The Vestry, St. Stephen's Church
Updates and doings....
Editor's note: this is a new feature of our web site and of our newsletter, The Messenger. We hope to add these notes on a monthly basis so that we can all get a little of the flavor of what goes on in vestry meetings.
AND a lot of thanks to Barbara for doing this first issue.
AND a whole bucket of thanks to the vestry, who give so much of their time and talents to keep us up and running!
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News & Notes from the Vestry at St. Stephen’s
The Vestry, in connection with the Communications Task Force, is committed to keeping the folks in the pews up-to-date on what happens at the monthly Vestry meetings.
Our goal is to give you a brief summary of the monthly meeting, within a week or so of the meeting. And to give you an avenue of contact in the event you have a concern, a question, an observation, or just want to let us know you’re out there.
As I was thinking about what to report, it occurred to me that many of you may have heard the term Vestry, but may not know its origins or what its purpose and function is.
So this first report will contain two components, and will be a bit longer than future reports. If you already know what a Vestry is and what it does, or you just aren’t interested, skip this first part, and scan down to the Report section.
A Bit of Background
The following is taken from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout & Robert Boak Slocum, editors:
In England the annual election of churchwardens took place in Easter week. The parishioners gathered at the church to hear the outgoing wardens render their accounts and elect their successors. The parishioners assembled in the vestry, the room off the chancel where the clergy vested. The assembled parishioners came to be known as the vestry. These were open vestries in that all adult male parishioners could participate. It was like a modern annual congregational meeting. In Virginia the parishes were very large and it was difficult to get all the male parishioners together. So they would meet only once and elect twelve of their number to serve for life. This was known as a closed vestry. The transition to a closed vestry was completed by 1633 or 1634, when a Vestry Act was passed. It provided that "there be a vestrie held in each parish." The current vestry evolved from this colonial pattern.
The vestry is the legal representative of the parish with regard to all matters pertaining to its corporate property. The number of vestry members and the term of office varies from parish to parish. Vestry members are usually elected at the annual parish meeting. The presiding officer of the vestry is the rector. There are usually two wardens. The senior warden leads the parish between rectors and is a support person for the rector. The junior warden often has responsibility for church property and buildings. A treasurer and a secretary or clerk may be chosen. These officers may or may not be vestry members. The basic responsibilities of the vestry are to help define and articulate the mission of the congregation; to support the church's mission by word and deed, to select the rector, to ensure effective organization and planning, and to manage resources and finances.
At St. Stephen’s we have 2 Wardens and 9 members. At each Annual Meeting (held this year on January 20), we elect one Warden to serve for a two year term, and three Vestry members to each serve three year terms. This system ensures a regular influx of new people, new ideas, and new energy. The Wardens and Vestry members for 2008 are listed at the end of this article.
Vestry meetings are held monthly (with the exception July & August) on the second Monday at 7:30pm, in the Parish Hall. Any member of the congregation may attend a Vestry meeting at any time. Vestry members, as elected representatives of the congregation, are available to you to answer questions, hear your concerns and ideas and to bring them to the attention of the rest of the Vestry if so warranted.
In mid-January, 2008, members of the Communications Task Force placed a display of Vestry member pictures (along with pictures of other parish leaders, such as the Parish Council) on one of the Bulletin Boards in the Parish Hall. Now there is an opportunity to put a “face-to-a-name”. Vestry members also wear pins that signify their membership on the Vestry.
So don’t be shy. Come talk to any of us. Or join us at one of the monthly meetings.
VESTRY MEETING UPDATE – JANUARY 14, 2008
Budget
The 2008 budget was passed. Copies were distributed at the Annual Meeting.
A large component of our income is the pledges made by the members of our congregation. This year, there were a 100 pledges made, for a total of about $177,000. Pledging is an important element of the Episcopal tradition, has its basis in Scripture, and is one of the ways in which we express our gratitude to God for all of our gifts. Our pledges work to support the “bricks and mortar”, the Rector and staff salaries, and the many ministries carried out by St. Stephen’s.
The total amount of budgeted expenses for 2008 is $217,144.
The difference between the income from pledges and expenses will come from what is called “open plate” offerings (in other words, non-pledged income that is put in the Offering Basin at each service), and the Smith Green Trust.
If you didn’t get a copy of the budget and would like one, please contact one of the Vestry members or the Parish office (346-6241).
Buildings and Grounds
You may have heard that as a part of an overall inspection of our property, Reid House was found to have a number of defects that made it unsafe to occupy. That’s why, for example, the Youth Group is meeting in the Chapel on Sundays.
The Vestry is in the process of deciding what to do about Reid House. In particular, we are looking at how this all fits into the bigger picture of what the Architectural Task Force is doing (more on that in a minute). Do we tear it down, or have it fixed?
As a part of this process, no matter what our final decision is, Reid House must be inspected for asbestos. The Vestry agreed at the January meeting to engage the services of such an inspector. The findings of the inspection will assist us in our decision.
So watch this space for future updates about Reid House.
Communications Task Force
The Task Force reported welcoming 3 new members: Linda Emaelaf, Larry Levine, and Richey Woodzell. (Other members are Stacy DeBritz, Christian Renken, Chris Jones, Debbie Trawick, Laura Davis & Barbara Wisnom).
Larry Levine will be taking over the editor’s role of the Messenger from the very capable hands of Laura & Ryan Davis. Larry has big shoes to fill, but he brings wonderful skills. February will be his inaugural issue.
The Task Force is working on the production of a Ministry Booklet for the congregation. It will contain current information about each of the many ministries present at St. Stephen’s (from the Choir & Altar Guild to the Garden Group & Christian Education), along with contact information. Publication is anticipated to be in the spring.
Architectural Task Force
Ryan Davis reported that this group is in the process of interviewing architectural firms. Step One in the process of evaluating what to do about the physical plant at St. Stephen’s (and in particular the Parish Hall & Reid House) was to conduct the Parish wide survey, a copy of which is available in the Parish Hall. Step Two is to now invite various architectural firms to submit bids for the delivery of what are called “concept designs”. This means we would get a rendering of what changes to our current building structure would look like. These would not be actual architectural drawings. They would simply give the congregation something to look at and react to.
Ryan feels that we will have bids from about four firms. At either the February or March meeting, the Vestry will likely decide which of those to accept. It will then take 2 – 2½ months from then for us to actually see the drawings.
Endowment Trustees
Mike Bishop gave the Vestry an update, as he does each meeting. A comprehensive report of 2007 activities was distributed to everyone at the Annual Meeting. If you did not receive a copy & would like one, please contact a member of the Vestry, or the Parish Office (346-6241).
St. Stephen’s Foundation
Given the language of the current bylaws, which define the circumstances under which money may be given to groups outside of St. Stephen’s, the Foundation may not make recommendations with regard to donations outside of St. Stephen’s. The Vestry voted to keep the Foundation intact as a Committee.
The 2008 Vestry will be undertaking a comprehensive review of the current bylaws, and bringing them to the congregation for review at some point in 2008.
Changing of the Guard
With deep gratitude for their commitment and dedication to St. Stephen’s, and their hard work on the Vestry, we bid farewell to three people whose terms completed at the January meeting: Paul DeKanel, Stacy DeBritz and David Caruso. Susan Feyrer stepped down as Senior Warden, but will be returning as a Vestry member.
At the February meeting, we will be welcoming three new members and a new Warden: Susan Feyrer (as mentioned above), Peter Nelson and Amy Soule. Rocky Bonsal will be coming on as Junior Warden.
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That’s it for the January meeting. Please give us feedback and let us know if this is useful information ~ or not. Too much? Not enough? Suggestions for improvement?
Contact Barbara Wisnom at 371-6187 or bwisnom@nycap.rr.com
“See” you next month!
2008 Vestry Members
Senior Warden Ryan Davis 377-0626
rlcs@nycap.rr.com
Junior Warden Rocky Bonsal 372-4681
rocky@nycap.rr.com
Sid Woodcock 785-3874
swoodcoc@nycap.rr.com
Austin Spang 393-2859
spang@nycap.rr.com
Melinda Renken 377-6284
mrenken@nycap.rr.com
Barbara Wisnom 371-6187
bwisnom@nycap.rr.com
Glen Kaler 785-1444
kalers@msn.com
Tracy Ormsbee 346-5357
jormsbee1@nycap.rr.com
Peter Nelson 377-7015
pnelson245@yahoo.com
Susan Feyrer 393-4137
sfeyrer@niskyschools.org
Amy Soule 377-6209
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