Incarnation is going to welcome its first members on September 8, our FIRST BIRTHDAY! (Don't worry - that's a pic of last year's cake...) And then at our next Parish meeting on October 6 we will be voting for our first official vestry. Incarnation is growing up!
Hang on, I hear you cry, don’t we already have a vestry? Well - not quite...
Looking back
When Incarnation began, we had what we called the “servant team” (Megan Westmoreland, Beth DeRiggi, Josie Ortega, Leigh McAfee, Eric Owen, Jill & Jamie Floyd, the Grays, the Rowes & the Reeds). The servant team started meeting monthly in October 2017 and we prayed and talked and helped to form our "launch team," the 40 or so people who started Incarnation in Summer 2018.
In February 2019, we released the staff and their spouses from the servant team and formed the "transition team" (David Griffin, Eric Owen, Jamie Floyd, Nancy Sung, Leigh McAfee, Liz Gray, Megan Westmoreland). All these teams have worked so hard in helping to form and shape our DNA. THANK YOU to each person who has served in this way.
In addition, all our major decisions (policies, budgets, etc.) were also approved by the Restoration vestry - so a huge THANK YOU to our mother church as well!
Looking forward
On Sept 8, we will have our own members, which means that now it is time for us to elect a vestry of our own in line with our recently approved bylaws and the canons (Anglican-speak for rules) of our Diocese.
So how do we do that? We start by nominating people....
Nominations from the congregation will be submitted confidentially, either on cards during the service or using this form.
The "nomination team" (Jamie Floyd, David Griffin, Liz) was appointed by the transition team. They will collect the nominations, ensure eligibility and then speak with nominees to check if they want to stand for vestry this year.
Nominees who remain interested after praying, reading the vestry ‘job description,’ and chatting with Jamie, David or Liz, will form a slate.
Whom should you nominate?
Baptised members of our congregation (not sure if they are baptised or members? Don’t worry; nominate them anyway and we will check!)
People with skills and interest in the ‘business’ side of a church. The role of vestry is spelled out in Section 4 of the bylaws.
Nominate people who love Jesus, are full of the Holy Spirit, are of good character, who enjoy reading a long document, who don’t mind meetings and who care about the structures of the church!
Nominate as many people as you like here. But do prayerfully consider whom to suggest. Some people have different gifts or are in a season where they simply don’t have the time. That is just fine! We all need to find our place in the body.
Note: Nominations are confidential; please don’t tell someone you are nominating them!
Don’t worry about whether they want to be nominated or are even eligible - we will talk that through with them. Nominating them does NOT mean they will land up on the slate … there is a process we will go through to help them decide if it is a good fit for them.
How does the slate work?
We expect to have a slate of 6-8 people from which we will vote for 6 people. We hope that 2 or 3 of the current transition team will stand. We really hope they will be reelected, for the sake of continuity.
We will provide some bios and background on those standing about a week in advance of the election.
Only members of IAC may vote. If you are becoming a member on Sept 8 and want to vote but will be out of town on Oct 6, please chat to Jamie Floyd or David Griffin. They will sort you out. Anyone can make nominations!
On Oct 6, Incarnation members will vote for our first vestry before the parish meeting (immediately after church, along with a potluck as usual). We will let the congregation know the outcome early that week.
SO NOW?
Go ahead and nominate people in church on Sept 1, Sept 8, or using this form. Nominations will CLOSE on Sept 9 so we have time to process and pray and chat. Join us in praying...and then on Oct 6, come and vote!
~Liz
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