 |
|  |
|---|
|
So the Rector's leaving- making the most of a vacancy (February 2002 edition of the magazine) Have you heard the news? It's spreading quite quickly now across the parish since the publication of Mustard Seed just before Christmas. Christopher and Pam Frith are set to move some time in the summer of 2002. Christopher is to be vicar of Alvaston in southeast Derby. "It will be quite a wrench leaving Chesterfield," he says, "but Pam and I feel that God is calling us to Alvaston". We are sorry that Christopher and Pam will soon be moving on. They have both come to mean so much to so many of us, and we have benefited enormously from their ministry and time amongst us. So, is it a case of?
The PCC, the Mission and Ministry Leadership Team and the Wardens are already considering the answers to these and many other questions. You will be pleased to know that we are not the first Parish (nor will we be the last!) to face a vacancy, and so we can count on:
Please join us in praying for:
About the Vacancy (October 2002 edition of the magazine) We now between Rectors, a time referred to as a vacancy or interregnum. It is the Church of England's policy to have a gap between one incumbent leaving and a new one starting. This is to allow a parish to get the previous incumbent out of their system before a new one starts. The length of the vacancy can vary riding on how quickly a new incumbent is appointed. This depends on how long it takes for the diocese to find someone able, be acceptable to the parish and how long it takes the appointee to come. It is unusual for a vacancy to be less than six months and can be up to a year or more. So where are we up to in the process? Soon after Christopher announced he was leaving, the PCC met a couple of times to start to draw up a profile of our parish and person we would like to have as rector. This has now been together in draft form and distributed to the current PCC for comment. Copies have also been sent to the Bishop. At the start of October the PCC are meeting with the Bishop of Repton to discuss and finalise the profile. Drawing up the profile was a very useful exercise for the PCC embers. It made us look afresh at what the church's mission was and how we were fulfilling it. Drawing up a profile of the person we would like made us soon realise that the only person that would fulfill our every desire was Jesus himself (or a female equivalent!) So we will have to compromise! What happens next? The profile will be sent, by the Bishop of Derby, to anyone who expresses an interest in the position of rector or who the Bishop thinks he might want to move to our parish. Let's pray that the person that God wants to be our new rector will soon apply and be appointed reasonably quickly. Mark Hoare, Church Warden Vacancy Update (December 2002 edition of the magazine) In October the PCC met with the Bishop of Repton to discuss the Parish and Person Profile that we had drawn up. He suggested one or two changes and improvements but in general he was very complimentary of what we had produced. The changes have now been made and the profile is finished and ready to be sent to anyone who expresses an interest in being the new rector. Copies will be made available in St Thomas and St Peters for members of the congregations to read. At the meeting with the Bishop it was decided to advertise nationally for a new rector. An advertisement is due to have been put in the church press on 22"d and 29`" November with a closing date for applications being 13`" December. A date for interviews has been set for 27th January 2003. It is usual for someone to have to give three months notice, so if we were to appoint someone on this day we would be looking for the new rector to start in May. However don't hold me to that! Details of the interview arrangements and procedure will be given nearer the time. One complication is the current rectory. Apparently it does not meet the current standards for rectories. There are two options, to buy another house in the parish and make it into a rectory or to buy a piece of land and build a new rectory. The current rectory would then be sold. The cost for this would be born by the diocese and not St Thomas. However, even if we have not sorted out the rectory (and I doubt that we will have) it will not stop us appointing a new rector. Provide the person is prepared to live in the present rectory for now the problem of a new rectory will be sorted out later. As you can see we have a couple of very important months ahead of us. Please pray that we will select the person that God wants to appoint to our parish. I am sure that as well as personal prayer time we will be arranging some specific corporate prayer time. Mark Hoare Vacancy Update, Vacancy Filled (April 2003 edition of the magazine)
David anticipates that they will be moving to Chesterfield during the last week of July. After time to settle in and a family holiday he expects to start his ministry at the beginning of September. As I write this we are waiting for the Bishop to confirm the date of David's induction. It is hoped that the family will be able to move into the new rectory when he comes. However the purchase has not been finalised yet. If necessary they will move into the present rectory pro tem. Please pray for David, Lisa and the children as they prepare to move. Particularly pray that the new rectory will be ready and that the children will be able to have places at the local schools. At present the schools are full for September. Finally, Pam Brimelow, Adrian Marsden-Jones and I together with the Bishop of Derby and the Archdeacon of Chesterfield made up the interview panel. Whilst all the candidates were competent, we would wish to give thanks to God for showing us clearly that David was the person whom we believe He wanted to appoint to be our next rector. Mark Hoare Vacancy Update, the final installment (August 2003 edition of the magazine) As you are reading this David Mouncer and family should be in Chesterfield and settling in to the new rectory. They were due to move to Chesterfield at the end of July. David's induction is on Wednesday September 10th at St Thomas' and he formally takes up his duties on the following Sunday. During part of August David, Lisa, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Joshua and Samuel will be away on holiday. The rest of the time will be spent, no doubt, getting to know the area and getting ready for the start in September. Our prayers have been answered...the new rectory is ready and the children have been allocated places at the local schools. Let us continue to pray as they settle in and David prepares himself for his ministry at St Thomas' and St Peter's. Our vacancy will have lasted just over a year. This may sound a long time but I believe that God has had his hand on us throughout this time. At no time has the process of appointing a new rector stalled...we have always been moving forward from one stage to another and everything has fitted into place. God has provided us with the people to continue His work during the vacancy and to do what was necessary to appoint David. We praise God for this! I should like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped in any way. I cannot name everyone but would like to single out just a few. First the office staff, Julie, Anne and Enid. The amount of administration they have done is enormous; and they are still hard at it preparing for the induction service and beyond. Someone said to me recently that as warden I must have had to write many letters and reports during the vacancy. I had to admit I had not written a single one and had only signed about three pieces of paper...a testament to the efficiency and hard work of the office staff. Secondly I should like to thank Robin Balch. He and Eileen came to Chesterfield to retire about two years ago. Little did he know he would be back in front line ministry within a year! Robin can now retire again although I know he will be very active in supporting David in his ministry. Finally I should like to thank Pam Brimelow my fellow warden. As well as her duties on Sunday, Pam has spent hours 'behind the scenes' working away. During the week she has often been at church once or twice a day making sure everything is going smoothly. Pam is in her fourth year as warden; most wardens only serve for three years. So, as we approach a new chapter in the history of our parish, let us continue to pray for God's blessing and look forward with excitement to the future. Mark Hoare (Church Warden) |