Vestry elections!
Good Morning all
I hope your week has got off to a good start?
If you missed church on Sunday why not take an hour and watch the whole service, or 20 minutes and listen to the sermon or take a few minutes to pray for our community. Perhaps you have some thoughts on the topic of ‘meekness’ that we were thinking about - drop me an email or let’s have coffee to discuss!
A couple of announcements from Sunday we do NOT want you to miss though!
First, HOORAH for David Griffin who was approved last week for ordination to the transitional diaconate. This is fantastic news and he will be ordained by the Bishop on Oct 17 at our 9am service. Save the date and make sure you’re at church that morning to pray and delight in David’s journey in ministry. (We will also have confirmations that morning so let me know if you're curious about that... )
Second, it’s that time of year again when we say THANK YOU to vestry who have served their term. So we are saying a HUGE thank you to Clayton and Emily W who have served so faithfully - Clayton was one of the Wardens this year, and Emily was Secretary... and they have brought so much wisdom and grace to the team. THANK YOU.
And now, as we consider nominations for this Fall, let’s start with what you know about our vestry…. Give yourself one point for each correct answer.
How many people serve on an Incarnation vestry? (six plus the Rector)
How long do they serve for? (three years)
So how many roll off every year? (two)
How many of our current vestry can you name? Bonus point if you get the year their service completes (2021: Clayton Clark, Emily Williams, Jenni McSwain (1 yr term); 2022: Ben Goebel; 2023: Nancy Sung, Patrick Sahm and I guess having their photo above was a bit of a clue)
How often do they meet? (normally ten times a year, roughly monthly with a break in August and December).
Where can you find the bylaws that govern our vestry? (here or on our website)
How well did you score?
0-5 hmm perhaps maybe you haven’t been around much recently?
6-10 Well done!
11-17 Amazing! Are you already on vestry? If not, you should be!
Ok - so here are a few more questions.... and the answers!
What is a vestry?
The main role of a vestry is there to manage ‘the temporal matters’ of the church. They are also there to support and care for the Rector - who in turn supports and cares for the staff.
So, the vestry watch over the budget, and any premises we rent or own. They pray for the community. They are truly ‘the elders’ we depend on to ensure that we are, and remain, ‘healthy’ as a community.
Who can serve on vestry?
Mature members of our community, who will commit to praying, seeking the Lord and being attentive and thoughtful to the duties of the vestry. They need to be confirmed members of the church. (BUT if they are not yet confirmed the Bishop can fix that on Oct 17!)
What’s your role?
Everyone at Incarnation is invited to pray and consider who to nominate. Don’t worry about whether you know if they are members etc - nominate people who you see already serving in our midst. People whose character leads you to suspect they would be prayerful and careful leaders. You do not need their permission to nominate them, and you can also nominate yourself.
Then what happens?
There is a nominating committee (this year it is Clayton, Emily and Liz) who will go through all nominations and check that those nominated are eligible and then take time to speak with the nominees, to explain the role of the vestry and answer questions. This gives nominees a chance to see if they believe God is calling them now to this particular role. There are so many ways to serve - this is just one of them!
The vestry then agree a slate of candidates, and the congregation will be given written bios on September 12 to read and pray over. The election will be held from Sept 19-26 - electronically (like last year) and all active members of Incarnation will have the opportunity to vote. The elected vestry members will be announced on Sept 27.
This year
We will be electing two people for 3-year terms and one person for a 1-year term. Jenni McSwain was initially appointed by the vestry for one year (in compliance with our bylaws) to fill the unexpected vacancy caused by the sudden and devastating loss of Eric. Jenni is eligible for re-election.
So start praying - who will YOU nominate for vestry this year? Here’s the link to make your suggestions.
With gratitude for you all,
Your pastor,
~ Liz