2025 Vestry Election Candidates

Incarnation's 2025 Vestry (L to R): Elena Benning, Kim McKnight, Buz Schultz, Will Montague, Katie Foran, Amy Rowe, Katie Hamlin, and Jared Noetzel

Fall is here! The leaves are changing, the weather is turning crisp, and it is time for another Vestry election at Incarnation! The Vestry plays a critical role in supporting the rector in the leadership of the church. It's a big commitment — and also a joy! It bears mentioning that we had a record number of nominations this year. Our church is blessed with many talented leaders who would be a gift to have on vestry. For a number of excellent reasons, many nominees chose not to stand, but remain open to standing in the future.

After vetting the nominees, we have three amazing candidates whose meaningful presence has deeply blessed our church and who have prayerfully agreed to stand for election. We will elect two vestry representative to fill the seats being vacated by Jared Noetzel and Kim McKnight, who are completing their terms at the end of this year. The new vestry will be announced at the upcoming parish meeting on November 9, and will begin meeting in January, 2026.

If you are a member of Incarnation, please read each bio of our candidates and prayerfully consider who the Lord is guiding into this significant parish role. We will open electronic voting on Sunday, November 2, and all members will receive an email with voting instructions. If you do not receive a ballot, or need any support, please reach out to me (emily at incarnation anglican dot org) for assistance.

Andy Lau

I am both humbled and pleasantly surprised to be nominated for the vestry. As I sat with this in prayer and discernment, a verse from the King James Bible echoed gently in my heart:“And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

(Acts 9:6) It is therefore with reverence - and, honestly, a bit of astonishment - that I respond to this invitation to serve.

I grew up in Hong Kong, where it was not unusual for the scent of incense from a nearby temple to mingle with the sound of church bells. That coexistence quietly shaped my faith. Faith, for me, meant meeting G-d in hidden places. It is about presence, grace, and wonder. I was baptized in the Episcopal Church during college, after years of questioning and seeking. Today, I remain an active churchgoer, not out of habit, but because I desire to stay grounded in community and guided by faith. Church, to me, is less about ritual and more about rhythm—a space where reflection, grace, and connection continue to grow.

If elected to the vestry, I would bring a deep sense of empathy, curiosity, and kindness—qualities that shape how I listen, collaborate, and lead within a faith community. I strive to understand others' perspectives and experiences, creating space for thoughtful dialogue and connection, while modelling love, patience, and integrity to help build trust and shared purpose within the vestry and the congregation. I believe empathy is essential to building a church that is welcoming, inclusive, and spiritually nourishing for all.

My natural curiosity fuels a desire to ask questions, explore possibilities, and continually learn—both about people and about how our church functions. I bring an interest in systems thinking and am attentive to how we can streamline processes to make our ministries more efficient, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of the congregation. I also value proactiveness and preparation. I try to anticipate needs, consider solutions, and come ready to contribute meaningfully. I believe being prepared is a form of respect and service to the community, and that how we do things matters as much as what we do.

Nancy Sung

As a young person I had rejected the Christian faith as meaningless until observing its transformational effects in others around me, and then encountering Jesus in the Gospels. I was drawn to Jesus' offer of reconciling grace, recognizing that all I contribute is my brokenness. Over the ensuing 4+ decades I’ve experienced God’s character most powerfully in the Bible, in worship, in the beauty of the natural world, in seeing the Gospel transcend culture, and by walking closely with others through seasons of joy, sorrow and testing. 

My husband (Grant) and I relocated to the area in 2018, and found Incarnation when it was a brand new church plant. We dove right in! It was my privilege to serve as a Vestry Warden during 2019-2023, and I’m honored to be asked to consider serving on Vestry again. My areas of interest remain shepherding (building an inclusive community where we grow together in depth and strength) and outreach (always ready, gently and respectfully, to give an account for the hope within us), both locally and globally. The Gospel we carry is a precious treasure, and I’m committed to helping Incarnation embody it, whether I’m on the Vestry or not.  It is a joy to be part of building God’s kingdom at this time, in this place, with you all.

Emma Wen

I have always known of God as a child of a lifelong Catholic father and a devout evangelical Protestant mother. After a “believe in Jesus or go to hell” moment when I was eleven, my relationship with God developed out of a highly transactional, self-interested basis. Since then, God has patiently transformed my understanding of faith through the Scriptures, biblical and historic instruction, and quiet examples of more mature Christians. As a natural skeptic, I’ve struggled to recognize God’s faithfulness, but over the years, He has kept affirming my desire to “glorify and enjoy Him forever” (Westminster Catechism).

Being part of Incarnation has helped shape this transformation. When I first started coming nearly three years ago, I was disconnected from the professions of faith I had heard all my life and in how I saw most Christians live. Incarnation’s deeply relational, effusively welcoming community has been part of God’s answers to my questions about His faithfulness and presence in the world. Since joining, I’ve served on the music team, in the Good Shepherd Atrium, done set-up and teardown, and gotten to know you in small groups, church retreats, and the hiking group. In the ordinariness of these activities, God is teaching me how to follow Jesus faithfully at a collective and individual level.

I’m most excited to see how God will work in Incarnation, both as a sending-out place for the upcoming church plant and in Alexandria, testing and living out Jesus’ teachings every day. I hope to contribute in whatever ways I can so that Incarnation continues to be Jesus’ hands and feet here in our neighborhood.