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A key to the future of the Continuing church is having enough qualified clergy — both quantity and quality. The G-3 (and other Anglicans) need to replace clergy who are retiring, as well as clergy to lead up new missions being formed. At the same time, creating (or renewing) healthy parishes requires clergy with the proper abilities and training to do so.
Improving clergy recruiting and formation is not something that happens by accident, but by developing and consistently implementing policies and processes to do so.
To help parishes and dioceses understand how to improve their efforts, our Thursday (Oct 12, 4:10-4:55pm) workshop will highlight the approach used in recent years by the APA’s Diocese of Eastern United States, with talks by Bp. Chandler (Chad) Jones and Fr. Glenn Spencer.
Bp. Chad will talk about why a decade ago, DEUS decided to take a different approach for clergy discernment. He will discuss how DEUS identifies and supports new prospective clergy, and the results the diocese have achieved with its new approach.
The main part of the talk will be given by Fr. Spencer, who since 1991 has been Rector of All Saints, Charlottesville. During that time, he has mentored and trained more than two dozen men in discernment. Fr. Spencer will talk about the calling/formation process, which includes:
Screening/discernment
Graduate seminary education
While in seminary, practical experience through serving in liturgy and pastoral visitation
A one-year curacy (apprenticeship) funded by All Saints
As with our other workshops, our speakers will be available to answer questions and discuss other concerns from those in the audience.