Rector Search

Welcome to Saint Jude’s Episcopal Church, Cupertino!  

New Rector Announced: At an All Parish meeting on Sunday, July 1, the Senior Warden Jennifer Stern announced that the Vestry had called the Reverend Wilma Terry Jakobsen to be our next rector. A letter from the Vestry and biography of Wilma were mailed to all parish families.

We thank the parish and candidates for your patience throughout this lengthy journey of self-study, Parish Profile creation, applications, phone interviews, and parish visits. Special thanks are owed to the Search Committee for ten months of work to bring Saint Jude's to this next exciting stage. Most of all, we have felt the inspiration of the Holy Spirit throughout this time.

Read on if you are interested in our Parish Profile, search process and characteristics we were looking for in our new Rector.

Background

On October 24, 2010 we celebrated our last Sunday with our Rector of twelve years. We remembered her ministry with joy, and sent her off to a new call with gifts, good wishes, and prayers for her ministry!

Demonstrating our tradition of strong lay leadership and optimism in the future, we quickly began the process of searching for an Interim Rector and starting work on a Parish Profile. We strived to involve as many parishioners as possible in different aspects of the Search, in order to reflect our diversity and inclusiveness.

Key milestones since then are:

• 27 May, 2011: The Reverend Sherridan Harrison joined us as Interim Pastor. Sherridan has been invaluable in guiding our self-study and Parish Profile process.

• June 2011: The Parish Profile Committee began our self-study, with a comprehensive review of programs, ministries, facilities and finances, small group gatherings (called “St. Jude’s Tells Alls”) and an online survey (called “St. Jude’s Clicks”). The response and involvement of the parish was overwhelming and you can read more about it in the Parish Profile.

• 14 August, 2011: The 12 members of the Rector Search Committee were commissioned at a single service, along with the introduction of Joanna Shreve, our Diocesan Consultant. The Search Committee has worked closely with Joanna as our representative to the Reverend Brian Nordwick (Diocesan Administrator) and the Right Reverend Mary Gray-Reeves, Bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real.

You can follow our search schedule on our Transition Timeline.

Who are we?

Saint Jude’s is a transition-sized Episcopal Church in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. Our parishioners span a remarkable range of beliefs, interests, and backgrounds, but perhaps are drawn together most by our belief in the one statement that begins every Sunday service: Whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey of Faith: you are welcome here!

One of our own parishioners put it this way:

“… Our welcoming stance has resulted in our being a most interesting “Big Tent” of fellow worshipers. We’ve got conservatives and liberals, hard-liners and laid-back types, lovers of laughter and song as well as devotees of silence and quiet meditation. We’ve got a beautiful abundance of loving and caring servants along with folks whose mission is more given to prayer and wonder. I would like for the new pastor to understand this diversity, be glad it’s there and be delighted to roll up his/her sleeves and work with all of us.“

The Parish Profile is a gold-mine of information about us, and includes the results of an extensive survey of parishioners, asking questions about demographics, style, beliefs, and aspirations. We hope that you will take the time to read and review this as part of your discernment of your call.

You should also review the rest of our website to gain insight into the energetic people and programs of Saint Jude's.

If you are not familiar with the San Francisco Bay Area, you can find out more about the state, region, and neighborhood that we are part of through the Community Links.

How to Apply

After reviewing our profile and characteristics, and prayerfully considering your own qualifications and experience, you may feel called to apply for this position. To apply, please visit the Apply for the Position page and follow the instructions there. We particularly direct your attention to the essay-form Application Questions which we will rely on to gain a deeper understanding of you beyond your resume and CDO Profile.

We look forward to hearing from you!