FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR TO SUBMIT YOUR RESUME, PLEASE CONTACT THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SEARCH COMMITTEE, JOHN SANDS, AT JSANDS@SC.RR.COM OR AT 5465 HUNTINGTON MARSH ROAD, MURRELLS INLET, SC 29576.
BASIC INFORMATION
Name of worshipping community: Holy Cross Faith Memorial Church
Diocese: Diocese of South Carolina
Current Status: Receiving Names
Order of ministry required: Priest
Position Title: Rector
Receiving Names until: August 15, 2011
Weekly Average Sunday Attendance (ASA): 162
Number of Weekend Worship Services: 2
Number of Weekday Worship Services: 1
Institution Phone: (843) 237-3459
Institution Email: holycross@sc.rr.com
Institution Address: P.O. Box 990
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
Contact Name: John O. Sands
Contact Email: jsands@sc.rr.com
Contact Phone 1: (843) 651-3245
Contact Phone 2: (843) 340-9973 (cell)
Contact Address: 5465 Huntington Marsh Road
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
COMPENSATION HOUSING & BENEFITS
Compensation Available for New Position: $67,500 to $95,000
Negotiable: Yes
Additional Compensation Note:
Compensation will be negotiated based on qualifications and experience.
Housing Available for 0 persons:
Pension Plan: We're in compliance with CPF requirements.
Healthcare Options: Clergy plus one, negotiable
Dental: N/A
Housing Equity Allowance in budget: None
Annual Equity Amount: 0
Vacation Weeks: One month, including 5 Sundays (Standard)
Vacation Weeks Details:
Continuing Education Weeks: 2
Continuing Education Weeks Details:
Continuing Education Funding in budget: $500
Sabbatical Provision: N/A
Travel/Auto Account: Yes (mileage reimbursement)
Other Professional Account: N/A
Comments:
WORK HISTORY & SKILLS
Name: Rev. C. Alex Barron
Position Title: Interim Rector (formerly Associate Rector)
Date Begun (month / Year): 01/2009
Date Ended (month / Year): N/A
Name: Rev. Tommy Tipton
Position Title: Rector
Date Begun (month / Year): 07/1999
Date Ended (month / Year): 02/2011
Name: Rev. Callie Perkins
Position Title: Assistant Priest
Date Begun (month / Year): 06/2005
Date Ended (month / Year): 12/2008
Church School:
Number of Teachers/Leaders for Children School: 5
Number of Students for Children School: 35
Number of Teachers/Leaders for Teen/Young Adults School: Included
Number of Students for Teen/Young Adults School: 18
Number of Teachers/Leaders for Adults School : 1
Number of Students for Adults School: 25
Day School: N/A
Notes: While the Godly Play curriculum in use is widely applauded, and a small group of devoted Sunday school teachers leads classes, it must be said that our youth programming stands in need of focus and energy. The recent resignation of our previous youth minister and the appointment of a new individual on an interim basis may serve to begin that process.
NARRATIVE
Describe a moment in your worshipping community’s recent ministry which you recognize as one of success and fulfillment.
We have been blessed to have a number of retired clergy in our congregation, several of whom step up to take a service when needed. While their styles may vary, they are uniformly gifted as preachers, something our congregation has come to expect. On Low Sunday, following Easter, one of our retired clergy preached on discipleship and the unpreparedness of the apostles, without notes as is his practice. There was not a dry eye in the house. We value our relationship to the larger church and the rich resource that our retired clergy represent, as we value the importance of thoughtful and thought-provoking preaching. As a congregation, we are less about answers than about questions.
On a more prosaic but also important subject, we recently realized that one of our “captive outreach ministries” was maturing beyond the scope of its corporate structure. The Smith Medical Clinic will continue to operate on our campus but we have brought in an executive director, have redrafted the by-laws so that it will be less dependent on the parish for management and direction, and have begun recruiting a more independent self-governing board. The child birthed here is growing up with our blessing.
Describe your liturgical style & practice. If your community provides more than one type of worship service, please describe all:
It is important to us that parishioners of all ages and situations come away from each service fortified, inspired and thoughtful. We are blessed to live in a place of great beauty and our sanctuary takes cognizance of that as we look out to the greater world and embrace that connection. Our services are traditional, Eucharistic and prayer book based, typically Rite 2, bells but no smells. The 8:00 a.m. service has no music but a full sermon, 10:30 a.m. has both. Recently a mid-week healing service has been added. The choir has sponsored a few evensong services, as well as a growing number of other musical events such as the Messiah and evening choir performances. Emphasis is placed on youth involvement—typically four servers at 10:30 and on the fifth Sunday of every month the young people take all the lay roles in the service. The atmosphere, reflecting both that of our community and the large number of vacationing visitors, is relatively informal. You can expect to see the crucifer wearing flip flops.
How do you practice incorporating others in ministry?
In addition to ushers and layreaders, our pastoral care lay persons offer intercessory prayer during communion for those desiring it. We have initiated a very successful Stephen Ministry program within the past two years, with trained lay ministers serving the needs of our congregation. In addition, lay Eucharistic ministers visit the homebound each week and a shepherding program is available if congregational support is needed for families in need due to loss, illness or life events. While these ministries have largely been focused on the needs of our parish family, our clergy have been active in the local ministerial association and have actively supported its community outreach efforts as well as the ecumenical Lenten services that rotate in six of our local churches.
As a worshipping community, how do you care for your spiritual, emotional and physical well-being?
In addition to the rector, the associate priest and the vocational deacon have provided substantial pastoral care—during the interim period the deacon has taken on a more formal responsibility for that role. Their efforts are augmented by the lay pastoral care ministries described above, while several other lay ministries support the life of the church in general: the Hospitality Ministry, the Newcomers Ministry, the Flower and Altar Guilds, as well as several communications outlets. These respond in times of both celebration and crisis at a variety of levels, serving needs that range from those of individuals to the entire congregation. While we are aware that there can never be enough support, we try to be rather intentional about our responsibility as a community of faith that cares for its members. In an area that has witnessed a significant influx of newcomers, often retirees from afar, involvement in the church has for many provided not only spiritual and emotional care but also an opportunity for root-building. We also host several groups to encourage spiritual growth; a men’s breakfast bible study meets weekly, as does the Education for Ministry class.
Describe your worshipping community’s involvement in either the wider Church or geographical region.
When segregation and economic discrimination created deep need, this campus and its outreach ministries stood as a beacon of hope. Some ministries are no longer needed—a parochial school, a swimming pool and a summer camp for the black community—while others remain vital—the only free medical clinic and formal food pantry in the county, subsidized housing for the elderly as well as benefits coordination for those in need. Outreach to the community is ingrained in this congregation, if not always reflected in the church budget—many leadership posts in the county’s social service non-profits are held by parishioners. While a mission relationship has been built with the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, and several mission trips have gone there, our strongest commitment is to the local community. That said, we view ourselves as an enthusiastic part of the Episcopal Church of the U.S.A., in accord with its mission and the directions outlined by General Convention. We are fortunate to enjoy strong relationships with a number of other dioceses and the national church, both because of personal connections and because of our location in a vacation destination.
How do you engage in pastoral care for those beyond your worshipping community?
While the outreach ministries of Holy Cross Faith Memorial are in many ways its trademark, our pastoral care is largely directed toward our congregation and extended church family. We do host an ecumenical Quilt Ministry wherein crafters from area churches gather to create quilts that are blessed and given to those who are suffering, whether spiritually or physically. This has proven remarkably successful and has given solace to many here and serving abroad. We provide meeting space for the community’s Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon chapters. Our clergy, typically the deacon, offer a mid-week mid-day Eucharist at St. Elizabeth’s Place, the senior housing complex on the church campus.
Tell about a ministry that your worshipping community has initiated in the past five years. Who can be contacted about this?
As we grew in size, it became apparent that more responsibility for pastoral care had to be vested in the lay members of the church. At the instigation of a member of the congregation, we initiated the Stephen Ministry program about two years ago. Several lay and clergy leaders have been trained in the week-long sessions in Florida, and about fifteen trained lay ministers now serve members of the parish with one-on-one weekly visits, counseling and spiritual care. As a parish we have found it somewhat difficult to move to the “corporate” model that distributes responsibility broadly but, in this instance, the clear pastoral role played by the lay ministers has proven both rewarding and compelling. It may be revealing that the congregation gravitates to involvement in such direct care and ministry rather than to administrative details and organization. Contact Beth Chaplin at beth@bcidesign.net.
How are you preparing yourselves for the Church of the future?
Ours is an inclusive and diverse congregation, indiscriminately welcoming anyone and everyone who seeks to worship, learn and contribute to the community. This parish respects and cherishes its long and brave history as an African American church in a largely Caucasian diocese. Thanks to the catalytic openness of that core group, we have grown from roughly 30 to over 400 members in a decade. Having grown, the parish has changed in character and structure. We have built committees to support programs and delegated responsibility, yet we are as subject to the 80/20 rule as any other congregation. We continue working to activate the underutilized potential of those who are not yet as fully involved as they might be. We have worked to build youth programs and to attract young families in this aging community, but not always with the success we might have hoped. That remains a strong aspiration. We are aware that the financial needs of the parish pose both a challenge and an opportunity to build stronger bonds through enhanced stewardship and support.
Please provide words describing the gifts and skills essential to the future leaders of your worshipping community.
The next leader of this parish will be committed to his or her prayer life and will work to build spiritual depth in the lives of the congregation. He or she will be a practiced and powerful preacher who cherishes the struggle, willing to live in the questions rather than impose answers. He or she will be open to and respectful of the full diversity of the congregation and committed to building relationships in that environment. While a team player willing to delegate, he or she will exercise the managerial and fiscal skills necessary to a growing parish and its significant outreach ministries. Experience in the development of such a growing parish as well as a focus on stewardship would be welcomed. Like this parish, he or she will have a strong commitment to the theological and philosophical direction of the Episcopal Church. He or she will be open to the working of the Holy Spirit as new opportunities present themselves. A sustained commitment to the life of not only the parish but the larger community is vital—while this may seem like “moving to the beach,” this is a deeply rooted human community with over three centuries of history, achievement and need. We take that seriously and so must anyone coming to serve here.
CONNECTIONS
Your worshipping community's website: www.hcfm.us
You may provide the media links to your worshipping community):
The Parish Profile completed in 2009 will be found on the website. Also find there a link to the Report of the Annual Parish meeting for 2011—it gives a comprehensive summary of ministries, mission and annual budget, of who we are and who we aspire to become.
You may provide links here to other sites where you might be found:
Languages significantly represented in your worshipping community:
Approximate number of people:
Provide worship or classes in the following languages:
Notes: A serious attempt to establish a Hispanic Ministry several years ago failed for lack of participation—the target population lived too far away and was too far below the radar screen to be drawn to us. While the congregation remains open to the concept, the Hispanic population has, if anything, declined, since the state’s new tougher immigration policies were enacted.
REFERENCES
Bishop Name: Bishop Mark Lawrence
Bishop Contact Information: mlawrence@dioceseofsc.org
Diocesan Transition Minister Name: Reverend Jim Lewis
Diocesan Transition Minister Contact Information: jlewis@dioceseofsc.org
Current Warden/Board Chair Name: Judy Ingle
Current Warden/Board Chair Contact Information: jinglesc@gmail.com
Previous Warden/Board Chair Name: John O. Sands
Previous Warden/Board Chair Contact Information: jsands@sc.rr.com
Search Chair Name: John O. Sands
Search Chair Ministry:
Search Chair Contact Information: jsands@sc.rr.com
Parish/Institution Leader Name: Harold Stowe
Parish/Institution Leader Ministry: Treasurer
Parish/Institution Leader Contact Information: cstowe@sc.rr.com
Local Community Leader Name: Charlie Ball
Local Community Leader Relationship: Executive Director, Friendship Place
Local Community Leader Contact Information: friendshipplace1@aol.com
