INFORMATION FORM For Candidates in the Episcopal Search process of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes Thank you for participating in the search process for Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes. Please complete this form and submit it with the following: ● Your current curriculum vitae/resume ● A Spiritual Biographical Statement which includes your conversion and call to ministry (500 word maximum). ● A high resolution photo (Jpeg) of yourself ( preferably a headshot) Please saved each section in a separate, current Microsoft Word document (2010 or newer), or PDF file. You will have a total of four (4) separate files. Please be sure to save your files as follows: Information form and Essay questions: File Name: Y
​OURFIRSTANDLASTNAME­Info​
.doc Your vitae/resume: File name: ​
YOURFIRSTANDLASTNAME­VITAE.doc​
or PDF Biographical; Statement: File name: ​
YOURFIRSTANDLASTNAME­BIO.doc​
or PDF For your Photo: File name: ​
YOURFIRSTANDLASTNAME​
.jpeg Once you are ready to submit your materials, please go to ​
www.ADGLSYNOD.com​
and log on with your username and password that you received in your invitation to apply. If you need assistance with the website, logon, or other technical issues, please contact Tina Fisher at TinaFisher1002@gmail.com All material must be submitted ASAP with a deadline of September 22, 2015. Any content questions should be directed to Chair of the Search Committee, The Rev. Kathleen Rankin at kathier@stlukesakron.com Full Name: ​
Scott Souders Street address: 4378 ​
Conestoga Trail City, State, Zip code: ​
Copley, Ohio 44321 Best contact Phone number: ​
330.807.7931 Email address: ​
scottsoud1@yahoo.com Skype address: ​
n/a Current position: ​
Rector, Holy Spirit Anglican Church (Akron, Ohio) Canonical Residence:​
ADGL Current Bishop:​
Right Reverend Roger Ames Date and Diocese of Ordination to the Priesthood:​
Jan 2, 1981 ­ The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio Marital Status: ​
Married Have you ever been divorced?​
No Please provide names and contact information of all the Bishops under whom you have served: Rt. Rev. John Burt (Episcopal Diocese of Ohio), Rt. Rev. James Moodey (Episcopal Diocese of Ohio), Rt. Rev. Clark Grew (Episcopal Diocese of Ohio), Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth (Episcopal Diocese of Ohio), Rt. Rev. Frank Lyons (Diocese of Bolivia, Anglican Church in the Southern Cone), Rt. Rev. Martyn Mimms (CANA), Most Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan (Archbishop, ACNA), Rt. Rev. Roger Ames (suffrigan for CANA, Bishop ADGL), Most Rt. Rev. Foley Beach (Archbishop, ACNA) Please respond to all the questions below. Limit each of your answers to a maximum of 250 words unless otherwise indicated. 1. The ADGL is a large and diverse diocese covering four states and a Canadian Province. Based on your reading of the diocesan Profile document and considering your leadership style and strengths, what is your vision for ministry in the ADGL with special attention paid to evangelism and discipleship? How do you see Anglicanism uniquely suited to offer resources for evangelistic outreach? Please limit your response to 400 words. John 17 speaks of Christ being made known to the world through His love experienced by and expressed through the disciples. I long for an even deeper path of discipleship for the clergy and congregations of our diocese. As clergy, we often have a wealth of information regarding discipleship, but may never have experienced the love of God through the actions of someone personally discipling us. I long to see more of this discipleship in our diocese­ not programs or Bible study ­ but a process ­ not about information, but about ongoing transformation, and accountable relationship with other believers. We have all heard, and have likely spoken on the great commission in Matthew 28: to go and make disciples. What is a disciple? Scripture tells us it is to lay down our lives, take up our crosses, and surrender to follow Christ as Lord and Savior. In this context of surrender, we walk together, and are transformed through the presence of God in our midst. The beauty of Anglican liturgy offers us the opportunity to experience God in each meeting. The sacrament of Holy Baptism renews our commitment to communal discipleship as we welcome each new member. In Holy Eucharist, we encounter the Risen Christ, the real presence of God each week, and we are healed and changed. Non­believers and new believers have an opportunity to hear the story, to experience God, and to watch believers being transformed before their eyes. Through the experience of sacrament, we’re halfway to discipleship. I long to hear more testimonies of how this diocese is experiencing discipleship as a way of life. As we deepen in our walk of discipleship, we will reflect God’s love more. As we reflect God’s love, evangelism is less a task, and more a relational consequence. As we, in accountability (with unveiled faces), consider and experience God’s glory, we are transformed increasingly into His image (II Cor. 3). Evangelism will happen naturally, as people see the reflection of God in the faces of his transformed disciples. Deepening our discipleship could look like increased times that clergy, in small groups of 3 or 4, could be unveiled and continually transformed. Honoring our differences, discipleship becomes a means in Christ to build our relationships with one another. True discipleship builds bridges. As the clergy of our diocese continue to grow as disciples, new life will be released into disparate congregations. A fresh experience of the Anglican Catechism will be integral to this new life, as it provides a common base for the working out of our relationships with Christ and one another. Throughout my years in ministry, I have facilitated many programs and studies and have discovered that growing as a disciple is not a program or study, but is a lifestyle walked daily with Christ, and with the body. I look forward to continuing to walk in discipleship with this diocese, and to hearing the testimony of new believers as evangelism flows from Christ’s disciples within our clergy and congregations. The work that God begins, God sustains. God of Creation, the living Word of Scripture, the witness of the saints, the history, liturgy, and sacrament found in Anglican tradition: all of this is God’s work. God will continue to work, as God always has, in and through his word, his church, and his people. We must continue the worthy labor of obedience in discipleship, growing in Christ, and allowing the Holy Spirit, at work in our transformation, to draw others to himself. 2. Describe the role of the Bishop as being a defender of the Faith. Defending the faith is a pastoral calling. This role is no mere debate of right and wrong. It is directly linked to the role of Bishop as shepherd. It can be the defense of the sheep from wolves in sheep’s clothing, and the assaults of the enemy. A defender is called to pray for, stand with and on behalf of, and to equip each clergy and congregation with the tools necessary for this defense. As Anglicans, we are blessed with rich history, liturgy, and tradition in service of this mission. In the recitation of the Creeds, we exercise the muscles of faith for each member present, calling the truths of Scripture to confront the forces of darkness, and reclaiming one another as Christ’s own with each communally spoken word. It is this truth of Scripture, this essence of creed that is primarily exercised within the walls of the church. The role of Bishop as defender of the faith equips clergy and congregation with truth, cares for clergy and congregation by speaking this truth in love, provides clergy and congregations with opportunities for deepened discipleship, and exhibits love inside and outside the walls of the church in earnest zeal for the souls of all God’s children. 3. Since its inception in 2007, the self proclaimed identity of the Diocese of the Great Lakes has been described as a three steam Diocese (Evangelical, Sacramental, Charismatic). How would you as our Bishop support this identity? Please limit your response to 300 words. We believe Scripture to be the Word of God, and that its role in our lives is central and integral. WIthin the Evangelical stream, we believe in the personal decision of an individual to receive Christ, in the work of God to reconcile Himself to each person and to the body, and in the difficult and worthy work of discipleship shown in Scripture: to follow Christ and to surrender. As we allow ourselves to be discipled by Christ and His Word, as we strive to obey the commands and heart of Scripture, Christ transforms us into people who can listen to, learn from, and love others with the ears, mind, and love of Christ. As Bishop, I would walk with the clergy and congregations of this diocese down the road of discipleship, encouraging obedience, supporting with Scripture, and celebrating the transformation of the church as God moves in and through us. It is such a privilege to take part in the Sacraments wherein we encounter Christ in community. As Bishop, I would pray for, encourage, equip, and celebrate with clergy and congregations the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Communion. Encountering the Risen Christ in Eucharist would be central to our times of meeting as clergy, and central to life of parish and diocese. It is through encountering Christ in these sacraments that we are connected to the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. As Bishop, I would recognize the amazing power of the Holy Spirit, which comes to fill us with gifts and ministries. I would recognize how this is imperative to our daily lives, and our life as a body. I would continue to rejoice in and encourage the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit with which God has so richly blessed our diocese. I would encourage the sharing of the witness of Scripture and testimony that results in the increased faith and expectation of what God can do when we surrender and receive all that God would pour into our lives for the edification and building up of the body. 4. The Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes is a dual integrity diocese which ordains women to the priesthood. What is your understanding of the role of women in orders and how would you pastor and support women clergy? Please limit your response to 300 words. I have great respect for the dual integrity held by our diocese. I love the clergy with varying positions, and understand that we are in submission to hear the will of God regarding our clergy through the larger community of the Province. I remain open and attentive to God revealing his heart and mind in these matters to the Province. I believe the role of women in orders to be, as with clergy both male and female, dependent upon the gifting and anointing of the Holy Spirit, and the recognition of their community and spiritual authority. When gifting, anointing, and affirmation are present, such women and men need to be released to do the ministry to which God has called them. Having worked with both male and female clergy, I would pastor and support both by: caring for, encouraging, equipping, walking alongside, defending, and communicating in health and transparency. I have traversed a long road of transforming opinions on this subject throughout my thirty years in ministry. In spite of my personal support of women in orders, I honor, and will continue to honor, stand in fellowship with, love, and work alongside any clergy whose views may differ from my own, and listen with them in submission to the will of God presented through the Province. 5. Do you personally tithe? Does your church currently tithe to your diocese? Why or why not? Our congregation is not presently tithing ten percent, though we are working toward that number. Personally, I tithe, and am also committed to sacrificial giving, and look forward to the day our congregation moves into the same. Currently, over 50% of the congregations income pours directly into outreach. This includes ministry to the poor of the city, committing time and money to T.R.Y. Ministries, ministry to the greater Akron region, pastoral care of friends within and without the congregation, partnering with faith and community based organizations in service to the mentally ill of the region, and all the expenses entailed therein. 6. Are there any problems or challenges to your being selected as a bishop, or is there any way in which your selection as a bishop could be a problem? Have you ever been convicted of any offense other than minor traffic violations? Yes/No (If “yes” give details and resolution.) Have you ever been the subject of any ecclesiastical, civil or professional discipline? Yes/No (If “yes” give details and resolution). No.