Good news from Oshkosh

We heard in August that Trinity Church in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, have at last appointed a new Rector - he comes from Michigan and will start in October. Readers will recall we have been in touch with Trinity by e-mail since earlier in the year, offering mutual encouragement during the interregnum at both churches. We have learned how they managed during a very long wait, the complexity of appointments processes in the Episcopal Church of the USA, and the nail-biting finish to their ‘Searching’ and ‘Calling’. Our contact, Ginny Gross, reports that when the appointment was announced, "congregational singing suddenly became more joyful". We send our prayerful greetings and good wishes to congregation and new Rector for their future together.

The first e-mail from Ginny Gross, was published in April under the title "In the same boat":

Greetings from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, and Trinity Episcopal Church.

I found your web page today through a recommendation made by Anglicans Online, and I’ve enjoyed listening to your choir and reading about your magnificent church. However, the thing that really struck me was that you are searching for a new rector. We have been doing the same at Trinity, for almost a year now. Our church is just a baby compared to yours. The congregation started in 1854 and our present building was built in 1887, but then Wisconsin was mostly wilderness for a long long time.

I had just come home from a meeting (yet another!) regarding our next steps in the search process, decided to do some web browsing to unwind, and found St Peter’s. In light of our commonality, I am sending best wishes in your search process. It sounds a little different to ours in some ways, but there are also similarities. We did a "Parish Profile" which presents our story in a candid and true way. I was chair of the committee that worked on that, and did most of the writing. We are all pleased that the comments on it have been most favourable. Our committee has also been asked "how long will this take?" Right now I’m sure we all think it is too long, but the process is careful and involved.

Again, best wishes, take heart, and God be with you as you look for your next rector.

Best regards,
Ginny Gross

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