We have some positive news to share with you about our pastoral leadership and the progress that our Search Committee is making.
Our current Interim Rector, Jen Hornbeck, told us recently that she’d like to become an ongoing Rector for an Episcopal Church in the Bay Area. Although neither she nor we expected her to find a placement so soon, she has been called by Transfiguration Episcopal Church in San Mateo. We are excited for her next steps and thank her for the gifts of welcoming, openness and calm that she has brought to St. Paul’s over the last 11 months. She will celebrate her last services at St. Paul’s on Sunday, May 15th and we will have an opportunity to wish her well during coffee hours following those services Please see her note to St. Paul’s community after this communication.
Our own Rector search process is continuing at a brisk pace. Hopefully, you have seen that St. Paul’s position was announced and posted three weeks ago on St. Paul’s website, our Diocese’s website and the website of the National Church. Candidates have already begun to apply and the Co-chairs of St. Paul’s Search Committee are pleased with the caliber and experience on paper of those who have already submitted their application materials in the short time that the position has been posted. Applications are due by April 22 and the Search Committee is preparing to begin its interview and reference-checking a month from now.
We look to the Search Committee completing its work and recommending semi-finalists for the Vestry’s consideration after which the Vestry will conduct its process of discernment. We hope to have a new Rector in place by the fall if not earlier. We will keep you apprised as we have news to share.
In the meantime, The Rev. Beth Lind Foote will be with us for our Sunday services and will also assist with pastoral care and adult education on a parttime basis as we continue our Search process. Although it would be a great story of connections, Beth is not related to St. Paul’s third Rector, The Rev. Francis Penn Foote, for whom the auditorium in the Parish Hall is named.
The Rev. Foote is, as she says, an “intentional Interim Rector” who recently took time off after her last Interim Rector positions in San Francisco and Fremont to travel and enjoy two new grandchildren.
We look forward to welcoming The Rev. Foote to St. Paul’s on Sunday, May 22.
We have confidence that the Holy Spirit is moving among St. Paul’s community and that, despite the challenges of the two years, our community will continue to remain strong. We have a very dedicated staff and many lay leaders and volunteers who are willing to help in ways both large and small.
We appreciate the support of everyone especially over the next few months. Please, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us or the members of the Vestry with your questions, comments, and offers of help.
In gratitude for St. Paul’s community,
Tish Busselle Lisa Borgeson Jay Janton
Senior Warden Co-Jr. Warden Co-Jr. Warden
And, now from Jen. . .
Dear St. Paul’s Community,
Lent is a season for reflection, turning toward God and each other, and listening more deeply. As spring breaks through we look forward to what is next. I, too, am looking forward and have accepted the call to Priest in Charge at Transfiguration, San Mateo. Many of you know that Transfiguration was the parish I began my ordained ministry, as the Associate Rector. While I am very excited to join them in their next steps, I will also grieve saying good bye to all.
St. Paul’s is a community filled with grace, goodness, love, and light. We have accomplished a great deal in this transition time. Within a month of my arrival we were worshipping in person. Covid has been quite an experience to navigate and St. Paul’s leadership has been incredibly thoughtful and gracious. We have basked in a variety of worship and experiences in the Sanctuary. We welcomed a new office manager. The wardens worked closely with me to update all staff job descriptions. We also said goodbye to beloveds who have left this physical earth. Celebrating their lives, with staff and lay support, has been a true honor. Sharing the dance of our liturgical year has been and will be something I treasure always.
Being a parish that is well loved is about the rector, but, most importantly, it is about the people. The seen and unseen ways in which you love each other is simply beautiful. You truly show forth God’s grace and goodness with no expectation.
From the depths of my heart, I want to say thank you. Thank you for all you have taught me. Thank you for being a place of welcome, care, and reaching out. Thank you to each and every person who has shown up in small and large ways. Thank you for the tears of sorrow and joy. Thank you to the staff, the wardens, the vestry, the ministry leaders, and each and every one of you.
I am very much looking forward to being with you for the next 6 weeks, as we enter into Holy Week, celebrate Easter, and the wonderful activities we have planned, as well as time to say good bye. Our last Sunday together will be May 15, 2022, and will include a baptism! I will hold you in my prayers in the months and years to come. You are truly ready for the next steps in your journey and St. Paul’s is filled with the Holy Spirit.
