Introducing the Provost of the Cathedral
Nicole A.B. Spencer, Senior Warden
As we prepare to say goodbye to our esteemed Dean Dominic Barrington and embark upon our next season as a faith community, I write to celebrate the impending elevation of the Rev. Canon Lisa Hackney-James to her new role as Provost of the Cathedral. As Dominic charts new frontiers in his leadership experience, Lisa will do the same in service to our parish, formally assuming her new position on October 31. 
 
I want to take this opportunity to expand a bit on Chapter’s decision to name a provost and to elect Lisa to assume that solemn responsibility. In the ordinary course of a leadership transition at a Cathedral, upon the departure of the incumbent, the Chapter would engage in a discernment process followed by a call for its next Dean. From beginning to end, the discernment, search, and call process would typically unfold over eighteen months or more.
 
As we have discussed as a parish many times in recent months, St. James is at a crucial crossroads in its history. We are in the early stages of a capital campaign to restore the Cathedral building, and we are working painstakingly to avert the financial hardship that the Diocese’s current plan to sell and redevelop 65 E. Huron would set in motion. St. James' leadership is deeply engaged on both fronts. As a parish, we are living through extraordinary times and a moment that requires the soundest of leadership.
 
After Dominic announced his departure for York this past summer, I, on behalf of Chapter, consulted with Assisting Bishop Chilton Knudsen about a potential path forward. With guidance from Bishop Chilton and prayerful discussion, Chapter unanimously agreed that: (1) the parish should not risk a vacuum in executive leadership given the high stakes of the issues commanding our attention right now; (2) a decision to immediately initiate the lengthy and resource-intensive search for a dean would leave the parish vulnerable to that risk; (3) the Rev. Canon Lisa Hackney-James is exceedingly qualified to lead us at this moment and should be elected Provost of the Cathedral. 
 
In the context of a cathedral, the role of provost is an option for executive leadership that invests the full authority and responsibility of Dean, but for a defined term, rather than an open-ended tenure. By the grace of God, Lisa agreed in August to serve as Provost of St. James Cathedral for a three-year term. 
 
While Lisa is familiar to our congregation as an impactful preacher, skillful leader, and compassionate pastoral presence, there are many dimensions of her background in leadership that speak volumes about why Lisa could not be better suited to shepherd St. James through this time of both challenge and opportunity.
 
To begin, Lisa has more than 20 years of leadership experience within the ministry of large, complex church systems comparable to St. James. In a range of positions and posts, she has been instrumental in the stewardship of large parish staffs, congregational development, and external partnerships. 
 
She is also deeply rooted in our diocesan community, hearkening back nearly 25 years to her seminary training and curacy within the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. Through those origins and her subsequent ministries within the Diocese, Lisa now wields a rich network of local relationships that are vital assets as the Cathedral builds on its strategic initiatives.
 
Indeed, community-building has been Lisa’s trademark for decades. As a community organizer in the Diocese of Ohio, she was a founding member of the executive team for Greater Cleveland Congregations, a non-partisan collective of over 50 congregations and other community organizations working at the grass roots level for systemic change. There her interfaith leadership included board appointments and diocesan leadership as Chair of both Episcopal Charities and the Diocesan Anti-Racism Commission.
 
For all of these reasons and more, I’m overjoyed to reintroduce to you the Very Rev. Lisa Hackney-James, Provost of St. James Cathedral, her tenure beginning October 31. 
 
Please mark your calendars for Sunday, December 4, at 4 p.m. and plan to join us for a festal Evensong at which Lisa will be installed as Provost by the Rt. Rev. Paula E.Clark, XIII Bishop of Chicago. 
 
 
In faithful service,
Nicole Spencer
Senior Warden