CLERGY TRANSITIONING IN THE DIOCESE OF ALABAMA
The Diocese of Alabama seeks the very best clergy as rectors and assistants/curates/chaplains, regardless of race or gender, to provide leadership within our parishes and institutions. We believe that clergy(priests' and deacons) must be committed to mission and church growth. As a diocese, we also have a strong commitment to spiritual and personal integrity, a passion for prayer and a sense of unity with our bishops and diocese and the entire church.
Each parish and local community within our diocese has its own strengths and diverse styles of worship and ministry. Such diversity is much honored and respected within our diocese. Therefore, a careful matching of the individual priest/deacon to a particular parish is critical and important to us. We are eager to speak with any clergy interested in serving the People of God within the Diocese of Alabama.
In the Diocese of Alabama we, at the Diocesan Clergy Deployment Office, do what is called a "fine screening" up front for all calling processes at the very beginning of the process. All inquiries for consideration in any Clergy Calling Process within the diocese therefore must go to our office rather than directly to the parish. We will provide full information, including name and location of a parish to anyone who expresses an interest to us. Toward that end, we have created this page to make that connection easy for you. After a priest/deacon, in good standing, expresses interest in a parish in the Diocese of Alabama, we will obtain that individual's CDO profile and a list of references. Following an in-depth conversation with the priest, we will also have conversation with the people whose names are given as references, including the Diocesan Deployment Officer from the diocese in which the priest/deacon is currently working and/or canonically resident. Names will then be submitted to parishes for their consideration in a calling process.
If you are interested in any of the positions listed on this web site or if you have an interest in serving in the Diocese of Alabama, e-mail or phone the Diocesan Deployment Officer identified below.
The Rt. Rev. Henry N. Parsley, Jr.
Bishop of Alabama
521 North 20th Street
Birmingham, Al. 35203
(205)715-2060, ext. 305
The Rev. Patrick J Wingo
Diocesan Deployment Officer
521 North 20th Street
Birmingham, Al. 35203
(205) 715-2060, ext. 317
e-mail: pwingo@dioala.org
Ms. Karen Ammons
Administrative Assistant for Clergy Deployment
(205) 715-2060, ext. 313
e-mail: kammons@dioala.org
FRESH START is a diocesan-led program of support for clergy in new cures (rectors, associates, chaplains) which seeks to strengthen the relationships among Episcopal clergy, congregations, and dioceses during critical periods of transition in clergy leadership of a congregation. It is the final piece in the "deployment" process, an important piece dealing with the early stages of a new cure. Within the Diocese of Alabama,
FRESH START is a nine month (September through May) program in which all clergy in new cures participate. Some clergy will be joining the group during the program year and continue on until they have completed the nine sessions. From the time a clergy person announces her/his intention to leave a congregation for another place or form of ministry and until about one year after new clergy leadership is in place, the local congregation is in transition. In the early 1990's, Cornerstone, a ministry of The Episcopal Church Foundation, commissioned research to explore those most fruitful learning moments in the lives of clergy and congregations. One of the most fertile times for learning, according to the research, was the period of new ministry, a time of mutual adjustment between clergy leadership and a congregation.
FRESH START is an opportunity to affect the climate and context in which ministry is done in our diocese. The payoff for clergy can be dramatic. You are brought into the "culture" of the diocese, becoming quickly integrated with other clergy colleagues. Congregations also benefit as an orderly transition for new clergy will speed the congregation's passage from a focus on the pass to that of the future. For the diocese,
FRESH START mitigates against "long ranger" clergy, who are "out there, doing their thing" in isolation from other clergy colleagues. Community is strengthened and a greater bond of trust is established among clergy, congregations and the diocese.
FRESH START is also a model of how the Bishop and staff can act as a supportive resource for clergy and their congregations. It gives the diocese a regular way of being in contact with clergy and congregations who are in this very critical stage of their lives at the time that matters most.
