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Dear Friends,
As we continue to hear from and respond to parishioners with concerns regarding the recent leadership change, we know that this is a challenging time for the whole congregation and recognize everyone is navigating a multitude of feelings and questions. During this time of transition, we also wanted to let you all know how much we appreciate your support and your prayers, knowing that many of you have questions – which we completely understand.
A major part of our communication outreach plan going forward is to send weekly updates to the congregation at large, which will be posted and archived on the All Saints website.
Additionally, we are working with Vestry and Staff to organize several listening and sharing group meetings of 25 or less. These have already begun and we hope they have been helpful for those attending. Our feeling is that the smaller groups provide very direct and supportive times to address concerns. Vestry members are available at these sessions to listen and answer your questions. We look forward to continuing these discussion opportunities, as focused listening, verbal interaction and mutual support are all very needed right now.
One concern that has been raised by many of you, is why there was so little time between the transition announcement on Wednesday, July 3rd and the departure that Sunday. Whenever a workplace transition takes place, the timing is always a matter of discussion between the organization and the individual who is moving on. In this case, we were asked to accept July 7th as the date of departure, and, while that naturally led to some unfortunate challenges, we felt it was important to honor that request. We hope you can understand.
We also want to make clear that the vestry remains committed to engaging and lifting up the work of racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights and continuing to explore and practice what it means to welcome a diversity of experiences and perspectives.
Where do we go from here?
In the Episcopal Church, when a parish is without a Rector, the Diocesan Bishop, the Right Reverend John Harvey Taylor, becomes the official Rector and may appoint a Priest-in-Charge to support All Saints through this transition. Until such an appointment has been made, the Rev. Canon Melissa McCarthy, Canon to the Ordinary and Chief of Diocesan Staff, has been appointed, effective immediately, to provide support and leadership to the Vestry and Staff of All Saints Church. In this role, Canon McCarthy convenes an operating team and the clergy leadership to attend to the operational needs of the parish, support the clergy staff in their pastoral roles, and to be a presence and consultant to the staff. She will meet weekly with All Saints staff and vestry leadership and will be available to the leadership team and vestry on an as needed basis. She will also be our preacher on Sunday, July 28, at both the 7:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. services.
The vestry will meet this Sunday, July 21 in the Forum beginning at 12:00 noon. Non-executive sessions of the meetings are open to members of the parish. At this Sunday’s meeting, we have reserved 30 minutes at the end of the open meeting to receive comments or questions. Please note the time allotted is somewhat brief and not intended to take the place of the many small group sessions being scheduled. We encourage you to join us as we engage in the ongoing work of governance entrusted to us during this challenging time for our beloved congregation – and to continue to lift up your concerns, your hopes and your aspirations as together we lead forward into God’s future for All Saints.
We believe that this is a time that All Saints Church is not only capable of leaning into but also rising above and poised to thrive if we reach out to support each other. As Sally noted in her July 14th sermon, which we commend to you (Click for sermon text), “We are called to work together to find opportunities in all of this, for greater solutions to underlying unhealthy issues for transformation. We can be a countercultural gravity field of love and a light through the turbulent harbor of polarization around us, toward a common good.”
We look forward to continuing this work with you.
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