Vestry
Vestry
Vestry
Members of the Vestry
Senior Warden
William Graham
Junior Warden
Jim McPherson
Carol Wertz
Allison Wells
Glenda Carpenter
Judith Hilton
Brad Frazier
Origins of the Vestry
The vestry of an Episcopal church has three primary responsibilities. The first two are managerial: to take care of parish finances and the parish buildings. The third is to choose individuals to fill various positions of leadership and representation: the choice of a rector, the choice of delegates to the diocesan convention, and the selection of others as the diocesan canons may stipulate. The vestry also serves as an advisory council to the rector who by church law is the parish’s chief liturgical and pastoral officer.
Role of the Vestry
Originally the word "vestry" referred to the room where the priest would put on their vestments, at which time local laity would meet with them to discuss the affairs of the parish. Over time the name of the room came to signify the group of people who governed a parish because it was where they met. While the vestry meeting location has changed, the name has remained the same.
Membership In the Vestry
The vestry consists of between five and nine lay members of the church elected by the congregation at the annual parish meeting. The current vestry of All Saints has seven members. Each year, the vestry elects the Senior and Junior Wardens. The remaining officers, Secretary and Treasurer, are chosen by the vestry from among the members of the vestry or the congregation at large. Vestry members normally serve a three year term and must be members in good standing of the parish.
Meetings of the Vestry
The vestry of All Saints meet on the third Sunday of each month after 10:30am service in the Conference Room in The Family Life Center. Unless otherwise noted, all meetings are open to members of the congregation. The annual parish meeting is held in January of each year.
Selection of Members
Before the annual meeting, the vestry forms an informal committee to nominate a slate of candidates to replace the members whose term is scheduled to expire. With approval of the vestry, the nominations are presented to the congregation at the annual parish meeting. Members of the congregation may submit to the Nominating Committee the name of any person for consideration to be a nominee. When the slate is closed, the congregation votes for the candidates of their choice and the candidates receiving the highest number of votes are elected to take the place of the four members whose term is expiring at the end of the Annual Meeting. Vestry members are elected to serve on the vestry for a period of three years.