The Corpus Christi Anglican Church (CCAC) vestry held its initial meeting on Monday, June 19, 2023, at 7:30 PM.

Arriving in Virginia, I was met with the warmest welcome from the whole congregation at Corpus Christi. I remember specifically my nervousness melting away after the first Sunday. I was able to stay at the houses of parishioners and was invited into their daily lives; they accepted me as their own and had a genuine desire and interest in getting to know me. It was the best possible welcome I could have received.

In May 2023 we will have our first Vestry. If you would like to learn more about what a Vestry is and does, please see our previous article, “We will have a Vestry…What is that?!” After a month of discernment, God has brought us three wonderful candidates. Please take time to read their spiritual autobiographies.

I wanted to take a moment this week to pause and do three things: 1) follow up on a portion of my sermon from last Sunday (you can listen to it here), 2) process the recent mass shooting in Nashville, TN, this week in light of what I preached on Sunday, and 3) give the text of Jacob of Sarug that I have found so helpful and quoted in my sermon.

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).