Calling A New Rector

UPDATE: New Rector Announced!

Richard
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On Tuesday night, May 25, 2010, the Vestry of Grace-St. Luke's called the Rev. Richard Lawson to be our next Rector.

Lawson is currently at St. John's Episcopal Church in Decatur, Alabama, where he has served as Rector since 2004. Senior Warden Patrick Burnett spoke with Richard immediately after the vote, and he has accepted our call.

The Search Committee has worked extremely hard for 14 months to identify the candidate that best fits the needs of our community. Lawson is energetic, passionate about the Episcopal Church and its liturgy, and has strong managerial skills. Though smaller than Grace-St. Luke's, his church has an exceptionally strong programmatic offering of classes, retreats, bible studies, breakfasts, outreach, occasions for fellowship and opportunities for prayer in community. He loves to teach Sunday school and Bible Study, and he has been very active with youth in both his parish and the Diocese. He is loved by his current parishioners across the age spectrum, and is respected and admired by wardens, colleagues, and Alabama's Diocesan staff.

Richard, his wife Katherine, and their children Evans (8) and Adaline (9) will be joining us soon.

 

The Vestry Charge

The search committee was given a very specific charge by the parish vestry to guide its search. The charge is brief and clear.

It is the expectation of the vestry that the next rector will be a priest committed to creating an engaging and nurturing Sunday morning experience, and that the next rector will possess experience with leadership and management at a program-size parish. Recognizing that Grace-St. Luke’s Episcopal School, a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade coeducational day school with an enrollment of 500 students, is a primary mission of the parish, it is also the expectation of the vestry that the next rector will continue to support, sustain, and strengthen this Church/School relationship.

This three-fold charge set the key priorities for the search.