Dear Village,
I’m so excited to announce that our hiring process for an Associate Rector has come to a close and, after over a year of interviews and of disappointing starts and stops, the Lord is building our clergy team - and things are shaping up even better than we’d hoped or imagined! In November, we’ll bring on The Rev. Matt Wilkins from St. Peter’s Cathedral in Tallahassee. And in January, The Rev. Mike Juday will join us from Ascension in Pittsburgh. They’ve both officially signed their new contracts to serve as Associate Rectors and are eager to get here.
Why are we hiring two and where did that come from? Well, in the course of our latest process, two things became clear to both our vestry and staff: First, we knew we had two guys who fit our culture, had lots of diverse gifting and would be a great complement to me, our current staff and one another. Choosing between them was going to be really difficult. Second, we anticipated we would find ourselves hiring more clergy in the coming year as we grow, thus expanding our scope of care and ministry, adding services and beginning to work toward the East side plant. With the addition of these shepherds, we will be ahead of the game and not behind (again), potentially having to start another process in 6 months or so. So the vestry decided prayerfully and unanimously that this was the way to go, which may allow us to move even more quickly on our future plans. Thanks be to God for his provision! His timing was certainly better than ours, per usual.
Below, you’ll find some pics of them and their families, along with their CV’s. Though they both have a decade of experience in local church leadership, just know that these men have struck us as far more than their experience or education. They love Jesus. They love people. They get what we’re about at Village. And we’re confident the Lord is in this. Please pray for the Wilkins’ and the Juday’s in the coming months as they transition from Tallahassee and Pittsburg. If you’d like to welcome them in advance, shoot them an email at mrwilkins7@gmail.com or mikejuday@gmail.com.
Thanks again for all your prayers throughout this process!
Every blessing,
Seth+
Matt, Liz and Annie Wilkins
Emma, Mike, Agatha, Posey and Ebenezer Juday