Diocesan Office

November 20, 2007- Golly, do I wish I could describe the decisions we make in terms of mountains.

Golly, do I wish I could describe the decisions we make in terms of
mountains. Unless you're a geologist, a mountain is a pretty simple
thing--a gigantic hunk of rock. I think our decision-making is more
like a skyscraper--tons of different component parts, and a foundation
we have to dig first. Last night was one of "those" nights. But we got
somewhere.

The big decision is that we want to search nationally rather than
regionally. The obvious advantage of a national search is that it
gives us a much bigger pool of candidates to look at. It throws out a
wider net. We believe St. Thomas has a great deal to offer candidates,
so we'd like to be as sure as possible that we're looking at the most
exciting candidates. This is a decision with some serious financial
consequences. Tim will write more specifically about those, and more
clearly than I can, in his blog. The short version is that search
costs are dependent on distance. (The Stewardship Commission gave us
all a general estimate. It was a good base number, but could go up or
down.) Travel costs for both the search committee and the candidates
are one factor. (Do you have frequent flyer miles you can donate to
the cause?) The biggest factor is moving costs. If we find our new
rector in, say, West Chester, it'll obviously not cost as much to move
him or her here as it will if he or she comes from Texas or Oregon.
Obviously, if we have 2 equally wonderful candidates and one is from
New Jersey and the other is from New Mexico, we'll go with New
Jersey. We are very conscious of the need to be responsible stewards
here.

It would be easier, in some ways, in many ways, to limit our search.
The biggest problem with that is that it gets in the way of God's
plans for us. And "easy" is not really the Search Committee's job. So
we've decided to follow the maxim "Pray as if all depended on God, act
as if all depended on you." (St. Ignatius of Loyola). Opening the
search this way is a kind of prayer. It is also a conscious action. I
hope St. Ignatius would approve. He certainly had a gift for getting
things done. I hope, as usual, that you will join us both in praying
and in acting.