I have some great news to share on this beautiful summer afternoon. As some of you may have heard in church last Sunday, the Search Committee has been burning the midnight oil and is expecting to have a list of final candidates by the first week of July. This is sooner than expected and this will allow us to move up our timeline for final interviews. The vestry will be conducting on campus interviews with the finalists during the later part of July and will meet to discern our new rector shortly thereafter. Many thanks to Brita Bruemmer, Don Fennell, Mickey Welsh, Robert Daunt, Rebecca Bruemmer, Lindsay Synsteby and Sarah Schramm for their diligence and dedication throughout this process.
I’d also like to welcome Jo Ann McClain as our interim bookkeeper. Jo Ann started with us in April and will be with us for the next year as we streamline and update our accounting practices. In addition to her lengthy history of working with Episcopal parishes, Jo Ann was the Diocesean bookkeeper for 11 years, so I think it’s safe to say that she knows churches! Jo Ann’s office hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9:30-1:30, or she can be contacted via email at accountant@stmarysbythesea.org.
I ask for your continued prayers for the Vestry and Search Committee as we move through this short transition period. I am grateful to all of you who continue to dedicate time and energy to the important ministries of St. Mary’s. Our new rector is out there and exciting times are ahead.
Elizabeth McCorkle, Senior Warden
