From the Music Director Search Committee

The Director of Music Search Committee has been working on a sustained basis since September, some of them 30 hours a week or more, to identify the best candidates for this critically important position. Our carefully prepared vetting process includes numerous professional, personal, and spiritual factors that the committee feels will provide the candidates with the most well-rounded talents to serve the entire St Philip's community for many years to come. The search process includes application package reviews (including audio and video of performances and rehearsal technique), cited and uncited reference checks, and both objective and subjective selection criteria. Through our conversations with candidates, we have come to understand and appreciate the stature that the St. Philip's music program has in the world of music professionals. Currently the Search Committee is in the final stages of discernment to select the two or three best candidates from almost forty very talented applicants nationally and internationally. This abundance of riches has actually made the winnowing process more difficult, but the committee considers it a labor of love willingly given to our whole St. Philip's family.

After a final downselect round that will occur during and just after the year-end holiday period, each finalist will be invited to St. Philip's in the February-March time frame for a long weekend to meet with parishioners, choirs, clergy and staff; rehearse all our choirs; conduct in a Sunday service; work with the After School Music Program; give a short organ recital; and present themselves at a short Forum. Specific dates for each weekend will be announced, once we finalize our short list and negotiate availability with each finalist.

The Search Committee considers parishioner inputs to be a very important element of this search process. Immediately after each interview weekend, please take time to contribute any impressions, concerns or questions you may have directly to any Search Committee member or send your comments and impressions to: Search.Committee@stphilipstucson.org 

Search Committee members are:
Mary L. Baker, Barbara Cone, Bob Couch, John Evans, James Humphreys, Dianne Iauco, Kate Metcalf, Anne Parker, Wendy Peters, and Gwen Powell, Chair   

The 2012 Annual Meeting of St. Philip's In The Hills Parish will be held on two Sundays: 22 and 29 January 2012. On both Sundays we will observe the usual service schedule, with the Rector's Report given as the sermon. On January 22, the Annual Meeting Part I, at 10:15 a.m., will include reports on mission and ministries, given by ministry leaders, with opportunities for Q&A. On January 29, the Annual Meeting Part II, at 10:15 a.m., will include 75th Anniversary Committee, Treasurer's, Buildings & Grounds, and Preservation & Endowment Foundation reports, with opportunities for Q&A. Elections of five Vestry members for 3-year terms, one Vestry member for a one-year term, the Junior Warden for a 1-year term, and five lay delegates to the Annual Diocesan Convention will take place at Part II of the Annual Meeting (January 29) only. Bios of the candidates for Vestry and Junior Warden are included in the Annual Meeting issue of Fragments. Nominations from the floor will be accepted at Part I of the Annual Meeting (January 22). In order to be nominated, the nominee must be a Pledger of Record for 12 consecutive months, communicant in good standing (attends worship and communion at least 3 times a year), and an active participant in ministries of the parish; must have previously agreed to serve, if elected; and must bring 150 copies of a one-sheet biography with picture. There will be no nominations from the floor during Part II of the Annual Meeting (January 29).

Bio of Karl Yordy

Four nominees for 3-year Vestry terms were introduced in the Fragments mailing. Karl Yordy is an additional nominee for a 3-year Vestry term. Here is how Karl introduces himself:

I became an Episcopalian at ten when I joined the choir at St. John's Cathedral in Denver. At that early age, I was entranced by the spiritual appeal and beauty of the liturgy and the music - an appeal that continues to this day. I was confirmed at St. John's and have sung in choirs at Episcopal churches ever since. I left Denver to go to college and graduate school in the East, and then spent many years in Washington D.C. Joyce and I met in the office of the Director of NIH, the federal biomedical research organization. Our son and daughter were born and raised in the D.C. area, and both now live in Virginia. After fifteen years in government health policy positions, I was part of the founding staff of the Institute of Medicine, now a leading health policy think tank. While mostly retired, I still lecture on health policy at the U of A. When we moved to Tucson in 1993, St. Philip's became our spiritual home. The outstanding music program continues to enhance my spiritual life. I have sung in the St. Philip's Singers, the Schola which sings Evensong every month, and more recently in the Canterbury Choir. I served as the first chair of the Music Advisory Committee. I chaired the discernment process for the parish several years ago (remember dream catching?) and have enjoyed seeing a number of those dreams become reality. I have been Commissioner for Worship and Music for the last several years which increased my appreciation of the wonderful volunteers who add so much value to the rich and varied worship opportunities at St. Philip's. I am honored to be considered for membership on the Vestry of this parish that means so much for so many.  

Meet the Vestry Candidates 

There will be an opportunity to meet the candidates for Vestry, on Sunday, January 15, at 10:15 a.m. in La Paz. Bring your questions! 

Who May Vote

To vote, one must be a member in good standing of St. Philip's In The Hills Parish according to the following definitions from our Bylaws and the Canons: 

Qualified members shall be all of the communicant members of the congregation as shown by the Church Register who are over 16 years of age, and all other members of the congregation over 16 years of age who have been regular contributors for the past six months, as shown by the treasurer's books. 

Communicant members shall be those meeting the qualifications of the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona. (From Bylaws, Article I, Section I.)  

All communicants of this Church who for the previous year have been faithful in corporate worship, unless for good cause prevented, and have been faithful in working, praying, and giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God, are to be considered communicants in good standing. (From Title I, Canon 17, and Sec. 3 of The Canons of the Episcopal Church.)