From the Search/Nominating Committee:
In a Christmas song authored by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, "Happy Christmas," the line goes, "Another year over, and a new one just begun." We as a people are ever-changing in so many ways. The Church Year calendar has moved into the Gospel of Mark and our churches are dressed in either purple or blue. Advent brings expectant hope in anticipation of the Christ-child. As a diocese, we have expectant hope of who will be called as our next Bishop.
Your Search/Nominating Committee has been hard at work with revisions to The Profile, planning for screening and interviewing, and finalizing plans for the February 2018 Discernment Retreat. We wanted to take some time now, before the craziness of Christmas, to update you.
During this pause in the Search, we continue to stay in touch with our applicants and advising them of the schedule for January 2018. The revised Profile will go live on January 2, and applicants can revise their essays if they so choose. Additional applicants are also able to apply from January 2 to 10, 2018.
During the month of January your 15-person Search/Nominating Committee, plus our Chaplain, will review essays from all applicants. The applicants were asked to respond to five questions in such a way that s/he did not identify personal information. For this first stage in our screening process, we are using a "blind search" and rating the applicants on their essays with any and all identifiable information blotted out.
After the essays, the Search/Nominating Committee members will review the entire application (cover letter, resume, OTM profile, letters of recommendation) for each applicant. Then phone and video interviews will be held in mid-January. By February 5, the Committee will have raised up 8-10 candidates who will be invited to the Discernment Retreat in late February.
Please remember the content of the Search (names, details, etc.) is confidential, so please be respectful if Committee Members are unable to share certain information. We continue to make adjustments to the Bishop Search Timeline as necessary, and the Bishop Search page of the diocesan website is the best source of all updates. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at BishopSearch@DioceseofNewark.org.
The Rev. Jerry Racioppi, Holy Spirit, Verona (Co-Chair)
Ms. Michele Simon, St. Paul's, Englewood (Co-Chair)
From the Transition Committee:
The Transition Committee has been busy securing venues for some of the larger events scheduled in 2018. We are pleased to report that the Standing Committee has approved our recommendations for NJPAC for the Consecration on September 22, 2018 and the Skylands Event & Conference Center in Randolph for the Bishop’s Retirement Luncheon on September 8, 2018 from 11 AM – 4 PM.
Several venues including churches were considered and visited before recommending NJPAC. It was the only one that accommodated the number of participants anticipated with ample parking in close proximity to the venue. It is handicap accessible and did not require the diocese to purchase or rent a sound system. The venue also includes a hall for participants to attend the reception immediately following the Consecration.
Skylands was primarily chosen because of its location and a rate that was better than other comparable facilities.
We are grateful to get this work done so far in advance and appreciate and thank you for your prayers. More details will follow as the committee continues to finalize locations and the logistics for the election in May and “walk-abouts” in late April.
Ms. Carol Harrison-Arnold, Incarnation, Jersey City (Co-Chair)
The Rev. Audrey Hasselbrook, St. James, Upper Montclair (Co-Chair)
