What is the Vestry?
This Sunday, January 22, we will have our annual congregational meeting. Each year at our annual meeting we share reports on the past year, present the budget approved by the Vestry for coming year, and elect new Vestry members. The meeting will conclude with some observations from me on hopes for 2017 as we seek to be faithful to God’s call on our life together. In order to vote and participate in the annual meeting one must be a member of our congregation, which means one has been baptized, confirmed or received into the Anglican church, a regular financial contributor, and a regular participant in the worship and ministry of the congregation. If you’re not sure if you’re an official member, please call the office and we’ll let you know. However, anyone is welcome to attend the annual meeting.
Anglican churches have an Episcopal form of church government. The word “episcopal” comes from the Greek word “episcopos,” which has historically been translated as “bishop.” Thus, we are governed by bishops. On a local level, each Anglican congregation is governed by a Vestry (an old English word for the room off the sanctuary where the clergy put on their vestments – it was usually the only room for a meeting), which is a group of laypeople elected by the congregation to exercise stewardship of congregation’s ministry. In addition to the Vestry, each congregation has two wardens (another old English word, which, in the past, meant exactly what it sounds like – fortunately not so much anymore!). The Senior Warden is appointed each year by the rector, and the Junior Warden is elected to a one-year term by the congregation. The wardens and rector form essentially an “executive team,” while the Vestry serves as the rough equivalent of a board of directors.
The wardens and Vestry are empowered to call a rector (a word meaning roughly “ruler” – it’s important for me to remember what Jesus said about how his followers would exercise authority), an ordained priest who leads the congregation. (As another aside, the English word “priest” is a contraction of the Greek word “presbyter,” or “elder.” This is important because I am not a “priest” in the Old Testament sense of one who intercedes or offers sacrifice on behalf of the people. Jesus is our great high priest, who offered himself as a final sacrifice for sins, thus opening the way for all to have direct access to God, and our relationship with God is not mediated by anyone other than Jesus himself. This is the basis for the great Reformation doctrine of the “priesthood of all believers.”) The bishop must sign off on the Vestry’s decision to call a rector, thus putting checks and balances into a system that, while imperfect, I find incredibly sound.
In our local church, we have nine Vestry members, each serving three-year terms. Each year three members rotate off, and thus three new members are elected. The three outgoing Vestry members form a nominating committee, which includes each of them, and they invite three former Vestry members to serve on the committee with them. This committee then takes names of individuals who are interested in Vestry service, and prayerfully narrows the group to three (I’ll say that in past years we’ve had to be aggressive in finding Vestry members, thus narrowing the group to three hasn’t been as much an issue as finding three people who will serve!), and that group is put forward at the annual meeting for election.
We have much to celebrate from 2016, and we have a lot to look forward to in 2017. We’ll celebrate and look ahead at our many opportunities and challenges on Sunday.
Please continue to pray as we seek to be faithful to God’s call for us as a congregation. We’ve been incredibly blessed, and, as such, we must be mindful of the proverb “to whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12.48). Each of us has a part to play as we seek to be faithful to our call to become mature disciples of Jesus who seek to bless and serve our city.
Peace,
Chris