In May 2007, the Vestry of St. John's Episcopal Church selected an 11-member Search Committee to begin the search process for the calling of our 17th rector, filling the vacancy resulting from the unexpected death of the Rev. Leland F. Smith in December 2006. The Committee also includes the Jr. Warden as a vestry representative, and the Rev. Craig Wiley, St. Thomas, Abingdon, VA, as assigned, as our coach. At the first meeting, a Chairman, Co-Chairman, Spiritual Leader, and Scribe were designated. The complete list of Committee members with phone numbers and email addresses is attached.

The committee approved the term "Discernment Committee," instead of the traditional "Search Committee" in order to properly reflect the spiritual nature of our task: discerning God's choice of our next Rector. Additionally, the attached Prayer was written and is used at every meeting.

During May, June, and July 2007, the Discernment Committee (DC) conducted a "self analysis" to clarify "who we are, where we are going, and what we need." This provides a road map for us as we proceed with the discernment process. We used the Appreciative Inquiry process, and all members of the Parish were invited to share their personal "stories" about St. John's in small group sessions, each led by a DC member and a Vestry member. These meetings tended to be quite emotional and inspiring, and the information gathered and analyzed in August. In September, the DC prepared the Profile of St. John's Wytheville, which was printed in both 81/2 by 11 brochures as well as a smaller version for mailing purposes.

The DC also commissioned the development of a Web Site, www.stjohnswytheville.org. This site communicates general Parish information and will also be used for conducting the discernment phase of our process. Interested applicants will be asked to respond directly by email on a secure and private address. All other information regarding our process and our Parish will be found in the various links on this site.

In September, the DC and Sr. Warden met with Gene Anderson, from the Diocese. Gene reviewed all of the information submitted by the DC and developed the coding for submitting the St. John's Wytheville search to the National computer in New York. He asked for 55 candidates who best match our criteria. He sent a letter to each with our Profile, inviting them to be considered. In addition, candidates were able to submit directly to St. John's via our website or through any member of the congregation to the DC. Any such candidates were forwarded to Gene, and added to the mailing list for the invitation letters. Positive responses were forwarded to the DC, and the Diocese Search was closed.

In early October, the DC met and drafted the Selection and Calling Guidelines which specifically define the procedures to be used by the DC for the Selection and Calling of our next Rector. Later in the month, the Vestry issued their approval of these guidelines, and a summary with a timetable is attached. The DC met several times in October and early November and a 5 question questionarre was developed and approved.

In early December, Gene Anderson submitted our list of candidates. The DC met and 9 candidates have been sent the Questionnaire. We have requested a response by January 11, 2008, but we will review them as we receive them. A meeting of the DC is scheduled for January 15, 2008, at which time the list will be reduced to 3-5 candidates for further consideration. Tele conferences will then be scheduled in January.

Further updates on the status of our discernment will appear on the website. For additional inquires, questions, or comments, please contact the Church office or any member of our discernment committee.