Trinity Rector Sets Retirement
Episcopal News Service. March 20, 1986 [86060]
NEW YORK. (DPS, March 20) -- The Rev. Robert Ray Parks, 15th rector of the Parish of Trinity Church, announced his intention to retire as rector at year's end. The announcement was made at the January meeting of the parish vestry.
Parks will have served 15 years as the rector of what is widely regarded as one of the most influential and demanding posts in the Episcopal Church. He came to Trinity in 1972, following 12 years as Dean of St. John's Cathedral in Jacksonville, Fla. He succeeded the Rev. Dr. John Vernon Butler.
A native of Georgia, Parks graduated from the University of Florida and served in the U.S. Navy from 1941 to 1946. He then earned a B.D. degree from the University of the South and was ordained deacon in 1949 and priest a year later. He holds a number of honorary degrees.
In a statement issued to the parish staff, Parks commented that "what may seem a lengthy 'pre-notice' of my intention to retire is so that the succession process can ensure that there is no actual vacancy in the office of rector, with a smooth and effective transition."
The search process for the 16th Rector has been initiated with the naming of a five-member Succession Committee.
A statement of Basic Standards for the sixteenth rector also has been approved and adopted by the Vestry.
The Succession Committee invites nominations for the office of 16th Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church. Nominations, which should be made in light of the statement of Basic Standards, may be sent to: The Succession Committee, Parish of Trinity Church, 74 Trinity Place, New York, NY 10006. Each nomination should be in writing and should include the name and address of both the person being nominated and the nominator.