Rector Search Prayer for June 3, 2026
Lord, please endow us with the wisdom and insight of the Holy Spirit to find the best ways we can support all our parish in the search for a new pastor, preacher, and Rector for St. Martin’s and faith leader for Providence. Amen.
The Prayer Committee has selected Mary Jane Pagan to lead their group. Thank you to Mary Jane and to all those on this committee.
Are you considering applying for the rector position at St. Martin’s?
Enjoy this article from the NYT about Providence, Rhode Island!
One of America’s oldest cities, free-spirited Providence is a playground of history and creativity with a long tradition of resistance. You can easily stroll from Downtown, enlivened with new public art, across the Providence River, to see well-preserved 18th- and 19th-century architecture. There are new galleries and museums, including a groundbreaking feminist cultural center and the African American Museum of Rhode Island. Already home to the Rhode Island School of Design and a prestigious culinary school, Providence is further bolstering its arts and dining reputation. The James Beard Foundation recently honored several new restaurants and cocktail bars, and the city’s hottest act, WaterFire, is celebrating its 500th lighting spectacle on the river. With this summer’s World Cup festivities kicking off just 25 miles north, Providence makes for a laid-back weekend break — and a cool alternative to Boston and Newport.
Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and may your Spirit so guide the minds and hearts of those who shall choose a rector for this parish, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
May 27, 2026
Dear Friends,
I hope the above prayer is becoming familiar to you. It was adapted from a collect in the Book of Common Prayer. We say it every Sunday at the end of the liturgy, and it is also included in the weekly e-news. Prayer is a vital part of the process of calling a new rector as we ask God to guide and accompany us on this journey of discernment. To that end, we have a designated Prayer Team–comprised of Susan Allen, Bill Hollinshead, Meg LoPresti, Mary Jane Pagan, Brian Robert, and Jeana Whittredge–whose main purpose is to pray faithfully for the search process as part of their spiritual discipline. In addition, they have written supplementary prayers that you will be seeing in the e-news, and that I encourage you to make part of your prayer life. Or, you can use your own words, write your own prayers; the most important thing is to pray, pray, pray.
Why is this important? After all, God knows that we desire a faithful pastor to lead us into the future. True, but also through our prayers, whether as part of our daily discipline or as part of our ministry gatherings, we keep the search process at top of mind for ourselves, keeping our hearts open to the movement of the Spirit while we make this journey. This is what we can do together; how we make the search process truly a community act.
Thank you for your prayers!
In peace and hope,
Linda+
Prayer for the Call of a New Rector
(Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer p.818)
Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and may your Spirit so guide the minds and hearts of those who shall choose a Rector for this parish, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
LETTER TO THE PARISH FROM THE WARDENS
April 17, 2026
Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,
As we begin the search for our next rector, we are entering an important season of listening and discernment. This letter outlines the search process, introduces the teams formed as part of that process, and requests your participation in gatherings that will mark the beginning of the process.
Initiating the Search: Congregational Meetings in May
At the heart of the search process is a simple but vital question: Who are we as a congregation, and who do we believe God is calling us to become? Our response to this question will guide the discernment process for our next rector.
On Sunday, May 3, and Sunday, May 17, the Rev. Canon Dena Cleaver-Bartholomew from the Diocese will lead gatherings designed to help us reflect together, listen deeply, and articulate our shared experience and hopes for St. Martin’s.
- Sunday, May 3 – Parish History Event
- Sunday, May 17 – Congregational Conversation
Your participation in these conversations is vitally important. The parish profile that will guide our rector search—and inform prospective candidates about St. Martin’s—will be shaped by what emerges from these parish-wide conversations. Your presence at these two meetings will help ensure that our parish profile truly reflects who we are. Please let us know if you will attend by registering in one of the following ways:
Website: Visit www.stmartinsprov.org and follow the prompts to register.
Thursday Newsletter: Look for the registration link.
Sunday Bulletin: Use the QR code.
In-Person Coffee Hour Registration: Visit us by the fireplace in the Great Hall during coffee hour.
Both meetings will take place in the Great Hall after the 10:00 am service. Lunch and childcare will be provided, and each gathering will last approximately two hours. We look forward to these important conversations.
Rector Transition Leadership Teams
To support our congregation’s search process, we have created four transition leadership teams.
Prayer team. The members of this team will create or adapt a prayer for the search process that will be used regularly in worship, shared on our website, and serve to open search-related meetings. Members are: Brian Robert, Susan Allen, Bill Hollinshead, Meg LoPresti, Mary Jane Pagan, and Jeana Whittredge.
Profile team. This team, guided by the conversations that take place in May, will prepare responses to questions provided by the Diocese, which will serve as St. Martin’s profile in the Office of Transition Ministry’s database. Members are: Hugh Gorman, Tony Cottone, Mary Hollinshead, Paige Macnie, and Leanne Nyahkoon.
Discernment team. Guided by the profile created for St. Martin’s, this team commits to prayerfully reviewing application material, interviewing candidates, and discerning the next priest for St. Martin’s. Members are: Elizabeth Welshman, Clark Anderson, Helen Anthony, Chris Dennis, Bonnie Gorman, Connie Hildesley, Doug Hill, Elizabeth Mueller, and Rick Porter.
Communications team. This team will ensure that our website accurately and effectively communicates who we are as a congregation to potential candidates and new members. Members are: Sheila Hoogeboom, Elizabeth Blake, Rebecca Kidwell, Susan Kostas, Frank Pellegrino, and Kathryn Barr.
We are deeply grateful to the parishioners listed above for offering their time and gifts in service of this shared work.
Welcoming Linda+ as our Interim Rector
Linda+ Griggs will serve as St. Martin’s interim rector for one year. She will step into this position on May 1, 2026. This is a three-quarters position, which means that lay leadership will be especially important if St. Martin’s is to continue its current program of worship services, outreach, formation, and pastoral care.
Covenant of Departure with Mark+
Mark+’s last day as rector of St. Martin’s will be Sunday, April 26. In the Episcopal church, congregations are asked to refrain from contacting their previous rector during the transition to a new rector. If someone from the congregation seeks advice, Mark+ is expected to redirect them to Linda+ or lay leadership, as appropriate.
Let’s all give Mark+ the warmest of farewells in the coming weeks.
On behalf of the Vestry,
Elizabeth Welshman, Senior Warden
Hugh Gorman, Junior Warden
