Have You Ever Considered Serving on the Vestry?
One of the great traditions of the Episcopal Church is the body of lay persons responsible for the stewardship of the finances and facilities of the parish, otherwise known as the vestry. To some, the very word “vestry” causes shuddering in fear. This may be because of a past bad experience or because of something rumored about the vestry.
Let’s see if we can help heal some of those past experiences and dispel some of those rumors:
- The vestry is not an exclusive or elite body of people. Much like the disciples came from all walks of life, the vestry is made up of people from different backgrounds, different professions, and (gasp!) not all members of the vestry are lifelong Episcopalians.
- The vestry is not a body that gets together once per month to argue about issues affecting the church. As with any family, there are disagreements, and everyone may not always be perfectly aligned; but in the end, the vestry brings God into the midst of its decision process.
- If you serve on the vestry, you will not spend all your time at the church. Is there a time commitment? Yes. Are you expected to be present? Yes. But there are 12 members that make up the vestry, and each one is there to help pick up for the members who cannot be present.
What are the requirements for serving on the vestry at Trinity?
- You must be a confirmed member of the Episcopal Church and a member at Trinity for at least one year.
- The church records must reflect a record of consistent giving and attendance at worship.
- You must be willing to play well with others. Vestry meetings are not the place to grandstand or push your own agenda.
Our Annual Parish Elections will be held in October. The 4 members who are completing their three-year terms will be rolling off the vestry in January of 2020. These four members make up the nominating committee and they are Scott Frnka, Ken Sturges, Susan Mayer, and Maggie Innis. In September, there will be a series of workshops and informational meetings that are designed to give you an idea of what serving Trinity in this important way is all about. If you are interested, please see one of the four members of the nominating committee. Our ideal situation would be that we have six people run for the four positions that will be open.
These are exciting times for Trinity. We hope that you will prayerfully consider serving God and His church by sharing your time and talent in a way that has tremendous impact.
