Discernment Committee Update
September 2026
This is a 3-part series to better acquaint you with the process of filling our vacant Rector position. Update 1A is description of how the Episcopal Church Vocation Hub program operates from our perspective. Update 1B will cover what we have done to date and what steps we have taken to “enhance” the Vocation Hub program. Update 1C (coming soon) will ask you to consider a specific way in which you can assist in the efforts of our Discernment Committee.
Discernment Committee Update 1A: https://churchofoursaviourwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/DISCERNMENT-COMMITTEE-SEPTEMBER-UPDATEA-1.pdf
Discernment Committee Update 1B: https://churchofoursaviourwm.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/DISCERNMENT-COMMITTEE-SEPTEMBER-UPDATE-B.pdf
Discernment Committee Update
June 28, 2026
On Friday, June 26, Interim Canon for the Ordinary Ropert Philip sent us the résumé and personal profile for a priest who has expressed interest in our vacant rector position.
Your Discernment Committee is very carefully and prayerfully reviewing these documents and will be contacting references, as well as doing additional research, as part of the process to determine if that person might be a good fit at the Church of Our Saviour.
Should that appear to be the case, we will then conduct an interview in mid-July, via Zoom, that will help us determine whether or not we recommend bringing the person here to see our facilities and have a visit with the Vestry.
Please continue to pray for our church and whomever our rector-to-be is.
March 25, 2026
March has been an extremely destructive month! Our old, poorly constructed rectory has been razed and the unsalvageable materials hauled away, the brush trees in the back yard pulled, and the two trees in the front that prevented placing our new rectory and the other from a smooth trip around the circle are gone, including the stumps. The cleanup makes the property look really nice.
We are hoping to have the foundation complete ready for the new rectory. It is a beautiful new upgraded Cavco home with three bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen with upgraded appliances, double doors leading to a covered deck overlooking the back yard toward the lake. The covered front deck will follow the front entrance gable end. It’s almost complete except for the installation of our new Priest, who we are prayerfully hoping will be ready to move into our beautiful new home.
February 2, 2026
Our efforts to call a new rector for Church of our Saviour has reached another milestone! The Episcopal Diocese of Arizona has reviewed and approved our Parish Profile and our answers to the questions in the Congregation Answers for the Office of Transition Ministry. We are working with them and will soon have the vacancy announced beginning this coming Monday, January 12, in the Office of Transition Ministry Database. The position will be open for eight weeks, which means that applications will be accepted by the Reverend Canon Anita Branden at the diocese office until March 8, 2026.
Copies of the Parish Profile and of the 12 Answers are on several of the tables in the parish hall. Please take the time to look them over, but leave them for others to enjoy as well. They will also be posted on our website early this coming week.
We’ll now move our attention and energies to making sure that our need for a new rector is circulated as widely as possible. You will each have a special opportunity to help us in that effort. That opportunity will be announced next week.
December 6, 2025
The work of your discernment committee proceeded apace during the month of November and will close out December on the schedule. We have completed our answers to the twelve questions for congregations that are required by the Office of Transitional Ministries. They have been reviewed by the vestry and are ready to be sent to the diocese when the review of the parish profile is completed.
The text for the parish profile was completed by the committee a few weeks ago and has now been inserted into the layout, along with photos, to complete the parish profile. The committee performed its final review of that document on December 6 and, after a few changes, it is now in the hands of the vestry members for their review. Many thanks go to Peggi Johnson who, with assistance from Rosanna Langley, produced what we believe is an attractive document that will be effective in calling applicants to become our next rector.
The vestry has been asked to complete its review by the end of December so that both documents can be sent to Rev. Canon Anita Braden and be reviewed by the Diocese Office of Transition Ministry. Once they have cleared the documents, the parish profile will be advertised nationally and posted prominently on the COS website. And that’s when we will collectively begin to really get the word out about our search for a new rector. There will be much more about that in our next update.
Again, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to contact any member of the committee. We each have a gold dot on our name tags. Or, you can email or call the office and they will get your message to one of us.
Thank you for your continuing prayers and support.
November 1, 2025
Your Discernment Committee—eight parishioners appointed by the vestry to identify up to three candidates for our next rector—has been hard at work this past month!
Building on all the information we’ve gathered, and your insights from the Day of Discovery, we’ll soon complete two key milestones in our search process.
We’ve finalized answers to twelve thoughtful questions from the Arizona Diocese Office of Transitional Ministries that is led by Canon Anita Braden. These questions explore topics such as how our parish cares for the spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being of its members and how we’re preparing for the church of the future. After careful writing and multiple reviews, this document is being sent to the vestry for review.
The text for all seven sections of our Parish Profile have gone through three drafts. Final review drafts are in production and will be sent to the vestry for review soon. Having all of these in final draft is an important step because we can now turn our attention to layout, design, and photo selection for the final pamphlet. We now know about how large the blocks of text will be for each section and can work on how to arrange those blocks.
Once both the Answers and the Parish Profile are approved by the vestry, they’ll be sent to the diocese for review. Only after diocesan approval will our vacancy be officially announced nationally, and applications for rector will be invited. At that time, both documents will be posted on the COS website, and hard copies will be available to the congregation. We hope to reach this stage of our search in January, 2026.
We’ll continue to keep you updated as our work progresses. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to contact any member of the Discernment Committee. Members can be identified by the gold dot on their name tags. Or, you can email churchofoursaviour.office@gmail.com and your message will be forwarded to us.
September 28, 2025
Many of you have probably heard the story about the two pearl divers. One worked very hard but never seemed to get ahead. He would start early in the morning he would row out into the bay, put on his gear, dive to the bottom, pick up an oyster, get back in the boat, take off his gear, row back to shore, open the oyster and … no pearl. He repeated the process again, and again, and again until late in the day and had only found a few pearls by then.
On the other side of the bay another pearl diver would also start early in the morning. She would row out into the bay, put on her gear, and dive to the bottom again and again, picking up oysters until the boat was full of them. She would then get back into the boat, row back to shore and open all the oysters to find her bounty of pearls.
Your discernment committee is following the example of the more prosperous pearl diver. We’ve spent the past month gathering information in ten subject areas (such as ministries, finances, and outreach) to supplement the hopes and dreams many of you expressed during our day of discovery. We also gathered a great deal of information through a teleconference with Canon Anita Braden, as well as other sources.
This information was gathered by teams of committee members. We’re now looking at the entire package and filling in areas that need further research.
On October 4 we’ll meet to begin the process of assembling the information into each of the six subject headings that the diocese will be looking for in a 15-page parish profile for our church that will be the core of a national announcement recruiting our new rector.
Members of your discernment committee will be available in the back of the church after the service to address any questions you may have and listen to your thoughts on our work. You can recognize them by the gold dots on their name tags.
Please continue to hold our work in your prayers. They truly do help.