​RECTOR SEARCH UPDATE

Click above to view our Parish Profile

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09/29/2020
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Dear People of St. David’s, 
     The Vestry of St. David’s Episcopal Church and School is delighted to announce the call of our next rector, the Reverend Brian Michael Tarver. Brian was first ordained to the transitional diaconate in May 2015 and then to the priesthood in January 2016. His first call was to serve as a priest on staff at St. Dunstan’s in the North Houston area. In the summer of 2017, St. Philip’s called him to serve as rector in Beeville, Texas. Brian accepted our call following a unanimous vote from the Vestry and a unanimous recommendation by the Search Committee.
     We are looking forward to welcoming Brian, his wife Anna, and their three young children, Eva (8), Wendell (5) and Silas (3) to St. David’s later this fall. Brian’s first service will be celebrated on the first Sunday of Advent, November 29, 2020.
     Of all the applicants that the Search Committee thoughtfully and prayerfully considered, Brian stood out as an open, genuine, warm and welcoming leader with gifts for preaching, teaching and pastoral care. The Committee was moved by his calm, sincere spirit and was impressed with his attentive and energetic approach to ministry. 
     At St. Philip’s, Brian was the rector of a church and school, where he oversaw the daily administration of both entities. He enjoyed a close pastoral relationship with his parishioners, planned Sunday services, taught classes, provided ministry opportunities, led daily chapel for the school, provided pastoral care and supported St. Philip’s outreach ministries. 
     Born in Fort Worth and raised in Hewitt, Texas (near Waco), Brian graduated from the University of North Texas with a degree in Fine Arts/Photography. A cradle Episcopalian, he met his wife, Anna, at their church youth group. Brian enjoys hiking, playing guitar, and trying all different kinds of art mediums, always endeavoring to find time to explore his passion for photography.
     Thank you for your continued support and prayers during this challenging time of transition. We are excited to welcome Brian and his family to the St. David’s community, where we commit, with God’s help, to be a people and place where Christ is encountered. 

Yours in Christ,
Stuart Saunders, Senior Warden
Kelly Anderson & Gray Hardaway, Search Committee Co-Chairs


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08/25/2020

The Search Committee has concluded the second round of candidate visits. These were fruitful and engaging visits with Committee members and each candidate in San Antonio, consisting of a small worship service, time for fellowship, and interviews. The Search Committee has narrowed down the list and is preparing for a third round of engagement and interviews, which will commence in early September. The Search Committee appreciates your prayers during this time of transition for St. David's. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Kelly Anderson or Gray Hardaway.


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07/06/2020

The Search Committee is beginning the next phase of the search process. Over the next couple of months, our candidates will be traveling to San Antonio for an interview, to lead a service for the Search Committee, and for a tour of our church facilities. Please continue to pray for our candidates, our Committee, and our church during this transition.

Kelly Anderson & Gray Hardaway

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06/02/2020

​The Search Committee is happy to report that we have met with all of our candidates during informal "meet & greet" gatherings on Zoom. These gatherings provided the entire Committee the opportunity to visit with our candidates and were fruitful, engaging meetings that we all found to be a very positive enhancement to our search process. We are now determining the next phase of the process, which would ordinarily consist of site visits and interviews. We will be working with Archdeacon Mike Besson to develop a plan for continuing to move forward while travel, church services, and in person gatherings remain difficult to navigate during this challenging time.  Please continue to pray for our church, our Committee and our candidates as we continue to move forward in our process.


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​05/05/2020

As we continue to adjust to the changes and recommendations around Covid-19, the search committee has reviewed options to move forward in the search process.  We felt and still feel strongly that safety is a top priority and therefore we paused the search process to allow candidates time to focus on their parishes as well as each of us time to focus on our families and parish.

As restrictions continue, we have reviewed options to safely continue the process.  We feel strongly that we want to include in-person meetings with the candidates to truly see them n their environment and to allow for interaction that virtual options simply don't allow.  With that in mind, we have opted to enhance rather than replace the traditional search process.

We have spoken to each candidate and all have agreed to begin utilizing online "Zoom" meetings to allow us to meet and greet.  This will begin a process whereby the candidates can continue to learn more about who we are and we can learn more about them in a casual online setting.  We fully intend to continue with the traditional process once it is deemed safe to do so, but all search committee members and all candidates have agreed this will be a nice enhancement and next step forward.  
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Thank you all for your continued prayers for the candidates, the committee and the process.  Please reach out any time with questions!

Blessings, 
Kelly & Gray

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03/19/2020

Consistent with Bishop Reed's decision that all clergy and congregations of West Texas cease gathering in person for worship and meetings until April 1,  Archdeacon Mike Besson recently informed us that we are to suspend our search process until we have been cleared to go forward. The fact that many congregations are live-streaming and recording their worship services will afford us with the unique opportunity to observe services and sermons led by several of our candidates, and we intend to continue to do the work that we can in order to best prepare for when the suspension is lifted. We also will continue to stay in touch with the candidates that are in our search process and will keep them updated and in our prayers. The Search Committee continues to ask for your prayers during this time of transition for St. David's. 

Thank you!
Kelly & Gray


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03/02/2020

The Search Committee held a much anticipated meeting with Archdeacon Mike Besson on Thursday, February 27 and received our confidential Candidate List. Although the Committee cannot disclose any of the names on the list, please know that the list is promising and is comprised of candidates who overtly expressed interest in St. David's as well as candidates who were recommended by our congregation. All candidates were vetted by the Diocese before being presented to the Search Committee. The Committee is now undertaking the initial review process, and our goal is to identify which candidates we intend to visit. In addition to reviewing a variety of information on each candidate, part of the process involves calling the candidates who were recommended by our congregation to determine whether they have an interest in entering into our search process. This is an exciting step in our transition, and the Committee is engaged and enthusiastic. As always, do not hesitate to contact Kelly Anderson or Gray Hardaway if you have any questions.    

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01/28/2020

The final Parish Profile has been approved by the Vestry and the St. David’s Rector position and profile are now posted in the Episcopal News Service (click image above to view the Parish Profile).  The Committee has a meeting scheduled with Mike Besson for Thursday, Feb 27 to receive the list of candidates so we can begin to schedule visits and interviews. Please reach out to Kelly Anderson or Gray Hardaway with any questions.

VIEW THE COMPLETED PARISH PROFILE HERE

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01/06/2020

​Our Parish Profile is almost finalized, and the Search Committee recently met with Archdeacon Mike Besson for an extensive and informative training session. The Search Committee will soon receive the names of all possible new rectors to be considered. Please contact Search Committee co-chairs Kelly Anderson and Gray Hardaway with any questions regarding the search process and continue to pray for St. David's during this time of transition for our church. 
 

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11/20/2019

Thank you to everyone who has submitted written responses to our Parish Profile questionnaire. We are currently soliciting questionnaire responses from our school families and will have all responses in by December 2. Rachel Willcox, the Operations Program Coordinator at the Diocese, has begun the template for our Parish Profile.  Once we provide all of the questionnaire responses to her, she will incorporate them into our Profile around mid-December.  Additionally, the Search Committee will meet soon for training with Archdeacon Mike Besson.

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10/28/2019
Thank you to all who participated in the Parish Profile Workshop on Sunday, Oct. 27.  This week, all parishioners and school families will receive a Parish Profile Questionnaire.  We would certainly appreciate everyone's feedback--those who attended the Parish Profile Workshop who have additional thoughts and input and those who did not attend are encouraged to fill out the questionnaire and send it back.
You may print the questionnaire HERE.

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9/16/2019
The vestry has met and approved the proposed Search Committee slate, which is as follows:

Co-Chairs
Kelly Anderson
Gray Hardaway

Committee Members
Patty Brooke
Tommy Funk
Lee Grest
Kathryn Herlich
Carol Hester
Brian Kates
Phil Rodriguez
Vanessa Smith
James Willcox 
Tim Woodall

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9/3/2019
The Vestry and Search Committee Co-Chairs met on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019 with Bishop Reed and Archdeacon Mike Besson to have an initial meeting regarding the transition process. One of the first steps in the process is to select the members of the Search Committee. If you feel called to serve on this Committee or have suggestions regarding who should serve, please contact Senior Warden Stuart Saunders ([email protected]) or Search Committee Co-Chairs Gray Hardaway ([email protected]) and Kelly Anderson ([email protected]) by today, Sept. 8, 2019.