Supporting Documentation for Ordination Process
This purpose of this form is to gather supporting documents from a variety of stakeholders, including recommenders, clergy in charge, discernment committees, and congregational governance such as Vestries or Bishop's committees.

When you select the individual's Application Stage, a list of appropriate documents will appear below in the Document Title menu.

When you select the document you wish to submit, appropriate fields will appear for you to enter the text of the letter or report, upload supporting materials if needed, and give attestations as appropriate.

This form should be used for submitting only one document at a time. If you are being asked for a piece of information you don't think you should be, or if you are NOT being asked for a piece of information you DO think you should be, refresh the page and start over. If this action does not resolve your problem, contact vocations@diocal.org to report a problem with the form.
  • For what stage of the ordination process are you submitting?

  • Report or Letter of Support

    Do not continue this form until you have selected an Application Stage and Document Title above. Your choices in the previous section determine which fields should be shown in this section.
  • If you prefer to also upload a .pdf or .doc(x) of the letter, you made do that here. Please also paste the text of the letter in the box below. The letter should address the following:

    • How long have you known this person?
    • How long has this person been a member of the congregation?
    • What has been this person’s involvement in the life of the congregation and community?
    • How has the congregation discovered and encouraged this person’s call to Holy Orders?
    • What is your understanding of what moves the person to seek Holy Orders?
    • What are your reasons for recommending this person?
    • What are your impressions of the person's spirituality, including: faithfulness in worship and reception of sacraments, prayer life, understanding of the Church’s faith, knowledge of scriptures, loving interaction with others, and sense of social responsibility?
    • What areas for growth and development would you encourage the person consider?
    • How will ordination of this person build up the whole body of Christ and cultivate gifts for lay ministry?
  • Paste the text from the report or letter of support here.
  • If needed or desired, upload the supporting documentation here. Note that if you choose this option, you will still need to complete the remainder of this online form.

  • P3 Local Discernment Committee Reflection and Recommendations

    Below are guidelines for what you might choose to include in your report. Use them if you find them helpful! You may choose to simply upload a report above, or you can fill in the two boxes provided below: Nominee's Relationship with the Congregation and Description of Local Discernment.
  • In this section, you might describe the nominee's relationship with the congregation, including:
    • How long has the Nominee been an active member of the congregation?
    • List and comment briefly on all the areas of ministry supervised or evaluated by the LDC.
    • How does the Nominee work within groups as a leader, teacher, or participant?
    • How has the nominee demonstrated cultural competence and sensitivity to people in a variety of social groups?
    • How has the nominee demonstrated sensitivity towards the feelings and beliefs of others?
    • To what extent is the nominee open, accepting, forgiving, and able to embody the reconciling love of God in Christ?
  • In this section, you might describe the work of the local discernment committee.
    • How many meetings have you had to date?
    • Did you follow a curriculum or use a particular resource to guide your discussions? If so, which one?
    • Whether you used a curriculum or not, what were some important topics you discussed?
    • What are the major strengths of the applicant for ordained ministry, and specifically for either the diaconate or priesthood?
    • What are some areas for potential growth?

  • Attestation

    This section, which changes depending on which selections you made above, allows you to add signatures and/or more information to the form.
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  • We do furthermore declare that this person is a confirmed adult communicant in good standing who has been a member of this congregation for at least three years. We believe that this person has demonstrated qualities of Christian commitment and potential for leadership and vision. We are prepared to support this person during the time of preparation prior to ordination as required by the Canons of The Episcopal Church.
  • Signatures are optional for most forms, especially those submitted directly by recommenders and not by the applicant.

    However, for any forms submitted by a bishop's committee or vestry, signatures of 2/3 of the group are required by canon law. If you did not include signatures in the files uploaded above, you may upload scanned, photographed, or likewise formatted digital signatures for all signing parties here. You may upload multiple files.
  • List all of the signing parties (and their congregational affiliations, if applicable). If this is a congregational endorsement, please include the titles of the clergy in charge of the congregation, and the clerk of the Vestry or Bishop's Committee.