I tend to tie classes about the Episcopal Church and its polity to times before the visitation of a bishop so they can be part of the “confirmation” preparation of folk new to The Episcopal Church. We are not on the list for an Episcopal visitation before year’s end at this writing which means that “classes” may be a while in coming. For new folk among us and for a refresher for longtime members perhaps a few words in the Doubter will help us all understand that The Episcopal Church has its peculiar ways of doing things… On the parish level (a parish is a self-supporting community of the faithful which has been admitted into union with the diocese by the diocesan convention) we are served by a vestry, elected by the parish at the annual parish meeting, comprised of members of the parish in good standing. St. Thomas the Apostle has a nine-member vestry. The vestry serves the parish community by assisting the rector in the mission and ministry of the parish. You elect the vestry to be your servants among you and deal with the ongoing, day to day, workings of the life of the community. It is also the vestry who “calls” a priest to be your rector in consultation with the bishop of the diocese who must approve such a choice before anyone may be “called.” The relationship between the rector and vestry is akin to a marriage relationship. Obviously, the priest “called” should perceive that call as not only coming from the members of the vestry and the local diocesan bishop, but also, one hopes, from God.
Our vestry meets monthly (4th Monday nights from 7 until 9 … you are welcome to audit our meetings anytime). In this diocese the rector names one of the vestry members you elect to be the Senior Warden (Priest’s Warden) who serves as a “companion,” if you will, to the rector, listening and offering advice and suggestions. I have had wonderful Senior Wardens. The Senior Warden also presides at vestry meetings in the absence of the rector. The Junior Warden is elected by the vestry from among the remaining 8 members. That soul’s work is the “care” of the physical plant. Most Junior Wardens will have front row seats in Heaven having lived through Hell already while serving! The Clerk of the vestry; the Treasurer; the Assistant Treasurer and the Chancellor are elected for one-year terms of service from the parish at large by the vestry. They may be re-elected. Like the rector, those officers have voice but no vote at vestry meetings. [Rector’s may vote in case of a tie, but what fool would do that] The staff of the parish is “hired” by the rector who may hire once the vestry provides monies to pay. Here the staff includes: the Deacon whose placement must be with the bishop’s approval; the Parish Secretary; the Organist-Choirmaster and the Sexton. “Sexton” is one of those great Episcopal words for the person who keeps our buildings looking spiffy. These staff members serve at the pleasure of the rector and, by tradition, tend their resignations when the rector leaves so the rector’s successor may choose his/her own staff. When I got here in 1989 the staff’s resignations were on my desk. All of us, vestry and staff, are here to be of service to you and to encourage you in your work as Christian members of the community in which we live. Our job is to create a place where your souls may be fed and you may go forth to do God’s Work in every corner of your life. The vestry welcomes your interest and input and appreciated the time and comments some of you gave in coming to our “vestry forum” on the June 27th. We took notes and spent time at the monthly meeting the next night discussing everything which we heard. In time, some of those ideas will bear fruit around the church property and beyond. “Vestry forums” are not “official” ways of working in the Episcopal Church but your vestry finds them productive. Every member of the vestry and every member of my staff welcomes your comments. An Episcopal Church is a community of the faithful in which the members are ready and willing to be open to discussing all aspects of its common life in a manner from which all may benefit. All of us, all members of the Church, are here to serve one another and all others as we seek to glorify God in this community.
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