Position Description for Curate St. John’s Episcopal Church 679 Farmington Avenue West Hartford, CT 06119 860-523-5201 http://sjparish.net The Rev. Susan Pinkerton, Rector

Our Mission: St. John’s is a vibrant, family-friendly parish where parishioners and neighbors are invited to connect with God and one another. Located in a lively neighborhood on the border of suburban West Hartford and urban Hartford, St. John’s welcomes all to come worship and participate in our Episcopal liturgy, beautiful music, and many opportunities for learning, giving, and growing in community.

St. John’s is known for our historic and beautiful building and grounds, where we honor our Anglican heritage while seeking new ways of welcoming people of diverse backgrounds and faith experience. We offer two Sunday morning services plus Evensong six times during the program year, as well as a monthly lay-led Celtic contemplative service. During the summer, we hold a casual Sunday evening service in our cloister garden. Evening Prayer is offered three times a week throughout the year. We are considered a broad church liturgically with an excellent music program that includes the Royal School of Church Music Christian training program and an outstanding intergenerational choir. Our Music at the Red Door concert series offers exceptional musical performances for the entire community. Nearly every day of the week, St. John’s parish hall and meeting rooms host events such as 12-step meetings, parish committees, volunteers tutoring children of refugee families, ESOL classes, music recitals, and more.

Christian formation for all ages is offered between the two Sunday services via church school for elementary through high school students, and a Faith Forum speaker series for adults. The youth program also includes social and/or community service programs, a cooperative town-wide youth group with other local churches, and occasional pilgrimages, mission trips, and confirmation classes. The potential and opportunity for new ministries with children, youth and families is tremendous, and a primary goal for our growing parish. The ideal candidate will share in this vision as well as the passion for making this area of ministry become a reality.

The Person We Seek

We are seeking an energetic and creative clergy person who is excited about the opportunity to serve a growing parish, using their many gifts and talents to build up the Body of Christ in new and meaningful ways. Their focus will be on helping us grow our children and youth ministry, including nurturing relationships with their families. The ideal candidate will welcome the opportunity to try new things while also using the vast resources we have inherited from our Anglican tradition. They will bring a sense of joy, wonder and humor, appreciating that these are important attributes of fostering a community while deepening our relationship with Christ and each other.

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Key Responsibilities and Expectations

The curate will report directly to the rector, and work collaboratively with the rector, staff members and lay leaders to strengthen and guide our community’s spiritual journey and mission, while participating in the day-to-day activities of the parish. Under the rector’s supervision, the curate will share in responsibilities for pastoral care, education, parish administration, and administration of the Sacraments. Working alongside paid staff and volunteers, the curate will exercise leadership in projects and tasks assigned by the rector.

• Share fully in our weekly worship services, including occasional services at retirement and nursing homes in the Hartford area.

• Create and lead the Christian formation program for our children, youth and young families. This includes exploring ways to collaborate with our successful youth choir program in developing new or expanded Christian formation programs.

• Share in liturgical planning, preaching and adult Faith Forums, making use of a wide variety of resources that stretch the imagination, inspiring us to explore and question as we deepen our awareness of God’s presence in our lives.

• Provide pastoral care, making pastoral visits to area hospitals, nursing homes and homebound members.

• Prepare youth for confirmation, with the rector. Coordinate and lead a biannual youth pilgrimage or mission trip.

• Attend and participate in monthly Vestry meetings and weekly staff meetings.

• Appreciate the importance of hospitality, and help foster a welcoming environment for newcomers and the wider community.

• Be tech savvy and familiar with using social media to publicize events and nurture connections beyond the parish.

• Be organized, proactive, collaborative, and responsive to deadlines.

• Use a pastoral approach to congregational leadership and development.

• Anticipate and plan ahead while remaining flexible at the same time.

• Take the initiative in developing and maintaining relationships, including newcomer incorporation.

• Lead a life that is grounded in Christian values.

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Compensation and Benefits

• The curate will become part of an active and caring faith family while collaborating with talented and dedicated clergy, staff and lay leadership. • Salary, housing allowance, annual professional expenses and continuing education allowance will adhere to Episcopal Church in Connecticut compensation guidelines, available here. • Four weeks paid vacation. • Two weeks paid continuing education time. • Up to five weeks paid parental leave in the event of birth or adoption of a child (after one year of employment). • Health and dental insurance, per the Episcopal Church in Connecticut policies. • Church Pension Group retirement plan.

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