The Clergy Wellness Commission

Position Description
Rector

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Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh, North Carolina

May 1992

Objective

To lead the congregation so that, through its total life, the parishioners know and share Christ, and so that the parish as an institution exerts positive leadership in the city and diocese.

Dimensions

• Households: 550
• Annual spending: $450,028
• $344,282 Local support
• $105,742 Beyond congregation
• Average Attendance,4 Key Sundays: 474
  • Weekly Giving per Household: $14.90

   

Nature & Scope

The Rector is the Principal Pastor and the Chief Executive of this parish, responsible directly to the Vestry (which the Rector leads as President) and indirectly to the Bishop, in accordance with the Canons of the Church. Directly reporting to the Rector, and serving at his/her pleasure, are full-time paid staff members—an Assistant Rector, Director of Religious Education, Coordinator of Lay Ministries (non-stipendiary), Parish Secretary, Bookkeeper, and Sexton—and part-time staff members—Deacon, Organist, Choir Director, Assistant Sexton. The Rector works with the Vestry and its committees on local policy matters, and, more intimately, with the Senior and Junior Wardens, with whom the Rector serves as Executive Committee of the Vestry. The Rector functions in relation to other organizations of the parish as a recruiter of volunteer leaders, consultant on process and content, and educator and enabler (when required) of each organization in its efforts to define and carry out its tasks. S/he may exercise the right of veto on all matters relative to the spiritual welfare of the parish.

The Rector also represents the parish to the community and the larger church, serving on boards of trustees, ministerial association, and convocation and diocesan organizations. S/he is chief liturgist of the parish, conducting worship and preaching regularly, and pastoral counselor, principally serving in situations of family life crises, both joyous and grievous, as well as on occasions such as baptism and marriage. The size and complexity of parish staff and programs demand a good deal of administrative attention.

Good Shepherd is one of two large downtown Episcopal churches located near Capitol Square in Raleigh. Set in a mixture of commercial properties and state government buildings, there are five churches of other denominations within three blocks. The congregation's membership is drawn from a wide geographical area; many parishioners commute a considerable distance, past other Episcopal churches, to participate in worship, education, and other parish activities. Parishioners are drawn by beauty of the sanctuary, the distinctive warmth of the congregation, the scope of the program offerings, and Good Shepherd's commitment to community service. (Good Shepherd houses a soup kitchen, which it founded, that serves over 200 meals a day, at lunch Monday through Friday.)

The congregation is made up of a variety of households—singles, single-parent, couples, "traditional" families, etc. There is a wide range of ages, though not a great number of young families with children. Members are well-educated, and represent a variety of professions. A significant number of members is retired; in many of the rest of the households, all adults are full-time employed.

In addition to the usual theological training and educational background required of all clergy, the Rector should have the background and the presence to function in inherited community responsibilities and institutional associations. The Rector also needs above average management skills.

The basic challenge of the position is to keep the parish alive in every sense: to involve members in the life and activity of the parish beyond attendance at worship, and to use the parish's location and heritage creatively in the city's life. Two back-to-back long term rectorships have given the parish considerable stability in worship and administrative practices, and to some extent in lay leadership and other aspects of program. Good Shepherd has not shared proportionately in the strong population and economic growth Raleigh has enjoyed in recent years.

To meet these challenges, the Rector has the resources of a varied and talented laity, and a diocese which has a tradition of forward planning and which supports contemporary developments such as the use of Lay Eucharistic Ministers, the renewed Diaconate, and mutual ministry review. Good Shepherd's professional ministry team supports and extends the Rector's ministry, and full time support staff of Parish Secretary, Bookkeeper and Sexton can be used to free the ministry team to focus their energies on the fulfillment of program goals.

Accountabilities

To achieve the Objective of this position, the Organist, within the limitations imposed by the part-time nature of the position:

1. Lead worship, preach the Gospel, and administer the sacraments, so that the congregation is given opportunity for spiritual renewal and exciting response to Christ.

2. Provide for pastoral care of the parishioners, so that individual and family joys, anxieties, and distress are addressed with Christian concern.

3. Guide staff, lay leaders and the congregation in establishing achievable goals to which the parish can respond, so that its viability is assured and its mission strengthened.

4. Lead Good Shepherd's professional team ministry, support staff, and lay leaders to develop and implement programs, so that the congregation fulfills its mission and reaches its goals.

5. Challenge the congregation to recognize the needs of others, so that its members respond with their time, abilities, and money within and beyond the parish.

6. Provide for a Christian education program through which persons of all ages will learn the content of the Faith and its application to daily living.

7. Participate in community, deanery, and diocesan activities, so that the mission of the congregation beyond itself is furthered.

8. Maintain a pattern of life that sets a wholesome Christian example.

May 15, 1992

Prepared by Interim Rector for Personnel Committee review and submission to Vestry.

This position description follows the form and models contained in Called To Work Together, a handbook available from the National Church. It was composed by the Interim Rector in consultation with other professional ministry staff, based on the position descriptions developed for the Assistant to the Rector, the Director of Religious Education and the Coordinator of Lay Ministries, and experience with Good Shepherd's professional ministry team.

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