and Happy Easter!

Meeting of the Minds

It was time for feedback.

On March 28^th, the Standing Committee, our consultant, Thad Bennett, our chaplain, Rebecca Scruton, the Transition Committee and the Search/Nomination Committee met together for the first time since our organizing retreat in December. The Nominating Committee was previewing the profile for the combined committees. The Standing Committee had seen a previous draft of the profile, but it was the first time that the members of the Transition Committee had seen it.

In an amazingly organized meeting, the entire document was thoroughly reviewed by the combined group. Some facts were questioned and errors caught. Suggestions were made. Additional information was provided. With some additional suggestions from Bishop Andrew Smith, the profile has undergone its final revision and is now in the hands of the web-designer who is making it beautiful.

Be sure to follow the link on ctdiocese.org on April 7^th to see the results of our work!

Draft of our Profile is Complete!

Focus Groups? Online surveys? Interviews of Staff and Bishops? The Search/Nomination committee has done it all in order to provide ourselves and potential applicants with the best information possible about the Diocese of Connecticut, our parishes and our people.

It has been an interesting and educational journey to review and assimilate all of the responses we have received from all over the diocese. The first (and second) draft of the profile has been prayerfully written and submitted for review. The application materials have been constructed. Both profile and application materials are currently undergoing final revision.

A web-site to present the profile is being designed and an email address to accept the applications has been created. The final count down to publish profile and application materials is underway! Remember the date: April 7^th.

Welcome

Searching for Our 15^th Bishop

Welcome to the blog for the Search, Nomination of and Transition to the 15^th Bishop of Connecticut

On October 24, 2008, Bishop Andrew D. Smith announced his retirement at the Diocesan Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. The Standing Committee of the Diocese subsequently announced the formation of a Search/Nomination Committee for the purpose of prayerfully discerning and naming nominees for the position of the 15th Bishop of Connecticut. A Transition Committee was also formed to introduce the nominees to the Diocese, oversee the election and ease the transition from our 14th to our 15th Bishop.

This purpose of this web-site is to provide information about all aspects of the nomination, election and transition to the next Diocesan Bishop of Connecticut. We hope that you find it interesting, useful and that you will visit it frequently for updates as we complete this journey.