St. Mark’s Episcopal Church | Capitol Hill, Washington, DC | Assistant Rector
Our Church
St. Mark’s is a vibrant, historic, open community seeking its next Assistant Rector.
Candidate Profile
The ideal Assistant Rector will be a relational, collaborative, and pastoral leader who extends and supports the ministry of the Rector, parish, and broader community. This individual will build trust quickly, genuinely enjoy engaging with people, and demonstrate a natural ability to connect newcomers and parishioners more deeply into the life of the church. Working closely with the Rector, staff, Vestry, and lay leaders, the Assistant Rector will thrive in a collaborative environment, contributing leadership and initiative without competing for ownership or authority.
The successful candidate will be self-directed, accountable, and able to carry projects from vision to execution with minimal supervision. They will possess the organizational skills necessary to translate relationships, ideas, and ministry opportunities into sustainable programs, systems, and practices. This will be particularly important in areas such as newcomer engagement, Christian formation, small group ministry, pastoral care, and lay leadership development.
A gifted pastor, the Assistant Rector will positively influence the lives of parishioners through presence, compassion, maturity, healthy boundaries, and attentive care. They will work alongside clergy and lay leaders to strengthen pastoral support throughout the congregation, with special attention to the needs of elderly parishioners, families, and those seeking deeper connection to the parish.
The Assistant Rector will be a thoughtful and imaginative leader who recognizes potential in people and ministries and is willing to experiment with new approaches. They will help the parish envision and develop new ministry opportunities, encourage broader participation in the church’s mission, and inspire members to deepen their awareness of God’s presence in their daily lives.
A central responsibility of the role is cultivating and empowering lay leadership. The Assistant Rector will actively equip volunteers and ministry leaders, enabling others to serve effectively rather than becoming a bottleneck for ministry and decision-making. They will support the development of formation groups, affinity groups, ministry teams, and other opportunities for meaningful engagement and discipleship.
Grounded in a joyful and vibrant faith, the Assistant Rector will bring theological depth, warmth, humor, and spiritual authenticity to their ministry. Through preaching, teaching, sacramental leadership, pastoral care, parish communications, and active participation in parish and diocesan life, they will help foster a welcoming, faithful, and mission-oriented congregation.
Above all, the Assistant Rector will demonstrate the capacity to lead with confidence and influence even when not holding ultimate authority. Given the collaborative nature of this role, success will depend on the ability to inspire trust, build consensus, empower others, and advance ministry through relationships, credibility, and service.
All expressions of interest, nominations, and referrals will be welcomed. Applications including a motivation letter, CV/resume, and Vocation Hub profile will be received at job@stmarks.net. For a conversation in confidence, please contact derek.wilkinson@odgers.com.