We will have a Vestry...What is that?!
What is a Vestry?
If you did not come from an Anglican background, the term “Vestry” might feel a little bit foreign. It might sound like another one of those cool Anglican terms we have for common things like a towel (“purificator”) or plate (“paten”), water bucket (“aspersorium”), etc. I will be the first to admit that I find the term “Vestry” to be a strange term, but I also love it. I can imagine men and women from a country Parish meeting together in the vesting room of the Parish Church to catch up on the needs of the people in the parish and their hardships and successes, praying for people in the parish, organizing church cleaning days, coordinating visitations and meals for the sick, and having healthy discussions about budgets and how the parish will support itself. The term “Vestry” helps me picture the prayerful, intentional, and incarnational ways that we are to govern our corporate life in an Anglican setting. The Vestry is composed of lay members (except for the Rector/Vicar) who oversee the temporal affairs of the church. It is not an elder board, it is not just a financial or building committee, it is a governing board that cares deeply about ensuring that the temporal realities of the church’s life align with the spiritual direction of the church as set by the Rector (or in our case the Vicar).
We will use the term Mission Vestry and Vestry interchangeably. A lot of what is outlined in the document below applies to a church that has reached “Congregation” status according to our Diocesan Canons. We have not reached Congregation status yet since we are still a “Mission”. Because we are still a Mission, we will practice acting like a Congregation until we canonically reach Congregation status. Please click on the button below to download the PDF of what the Vestry is, does, and how to discern if God is calling you to serve on the Vestry.
How to Apply
The document above contains an application to become a candidate for the Vestry. To apply, you must be a member who has been nominated by another member of CCAC. You will then receive an invitation to apply for candidacy. We will make a nomination link available on April 12, 2023 and close the link on May 3, 2023.
Timeline to First Vestry
We would like to hold our first Mission Vestry Vote on May 28 following our normal Sunday service. In order to hold a vote that day, here are some important events to mark on your calendar:
April 12 — Nomination Link Live. If you are a member, you may nominate other members that you feel may be called to serve on the Vestry. Their candidacy is not guaranteed, but this is the first step for them to receive the invitation to apply.
April 16 — Mission Membership Sunday. Morgan+ would like to know if you plan to become a member on April 16, so please make him aware if you have not done this yet. The final day to apply for membership will be April 14. (Apply here)
May 14 — Approved Candidates Made Public. The candidates approved by the Nominating Committee (Morgan+ and members of the outside board) will have their names, pictures, and autobiographical details published for the church to begin praying about who they will vote for.
May 28 — Vestry Vote. We will elect up to 6 candidates for our initial vestry. We will draw straws to see which two will serve a one year term, which two will serve a two year term, and which three will serve a three year term. In future Vestry elections, we will likely only vote in two new Vestry members at the annual meeting as two roll off.