Welcome!

Dear Partner in Discernment:

Blessings to you in this time of unprecedented uncertainty in the wake of COVID-19. We have learned even more about the resilience and dedication of our faith community in listening for God's call in the face of this pandemic. We have created phone trees and neighborhood groups to check in on each other often. Our ministry groups are in regular contact with their teams. We pray for our community and the world. We’re sharing resources. We’re shopping for our most vulnerable members and dropping jigsaw puzzles on doorsteps. We're sewing and delivering masks. Our Day School teachers and staff are engaging our students safely and remotely. Our youth groups are meeting virtually and we offer weekly interactive online programming for young children. We’re offering opportunities to worship online including Morning Prayer, Compline, and our Healing Service via Zoom. Our Sunday service is posted on YouTube for all to receive. We’re adapting to the daily changes and glitches with grace and love and community. It’s humbling to witness.

In the midst of all this turmoil, we still need to call a new rector. Thank you for seeking out our parish profile. To prepare for our rector search, we conducted many listening sessions with groups of parishioners and participated in the Congregational Assessment Tool (CAT) survey to be able to accurately articulate who we are to prospective rectors. Our consensus is that we are a welcoming, progressive, open and inclusive congregation who enjoys the traditions of our faith and worship. Our 200+ members are predominantly white, financially secure, and well-educated. Because we are nestled between two naval bases, many of our parishioners are active duty and retired military. While the majority of our members live in Coronado, a significant number travel from the greater San Diego area to worship here. Our survey results and listening sessions reflect a diversity of opinions and the overwhelming conclusion that we respect and care for each other—in other words, we’re a family.

Christ Church Day School was founded over fifty years ago and is the only Episcopal elementary day school in the Diocese of San Diego. Our parishioners consider it to be a vitally important mission and ministry of our church and we are committed to its success.We seek a rector who has experience with Christian education and can help guide our school into the future.

As is true of most Episcopal churches in our diocese, our priorities include attracting and serving more families with children and youth,  and a strategy for enlarging our congregation through discipleship and evangelism. Perhaps more unique to us is the desire for more opportunities for our parishioners to form relationships. Eighty percent of CAT survey respondents said that participation in church activities is very meaningful to them. We seek a rector who can help grow our parish family and connect our members in small groups, faith formation opportunities, and social interactions.

We love a thought-provoking and intelligent sermon that is relevant and engaging. We want opportunities to learn and grow in our individual faith journeys. We delight in the fact that, as one parishioner put it, “It’s okay to ask questions here.” We seek a rector who is a teacher as well as a gifted preacher, who can challenge us and encourage us.

We are now even more painfully aware that life on this side of heaven can be hard. In addition to the threats posed by COVID-19, our parishioners experience difficult relationships, health and professional challenges, loss, and doubt. We seek a rector who is warm and approachable, and who will especially care for this flock in times of trouble and heartache.

Our church motto is “Bridging Love and Service” and heeding God's call to serve our neighbors is a huge part of our parish identity. “Love and acceptance got me in the door;” said one listening session attendee, “the opportunity to serve keeps me here.” We invite you to learn about our many outreach activities at the links to the left. We are beginning to explore issues of social justice in our parish. We seek a rector who can lovingly support us in our work to be God's hands and feet in the world.

We offer a rector a warm and open community eager to serve and learn alongside you. We welcome priests of all genders, cultures, and sexual orientations to join our parish family. We invite you to learn more about our current ministries, our faith journey, and our community in this profile. If you feel so called, we look forward to a partnership of discernment with you.

Your fellow travelers,

The People of Christ Church

Applications should include a resume, your OTM portfolio, and a cover letter. Submit to The Rev. Canon Gwynn Lynch at glynch@edsd.org by June 30.