Every March, members of Redeemer elect new members to the Vestry—our parish's governing body. This year we are electing two new Vestry members. Any member in good standing can be nominated to serve on the vestry. If you are a member of Redeemer, we encourage you to prayerfully consider whom you might nominate for these important roles.
Nominations are open through Sunday, February 23.
Nominees will be presented on Sunday, March 2.
Voting will be conducted online the week of Sunday, March 9 through Sunday, March 15.
Thank you for your thoughtful and prayerful consideration.
The Nominating Committee of the Vestry
David Williamson
Rachel White
Matt Morgan
Jeromy Lewis
The Definition of a Vestry
What is a Vestry?
Our Vestry is an elected body of deeply committed, faithful lay members of the parish. The Vestry, under the leadership of the Rector, meets monthly to prayerfully steward the “temporalities” (i.e. material resources) of the church.
Demographics of a Healthy Vestry
It is desirable to have a well balanced Vestry that accurately represents the demographics of the congregation. A healthy Vestry is composed of both men and women, young and old, single and married, parents and non-parents.
Characteristics of a Good candidate for Vestry
A good candidate for the Vestry is a deeply committed, faithful, prayerful follower of Jesus and confirmed member of Redeemer. He or she does not need to be successful, influential, or impressive. He or she does not need to be an expert in the Anglican tradition. A good candidate wants to be on the Vestry in order to serve, not to be important or to try to impose their will on the church.
Expected Time Commitment
Not everyone will have the time to serve on the Vestry in every season of life. In addition to one monthly meeting on a weekday morning for three years, Vestry members will be expected to serve 2-3 additional hours per week on Vestry-related tasks. Vestry members will also attend a one-night annual retreat.
Process for Submitting Nominations
Prayer: This is a process that needs to be saturated in prayer.
Please submit your nominations here.
The Purpose of Redeemer's Vestry
Safeguard the Vision
The Vestry’s primary role is to protect the stated vision of the parish. Each member of the Vestry should be able to articulate and safeguard the primary visionary direction of the congregation. They should each know and believe the answer to this question: What is it we are trying to do here?
Insure the Values
While the Vestry may know the direction and what they are trying to do as a parish, the Values question is this: How are we actually trying to live out our vision? What are the means and programs by which we are working toward our Vision? Where do we focus our efforts? What are we going to do now?
Uphold Financial Integrity
The Vestry is also charged with protecting the financial integrity of the church. Through a designated Finance team, the Vestry should scrutinize the finances on a monthly basis. They should provide for an annual audit of all funds; approve budgets and make routine reports to the congregation. They should approve long-term financial contracts and basically act as guardians of the financial life of the parish to insure that the church has a long-term future and is operating in a trustworthy way with all funds that have been given or borrowed.
Support the Rector
Supporting the Rector is the fourth key role of the Vestry. If the Rector is the main agent in accomplishing 1, 2, and 3 above, then the Vestrys’ primary role then is to help the Rector accomplish these things. Vestry leadership is never honorary; they are not rubber stamps for what the Rector decides is best. But they are not either to be ‘devil’s advocates’, the loyal opposition, or representatives of any special interest groups or programs in the parish. The Vestry has one job in a sense: help the Rector to lead the parish in 1, 2 and 3 (above) and support him however they can.
Model Sacrificial Giving
The final role of the Vestry is to model sacrificial, tithe-based giving to the parish. The Vestry should be among the most generous and financially committed members of the church. Why? Obviously, the leadership should never ask members to give beyond their own willingness to give; their own personal level of commitment. Leaders lead in every area, but the Vestry should be strong givers because people who are sacrificial givers…tithers…have usually discovered in themselves a heart of generosity that will help create a parish-wide culture of generosity in the years to come.*
*Language borrowed from our friend The Rev. David Rosenberry.
