Every year, Archbishop Foley Beach presents the Bishop’s Cross Award to a person in the diocese that provides exceptional service. The 2021 recipient is John Kuehnel from Chattanooga, Tennessee. John and his wife, Ann, are members of Anglican Church of the Redeemer.
“My work involves parishes that find themselves looking for a new rector following a sudden resignation or retirement of a current priest. This may be a very stressful and critical time in the life of a congregation and its leadership. My initial consulting activities are designed to alleviate that stress and share my positive personal experiences with two very successful rector searches for my own congregation.”
John was involved in the search for Redeemer’s current Rector, Fr. Philip Hanner, and Associate Rector, Fr. Jarrod Hill. Both searches utilized the ADOTS New Rector Search Process. This process is unlike all other previous methods in that it focuses on prayerful discernment throughout to obtain God’s will for the parish’s next rector.
“The searches at Redeemer taught me a great deal about the new search process and the incredible power of seeking God’s will for every step and decision point we faced. This led me to the Canon of the Ordinary, who accepted my offer of volunteering to share practical and prayerful aspects with ADOTS search teams.”
When a church begins its Rector search, an information package is provided and discussed through telephone conversations, emails, personal and zoom meetings. The information package covers communication, record keeping, search expenses, salary calculations, interviewing techniques, and an extensively detailed search process guide.
John could not attend Synod in 2021, so he accompanied Fr. Phil on a trip to Holy Cross Cathedral in Loganville, Georgia a few weeks before. There, he was presented with the award by Archbishop Foley. A video of the presentation was played at the annual business meeting.
“It has been a privilege to work with these teams and their respective vestries. God truly is in control and I hope His plans will include offering my assistance to future search teams.”
By Ivy Swann
ADOTS Communications Associate
news@adots.org