An Open Letter to Rector Candidates

Greetings!

Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Alexandria, Virginia, is eager and ready to receive applications from interested and experienced priests to become our new rector.

At Emmanuel, our vision is to be a thriving, engaged and creative parish working to educate and meet the needs of children, youth and adults; live and demonstrate our Christian values; and create a more humane and just world through community service and outreach.

Our parish has arrived at this vision through a journey of self-study over the past 2 years, with added focus following the retirement of the Rev. Daniel W. Eckman, Jr. during the spring of 2011. To begin the process we established an 11-member, combined self-study and discernment committee. The committee was representative of our congregants (married, unmarried, with/without children, and ranging in age from late twenties to mid-60s) to make sure varying perspectives were taken into account as we thought about Emmanuel’s future. Throughout this process we have been blessed to be served and helped by the Rev. Martha Wallace, our interim rector.

This journey has not always been easy, but it has been a necessary one in order to call a new rector. Just as importantly, our journey has resulted in a strong and shared resolve to build on the goodness we see in Emmanuel and a better understanding of what we need to do to get there. We are a small parish, and have determined that we need to focus our talent and treasures on two areas in particular – youth and public service – to help our parish develop and have a positive impact in our local community. We need a priest who can educate and guide us in these endeavors; someone who is committed to help not only grow our parish, but also encourage greater participation from our current congregation members so there is more active involvement in bringing our church’s mission and vision to life.

Emmanuel is located in Alexandria, Virginia – one of the most historic and livable cities in America. Located minutes from Washington, D.C., Alexandria boasts easy access to truly impressive world-class cultural attractions and vast network of government, corporate and nonprofit institutions located in our nation’s capital region. With centuries of history and hospitality, Alexandria itself offers a small-town experience. The city's many historic homes, churches, businesses, and museums let residents experience the history that makes our city the charming town it is today. Naturally, traffic and living expenses are daily struggles, but thanks to the vigilance of Alexandria’s elected and civic leaders, it has retained its historic small town feel and we take great pride in the beauty of our town founded in 1749.

We encourage you to consider Emmanuel’s call for a new rector. Please take a moment to review our parish profile available at the link below, as well as the other information accessible below about Alexandria, its schools, our community, and how we as a parish compare with others as depicted by the results of our U.S. Congregational Life Survey, conducted back in 2010.
God’s Blessings to you and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Emmanuel’s Search/Discernment Committee

Additional Information of Interest (Note: To return to this list, be sure to click the back button on your browser.)