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Greetings People and Neighbors of St. Alban’s, Bexley!
It is good to be joining the mission and ministry of
St. Alban’s as your transition priest-in-charge. Tuesday was my first day here including a Vestry meeting that evening. Besides addressing the regular responsibilities of the parish, the vestry had some great questions for me. Many of them were about the search process for your next rector. I outlined briefly what is involved in a search process and will take another opportunity to share that basic process with you all as a congregation.
Many (most?) of you were anticipating having your Search Committee up and running by the beginning of 2023. During our early conversations when I was being considered for the position as your transition priest-in-charge, Charlene O’Donnell and I spoke about getting the search process started soon. I asked her to give me about six weeks or so after I arrived so I could settle in and we could all get on the same page. She suggested that I connect with Sal Piazza, as the designated search committee chair. Sal and I spoke this past week, and he and I will meet to put together a soft timeline that should be available in some form by the annual meeting on February 12th.
Please know that I look forward to working with you all, the wardens and vestry as your parish leadership, the search committee, the clergy, and the staff. We have a lot to work with already: the Holy Cow congregational assessment from May of 2021 and your strategic plan from last year. Please also know that I am here to assist you all as you move into your best future; this includes working as the search consultant for St. Alban’s in concert with Canon Michael Spencer from the Bishop’s Office.
As I settle in, I will have more information to share as to my office hours and other things related to my ministry with you. I ask for your prayers. I will hold you in mine.
Transitions are not always easy. Anxiety about the unknown abounds. But so do opportunities for the Holy Spirit to meet us where we are and take us into new and grace-filled places. As the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus: “Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:20,21; BCP p. 102). May this be our confidence as well.
With every blessing,
Mother Lynn
(The Rev’d) Lynn Carter-Edmands
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