Chaplain Position Description

The Episcopal Church at Princeton University is seeking an ordained Episcopal priest to serve as its Chaplain. The Chaplain should understand residential college life and be able to relate to the rigorous academic climate of the university, offering support and guidance to the students and other members of the community. The Chaplain will be a voice for God's Word and presence in the university and the larger community, speaking from a Gospel perspective on issues that might not often be addressed in other venues. The ministry is spiritually active and inclusive, embracing a diverse population of faculty, staff, and graduate and undergraduate students from Princeton University and Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Institute for Advanced Study. Attendance at Sunday services averages sixty to seventy people, mostly Princeton undergraduates. Music for the liturgy is provided by an organist and a ten- to twenty-member choir that draws largely from Westminster Choir College; the choir has, in the last two years, included two choral scholars from the United Kingdom. Mid-week ministries include a short service with Eucharist on Tuesday afternoons and a dinner, Eucharist, and discussion on Wednesday evenings that often includes special guests. A vigorous and involved undergraduate leadership team is headed by two or three conveners who help the Chaplain to plan and staff services and midweek programs. Other student leaders assist the conveners and the Chaplain in the services by organizing readers and acolytes for the Sunday service, for example, or by cooking dinner on Wednesdays. A non-stipendiary associate chaplain has often been appointed to assist the Chaplain with all aspects of the ministry from meeting with congregants to leading services.

As a pastor, the Chaplain should be available and willing to counsel members of the congregation and should seek them out in times of need and crisis. The Chaplain will teach and lead in areas of spiritual formation and growth, including Bible studies and confirmation classes. The Chaplain should support and encourage student leadership and ministry and should enjoy working with students to develop the programs of the chaplaincy, including outreach programs.

The Chaplain must draw on the diverse range of Anglican traditions in order to encompass the many kinds of people seeking Christ through the Episcopal ministry, including many from other Christian denominations. Sermons should challenge the congregation to follow the radical love that Christ teaches in the Gospel and to act on a commitment of the heart, soul, and mind to Christ. Services currently include a formal liturgy, and the Sunday evening service embraces the sacred music tradition. The Chaplain is responsible for the scheduling, organization and leadership of services and will work closely with the music director, the organist and the conveners. The Chaplain should look for opportunities to expand the ministry and programs of ECP by offering different kinds of worship, educational, and social opportunities. The Chaplain will also help to continue ECP's involvement in the national and regional Episcopal church.

The chaplaincy is supervised and financially supported by the Board of the William Alexander Procter Foundation, which is chaired by the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, who appoints the members. The Procter Foundation also supervises the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Rutgers University, and the two chaplaincies maintain very close connections. An Oversight Committee made up of Princeton University faculty, staff, and student members of ECP as well as local community members meets more often to discuss and decide budgetary and policy matters. Financial support for the chaplaincy comes from several trusts, and their stewardship, which will include fundraising for ECP, is an essential duty of the Chaplain. While not a University appointment, the chaplaincy is associated with the University's Office of Religious Life, and the Chaplain works in cooperation with the Dean of the Chapel and Religious Life and other United Campus Ministries in ecumenical and interfaith initiatives.

Salary and benefits will be determined in accordance with the policies of the Diocese of New Jersey. Currently, the Chaplain lives adjacent to campus in Procter House, a large Victorian house that includes an office and meeting room for students and two separate floors for the Chaplain's private use.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, but the Discernment Committee expects to review applications no later than April 1, 2008. Candidates should email Katherine Rohrer, the co-chair of the Discernment Committee, for information about application procedures at krohrer@Princeton.edu.