Search Committee

A Message From Our Search Committee

The Lord has entrusted us with a most sacred assignment: to find an Associate Pastor for Holy Communion Church.  Our faith community has been richly and continuously blessed by the workings of the Holy Spirit since our inception five years ago.  We now feel the call to look towards the future and prepare for the next generation who will worship and praise God in our beautiful and welcoming church.

We are confident that through daily prayer and continued openness to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Lord will send us the person He wants to help carry out the mission of Holy Communion Church.

Everyone is encouraged to pray until God unmistakably provides our church with the Associate Pastor He has chosen to serve His people!

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”  (Luke 1:37)

Attributes We Are Looking For in Our Associate Pastor Candidate

WE ARE PRAYING FOR:

A candidate who is vibrant, who has some pastoral experience and some experience working with youth.

One who has the energy and a special desire to draw in and minister to our children and young families.

Interested in a full time/long term commitment to the Church.

Who has a deep seated belief and love for the “Real Presence” in the Eucharist.

A candidate who is passionate and fully committed to their Divine Calling to the Priesthood.

A candidate firmly grounded in Christ’s Biblical messages with the gifts to share them with the congregation in a meaningful way.

Believes in the preservation of all life from its very beginning until the very end.

A candidate with an open heart for “Outreach” providing Spiritual, Emotional and Physical support for Church members and those in need in the community.

A candidate with the capacity and gifts, to be a loving, respectful part of the team with our Pastor and the lay leadership, shepherding our members with love, humility, a sense of humor and a joyful spirit, welcoming all into our Church Community.

A candidate who understands and opens their heart with love and compassion to those who have suffered abortion, divorce, addiction, violence, prejudice and other difficult life situations.

A candidate with an impeccable character who exhibits a Christ-like character both publicly and privately.

If married, the candidate’s spouse has a strong commitment to the priest’s ministry and is willing to be a partner with them in their service to the church and community.

Prayer for the Search

As we continue our Associate Pastor Search we lean heavily on Our Lord and his promise in 1 Chronicles 4:10 , as we pray the prayer of “JABEZ”:

OH THAT YOU WOULD BLESS ME INDEED!

Dear Heavenly Father, we are not asking for more of what we could do for ourselves.  We’re crying out for the wonderful, unlimited goodness that only you have the supernatural power to know about and give to us.

AND ENLARGE MY TERRITORY!

We believe you are asking us to enlarge the life of our church so we can make a greater impact for you.  We put everything you have placed in our care into your Holy Divine Will as we search for a new Associate Pastor.

OH THAT YOUR HAND WOULD BE WITH ME!

We ask you to send the Holy Spirit upon us, paving the way, making us brave enough to accomplish what we have prayed for and are about to receive.  Give us your power, your courage and your wisdom.

THAT YOU WOULD KEEP ME FROM EVIL!

We know the most effective war against sin and evil is to pray we will not have to fight.  Keep us from making any mistakes when temptation comes. Protect the search committee, our families, our Pastor, our church members and our place of worship from all evil.

GOD GRANTED HIM WHAT HE HAD ASKED!!        

FINALLY LORD, believing that we come to you humble and honorable as Jabez did, we trust you will grant our requests, as we ask all in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men …It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”   (Colossians 3:23-24)
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Search Committee Bulletin Updates

(beginning with the most recent announcement)
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APRIL 20, 2021
SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE
 
Encouraged by the release of more and more vaccine into our State and our local community, we are increasingly hopeful that we are coming out of the tunnel created by this terrible pandemic.
 
In that light, the Search Committee recently met to discuss our plans for going forward with our search for an Associate Pastor. The goal remains the same – to find candidates who possess the attributes we have prayerfully established for the position and who will work with Fr Jim to serve the people of God at Holy Communion Church. We have discerned that we might encounter someone who is not of the Catholic Tradition at this time, but one seriously drawn to our Catholic Faith and beliefs, and who will be willing to be ordained to continue to lead our Church on the path we have chosen as we have followed Fr. Jim on our faith journey.
 
We realize this has been a long process, but we rest in God’s Divine Providence for our Church. He knows the future we can only imagine!
 
The Search Committee will continue to meet on a regular basis to pray and discern each next step we will take to reactivate our search in the coming months to find the perfect person we believe God is preparing for our beautiful faith community. Your continued support and prayers are appreciated.
 
 
MAY 19, 2020
SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE

We have some encouraging news to share with you!  As we mark the first-year anniversary of our search for a full-time associate pastor, we have one ordained priest who has applied for the position and a second lay individual with whom we have had exploratory discussions about the position. We have advised both individuals that, since we are still in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19  virus pandemic, we are planning to proceed slowly and deliberately in order to assess the adverse impact of the governmental response on the Central Oregon economy and on the financial health of Holy Communion Church. 

Over the past several weeks we have held discussions with a young married Anglican priest who has expressed serious interest in our associate pastor position. After spending time in prayer and discernment, doing due diligence on the ECC and HCC, and consulting with his bishop, he has advised us that he is prepared to go through our formal interview and vetting process.  If selected to be our associate pastor, he would require training in the Catholic tradition, would need to learn to celebrate Mass utilizing the Roman Missal, and would need to be incardinated as an Evangelical Catholic priest. 

We have also had an introductory phone call with a young married man who has a master’s degree in theology from the Duke University School of Divinity but has no ministerial experience. He has expressed an interest in learning more about HCC and the ECC while he continues to discern the Lord’s plan for his future. Based on his academic background, if he becomes a candidate and is selected to join us at HCC, he would begin by being ordained as a Deacon and would be required to serve in this capacity for at least one year prior to being considered for ordination to the priesthood.  During this time, he would likely need to complete additional online course work and training, as determined by Father Jim, so that he would be fully formed and prepared for ordination.

In accordance with the fundraising plan presented at the Annual Congregation Meeting in late January, we are pleased to report that we have obtained verbal commitments from several members of HCC who are willing to increase their already generous giving to cover approximately 50% of the additional annual recurring funds required to pay for the associate pastor.  This, coupled with the $145,000 we have available in the Growth/Savings account, is affirmation that the Holy Spirit continues to bless our beautiful church and that we should all continue to pray for His guidance as we consider these and other potential future pastoral candidates.

 
FEBRUARY 9, 2020
SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE
 
THESE ARE NOTES FROM THE ALL CHURCH MEETING HELD ON
JANUARY 26, 2020
 
Q Do we really need a full-time associate pastor?
Members of the Search Committee & Church Council believe we do, as does Father Jim!
  • work with youth leadership team to expand/enhance our youth ministry programs.
  • be active in the community to attract a younger demographic to worship with us at HCC.
  • assist Fr Jim, who is on call 24/7/365, and provide ready backup as needed.
  • provide a seamless transition to Fr Jim’s eventual retirement so HCC will “Always be” a place where All are Welcome.

Q Has there been any interest in our position?

  • We are 9 months into a 18-24 month process
  • There has been interest, but no formal applications yet.
  • 2 individuals have expressed interest.
  • One, who was a newly ordained Anglican priest, accepted an opportunity to return home as AP at the Anglican cathedral church in SoCal.
  • The 2nd, who has previously served as a Youth Pastor & Worship director for 10 years, and is completing an MDiv degree, is in periodic discussions with us as he discerns his pastoral call.

Q Are we considering candidates from other than the Roman Catholic tradition?

  • During the first 6 months we focused our search on a Roman Catholic priest.
  • More recently, the Holy Spirit has encouraged us to expand our search to include prospective candidates from other faith traditions that “believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist”.
  • Any candidate from another faith tradition would have to:
  1. believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist
  2. be trained in the Catholic tradition
  3. learn to celebrate Mass utilizing the Roman Missal
  4. fulfill the requirements for ordination/incardination as an Evangelical Catholic priest.

Q Do we have any idea what kind of salary & benefit package will be required?

  • Obtained nationwide salary survey of various church positions.
  • Survey indicates that, for a church our size, the median Base Salary, excluding retirement & insurance benefits, for a full time AP position is $65,000.
  • Coincidentally, the median household income in Bend is $65,000.
  • Thus, we are using $65,000, excluding benefits, for planning purposes.
 

Q What is the impact on our annual church budget?

  • When you include the church’s share of employee payroll taxes & insurance, the total increases to nearly $70,000. Based on the revenue forecast in the 2020 budget, this would require a 23% increase in annual donations, or $6,000 per month.
  • On a family level, $70,000/100+ households = +$700/year or $2/day
 

Q Have we developed a plan to raise the necessary additional funds?

  • Fund-raising plan has 3 objectives:
  1. Sufficient funds on hand to recruit, relocate, and help establish AP.
  2. Obtain pledges to ensure that we will have the additional recurring annual income required to pay for the AP.
  3. Obtain Legacy Gift pledges so that the generous giving of our current membership will continue in perpetuity so that HCC will “Always be” a vibrant spirit-filled place of worship for future generations.
 
  • Whereas, we do not plan to launch a formal fundraising campaign at this time, it is imperative that we have conditional pledges for at least half of the additional recurring annual income AND several Legacy Gift pledges ASAP.
  • We are praying that the hearts of those in our church who are the most able to significantly increase their already generous giving are moved to donate the additional annual funds required to meet the interim 50% threshold.
  • If we are successful, when we launch the congregation-wide campaign, we would only require an average 10% more from each household.
 
 
NOVEMBER 17, 2019
SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE
As we approach the end of 2019, it is important that you all know that our total September year-to-date offertory donations are about 10% below where they were during the comparable period in 2018. Whereas we still have an operating surplus of $26,000 due to “special donations” and a meaningful reduction in budgeted expenses, the reduced offertory donations are of concern when we consider the negative impact it might have in our effort to attract a new full-time associate pastor.
 
We are fortunate to have $230,000 in the bank. Please note, however, that $150,000 of this total should be prudently held as “operating reserves”, which leaves $80,000 available for discretionary “strategic/growth” purposes.
 
We would propose that such funds be earmarked to help with the cost to recruit, relocate and begin to compensate our future associate pastor. We would like this total to be at least $100,000 by the end of 2019.

As you do year-end tax and financial planning and consider making additional tax-deductible charitable donations prior to year-end, we would ask that Holy Communion Church be first in your heart and on your mind.
 
SEPTEMBER 8, 2019
SEPTEMBER 1, 2019
AUGUST 25, 2019
SEARCH COMMITTEE UPDATE
It has been four months since our search for an Associate Pastor began and the Search Committee has certainly felt the prayers of the whole community! As you can see on our website, we have cast our net far and wide. We have recently reached out to Catholic monasteries and retreat centers to see if they might share our job posting with clergy they might be hosting. We do not know how much longer we will have to wait but we trust that the Holy Spirit will answer our prayers and bring us a candidate consistent with His plans for our Church.
 
Some of our members have suggested that Father Mark could fill this position. In response, we would draw your attention to the Church website where you will find a list of the important attributes the Committee has prayerfully established for the position. In the Committee’s opinion, Father Mark does not meet several of the most important of these. Given this and other considerations, including his continued goal of being a full-time educator, the Committee does not see Father Mark as a viable candidate for this position.
 
Looking at the goals and aspirations of our church, the Search Committee continues our prayerful quest to find the right person God is calling to walk with our congregation and to lead us into the future.
 
JULY 7, 2019
JUNE 30, 2019
OUR GOAL IN FINDING AN ASSOCIATE PASTOR
Holy Communion Church is blessed to have two wonderful priests in Father Jim Radloff, the Lead Pastor, and Father Mark Hebert, our visiting priest.  Father Jim is in his late 50’s, and Father Mark is in his middle 50’s.  Father Jim has survived colon cancer twice and is now in good health.  Father Mark has recently completed his PhD in Education, and his career goals are still to be a full-time educator and part-time priest.
 
HCC is currently searching for a full-time priest to serve as our Associate Pastor.  The Associate Pastor will focus primarily on working with our youth and young families, plus lead our efforts to recruit other young families to join HCC.  Additionally, Father Jim can help mentor and develop the Associate Pastor to someday become the Lead Pastor.  Importantly, this will ensure that HCC continues to have strong pastoral leadership for at least the next 25-30 years. 
 
This longevity assurance will hopefully pave the way for some of our existing members to consider making endowment gifts or legacy gifts in their estate plans to help ensure the long-term financial security of Holy Communion Church.
 
JUNE 23, 2019
FINDING AN ASSOCIATE PASTOR
The search process for our new associate pastor is gaining momentum.  Although we have not yet received any formal applications from our first priority target group, that being ordained Roman Catholic priests, we are gaining traction in our effort to get our Job Posting as much external exposure as possible.
 
We have thus far focused our search on former Roman Catholic priests who were forced to leave the priesthood because they elected to get married.  We have successfully networked with a number of individuals and organizations who support displaced Catholic priests.  Several of these have agreed to publicize our Job Posting on their website and distribute it to their members.  Many of these have also committed to pray for the success of our search, which is heartwarming. 
 
As a committee, we remain completely open to guidance from the Holy Spirit and we trust that, through our diligent effort and prayers, the Lord will bless us with that person He wants to help lead Holy Communion Church both now and well into the future. 
 
Please continue to pray for the success of our efforts.
 
APRIL 21, 2019
FINDING AN ASSOCIATE PASTOR
The members of the Search Committee have finalized the job posting for the position of our new Associate Pastor, and it is now available on the HCC website here:  www.holycommunionbend.org/jobs
 
We will also be posting this on as many relevant media and advertising outlets as possible.  We welcome everyone to spread the word about our search at this exciting time.
 
The Holy Spirit has certainly been instrumental in the growth and development of our wonderful church over the last five years.  Your search committee, Rod Wimer, Judy Uriz, Lorchid Macri and Robert Parkinson feel strongly that we must continue to remain open to His guidance through prayer and submersion in God’s Holy Word.
 
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”  (Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT)
 

Reports To The Church Council

(beginning with the most recent report)
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SEPTEMBER 2020

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the adverse impact it could have on the State, our local economy, and Holy Communion Church, we decided it would be prudent to temporarily suspend our active search for a full-time associate pastor until the outlook becomes clearer. We have received no verbal or written inquiries from prospective candidates since our last update in May.
 
The young Anglican priest that expressed an interest in going through our formal search process had a change of heart at the last minute and decided to remain with the Anglican tradition. He has subsequently been named as Rector (Pastor) at an Anglican church on Whidbey Island in Washington. The other young man that we reported on in May failed to follow up with us, as promised, after an initial exploratory phone conversation.
 
We will resume an active search effort as conditions allow. In the meantime, we will continue to pray while placing our trust in the Holy Spirit to bring us the right candidate at a time of His choosing.
 

NOVEMBER 2019

We remain in contact with the potential candidate mentioned in the last Search Committee update.  He remains in discernment about his pastoral call while he finishes his MDiv degree at seminary.  In the meantime, he continues in his current role as the youth pastor and music director at a Methodist church in the southern US.  He believes in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and is open to transitioning to become an independent Catholic priest should the Holy Spirit bring us together.  Although he has not submitted an application for our associate pastor position, he routinely listens to Father Jim’s homilies and reads our Sunday bulletins on the HCC website, he has journeyed with our small groups by watching all 7 of Father Dave Pivonka’s YouTube videos on the Holy Spirit, and he follows us on Facebook.

To date, we have not had any applicants from our outreach to 46 Catholic monasteries and retreat centers nor from our job posting on the online version of the National Catholic Reporter.

Rev Cathie and Philip Young have begun reaching out to their Anglican network in search of Anglican seminarians or pastoral candidates who might have in interest in our associate pastor position.  We are encouraged by the warm reception they have received early on in this effort.  We are excited to report that, through their efforts, we have been granted permission to post our associate pastor position on the job bulletin board at Nashotah House, an Anglo-Catholic seminary in Wisconsin (www.nashotah.edu).  We are also seeking permission to post our position on the job bulletin board at the Trinity School for Ministry (www.tsm.edu), an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition in Pittsburgh.

We have finalized a fundraising plan for our new associate pastor, which we will be rolling out at such time as we have formal candidates under serious consideration for the position.  Based on a recent church pastoral salary survey we received from the Vanderbloemen organization, a professional recruiting firm specializing in church leadership positions, and other research, we have concluded that the cost of hiring a new full-time associate pastor will require a base salary of +/- $65,000, excluding benefits.  An investment of this magnitude will require the additional financial support of the entire Holy Communion Church family.  In the face of this large potential additional commitment, we on the Search Committee have become concerned about the current year-over-year 10% decline in offertory receipts at Holy Communion Church.  Absent a reversal of this giving trend, our desire to hire a full-time associate pastor could be in jeopardy.

We appreciate your support and prayers, and we remain confident that the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us in accordance with His plan for our beautiful church.

AUGUST – SEPTEMBER 2019
Our search for a new full-time associate pastor is beginning to gain traction in that we have one potential candidate who is currently in discernment about his pastoral call, and who reached out to the Committee after seeing our job posting on the internet. Although he has not formally applied for the position, we have had several discussions with him, and he is intrigued by the HCC opportunity. He has a bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies, is in his mid-40’s, is married, has 4 children ranging in age from 11 to 18, and has been a youth pastor and music director for 11 years. This individual is currently working on a Master of Divinity Degree, which he is scheduled to complete in May of 2020.
 
We sent an introductory letter and our job posting to 46 Catholic monasteries & retreat centers in hopes that the Holy Spirit may help us reach a priest who may either be in transition or is in discernment about his future with the Church. We continue to post our job in the online version of the National Catholic Reporter and will be posting it on churchstaffing.com in the near future.
 
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Committee, along with our advisory members, Father Jim and Rev. Cathie Young, have unanimously agreed to formally expand our search to include potential candidates from the Anglican tradition. We are blessed that Rev. Cathie has graciously agreed to lead this effort on behalf of the Committee. We pray that Cathie and Philip’s extensive contact network in the Anglican community will bear fruit and bring us several qualified candidates. The liturgy and sacraments of the Anglican Church closely mirror those of the Catholic Church. A priest ordained in the Anglican tradition could transition and be incardinated as an Evangelical Catholic priest with relative ease.
 
The Committee has developed an interview and hiring process timeline, and we have finalized two sets of interview questions for use with applicants who we decide merit going through our selection process. Importantly, we have also begun to work on a fund-raising plan to determine the best way to obtain the additional financial commitment required of our members to support the hiring of a full-time Associate Pastor.
 
We remain confident that the Holy Spirit is at work on behalf of our beautiful church, and we so appreciate your continued support and prayers.
JUNE – JULY 2019
Our effort to find an Associate Pastor continues.  Although we have received interest from several individuals, none of them met the qualifications we have established for the position.  We have continued to expand our search network by focusing on those organizations and individuals who support displaced married Roman Catholic priests; however, we believe that we have identified and been in contact with most, if not all, of these groups.  We also have had exploratory discussions with two highly-regarded church pastoral search firms to assess their capability to conduct a search on our behalf.  We found that these firms have little or no experience conducting searches for ordained Roman Catholic priests, nor do they have any Catholic priests in their extensive staffing data bases.  Further, their expertise does not come cheap; the total cost of a search leading to a candidate offer would likely be at least $25,000!
 
During this period, we added the following organizations to our search network.
 
ROMAN CATHOLIC WOMEN PRIESTS
A new model of ordained ministry in a renewed Roman Catholic Church.
 
ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF AMERICA
An independent Catholic Diocese and a communion of local churches and ministries.
 
GOOD SHEPHERD COMPANIONS
A Catholic pastoral ministry carrying on the mission of Jesus.
 
ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF NEW ENGLAND
A spin-off diocese from the Ecumenical Catholic Diocese of America.
 
Over the next several weeks we will be focusing our efforts, along with the rest of the HCC congregation, on daily prayer utilizing the booklet “Prayers for an Associate Pastor”. 
 
As a committee, we have come up with the first set of 15 questions we would ask a potential candidate.
 
We will be developing a second set of questions to be used in the second round of the applicant screening process, and we will evaluate further expanding our search network by contacting Catholic Monasteries and Retreat Centers on the West Coast.
 
We have also been in contact with the HCC Planning Committee to discuss the merits of conducting a joint congregational survey to gauge the pulse of our community on important matters related to our Associate Pastor search.
 
One item we feel is of critical importance is the willingness of our congregation to consider priests ordained in other faith traditions that believe in the “real presence” of Christ in the Eucharist, who would be willing to be trained to say Mass using the Roman Rite, and who would meet the requirements for incardination as an Evangelical Catholic priest.
 
Please continue to pray that we will be successful in our effort to find the person God is calling to help lead our Church into the future.
 
 
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APRIL – MAY 2019
Our effort to find an Associate Pastor has been underway since April 10th, 2019.  In that time the Committee has met three times and shared our Letter of Introduction and Job Description with the following organizations & venues:
 
LINKED-IN
A professional internet job search website.
 
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER
An online and print Catholic Publication.

CALL TO ACTION
A Catholic organization of priests and lay people with a similar mission to ours, working to make the Catholic Church more welcoming to all.

WHITE ROBED MONKS
A Benedictine order of monks, independent of Rome, who take the Sacraments to the people, wherever needed.

CITI MINISTRIES
A Lay Organization calling married or resigned Roman Catholic Priests back into ministry, taking the Sacraments to the people.

CORPUS USA
Reform Group in the Catholic Church committed to working for renewal of the priesthood for married and single men and women.
 
FEDERATION OF CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES
Focus on helping Faith Communities to network with one another.

ORDER OF FRANCISCAN ECUMENICAL
Advocates for a Married Roman Catholic Priesthood.

LEAVINGTHEPRIESTHOOD.COM
An online forum to assist Roman Catholic Priests transition to secular life.

THE HCC WEBSITE AND FACEBOOK PAGE
Our local way of sharing news and updates through the internet and social media.
 
To date we have had many conversations with various people in these organizations, who have expressed a willingness to pass the word among their contacts.  However we have not been approached by any viable candidates thus far.
 
We are hopeful that an ordained Catholic Priest who fits our needs will come forward soon!
 
In the meantime, please pray about other possibilities that we may consider including ordained Catholic women priests, or priests ordained in other faith traditions that believe in the “real presence” in the Eucharist or Holy Communion (i.e. Anglicans and Episcopalians).  Any candidates that we determine meet our requirements will be subject to the approval of the Church Council and our congregation.
 
Please continue to pray that we will be successful in our endeavor to find the person God is calling for our community.  We continue to look for more venues for our job posting.  Let us know if you can think of any other resources we might engage to spread the word in our search.
 
 
Visit our Jobs Page for Job Description and Contact Information.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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