Vestry Nominations 2024

It’s Time to Nominate some new Vestry Members

Each year, members of Incarnation elect new members to the Vestry—our parish's governing body. This year we are electing two new Vestry members for 3-year terms.

In accordance with our church by-laws, our vestry is (and will be) comprised of six members each serving a three year staggered term so that each year two members roll off and two new members are elected. 

This year however is a little different because our vestry is new. The serving terms are slightly different in the first year to allow for building in staggered serving terms. For this year only, we will elect two new members and no-one will roll off. We will have eight members for this one year in order to allow all current members to serve a minimum of two years. Next year, four original members will roll off, and then we will elect two new members to get back to six members. From there, we will be able to enter into each member serving a normative three-year staggered term. 

Any member in good standing can be nominated to serve on the vestry. If you are a member of Incarnation, we encourage you to prayerfully consider whom you might nominate for these important roles.

Nomination Timeline

• Nominations are open now through Monday, August 26.

• Applications will be sent to all nominees by September 2.

• Applications will be reviewed and two nominees will be selected by the Vestry (in future years this will be accomplished by a nominations committee).

• The selections will be presented to the Church on October 20th at the annual meeting of members for an up or down vote.

Thank you for your thoughtful and prayerful consideration.  For more information about the Vestry, please see below.

The Definition of a Vestry

What is a Vestry?
Our Vestry is an elected body of deeply committed, faithful lay members of the parish. The Vestry, under the leadership of the Rector, meets monthly to prayerfully steward the “temporalities” (i.e. material resources and plans) of the church. It is comprised of officers including the Senior and Junior Wardens, the Treasurer, and the Secretary. (See below for names of current Vestry Members)

Diversity of a Healthy Vestry
It is desirable to have a well-balanced Vestry that accurately represents the demographics of the congregation. A healthy Vestry is composed of both men and women, young and old, single and married, parents and non-parents.

Characteristics of a Good candidate for Vestry
A good candidate for the Vestry is a deeply committed, faithful, prayerful follower of Jesus and a member of Incarnation. He or she does not need to be successful, influential, or impressive. He or she does not need to be an expert in the Anglican tradition. A good candidate wants to be on the Vestry in order to serve; he or she is humble, willing to hear others and to work well with others to reach decisions that benefit the Church.

Simply Stated, good vestry members are good parish members. You might take a moment to review our Membership Covenant and reflect on who embodies these life-giving practices. 

Secondly, think about who in our church demonstrates “servant leadership”? Are they actively participating? Serving in a ministry? Inviting and welcoming others into the community? Are the fruits of the Spirit evident in their lives?

Expected Time Commitment
Not everyone will have the time to serve on the Vestry in every season of life. Vestry responsibilities are a three year commitment that includes one meeting each month, and roughly 2-3 additional hours per week on Vestry-related tasks. Vestry members will also attend a one-night annual retreat. 

Process for Submitting Nominations
Prayer: This is a process that needs to be saturated in prayer.

The Purpose of Incarntion's Vestry

Safeguard the Vision
The Vestry’s primary role is to protect the stated vision of the parish. Each member of the Vestry should be able to articulate and to safeguard the overall goals and visionary direction of the congregation. For us, this includes our commitments outlined in the Parish Orientation Booklet.

Ensure the Values
While the Vestry may know the vision and goals of the parish, the next question is this: How are we actually trying to live this out? What are the means and programs by which we are working toward our vision? Where do we focus our efforts? The Vestry works with the Rector to implement the vision through effective methods and programs.

Uphold Financial Integrity
The Vestry is also charged with protecting the financial integrity of the church. Through a designated Finance team, the Vestry scrutinizes the finances on a regular basis. The Vestry creates and approves a budget, provides for an annual audit of all funds, and ensures that there is an annual report to the congregation. The Vestry acts as guardians of the financial life of the parish to ensure that the church has a long-term future and is operating in a trustworthy way with all funds that have been given or borrowed.

Support the Rector
Supporting the Rector is the fourth key role of the Vestry. If the Rector is the main agent in accomplishing 1, 2, and 3 above, then the Vestry’s primary role is to help the Rector accomplish these things. Vestry leadership is never honorary: they are not rubber stamps for what the Rector decides is best. But neither are they to be ‘devil’s advocates’, the loyal opposition, or representatives of any special interest groups or programs in the parish. The Vestry has one job in a sense: help the Rector to lead the parish in 1, 2 and 3 (above) and support him however they can.

Model Sacrificial Giving
The final role of the Vestry is to model sacrificial, tithe-based giving to the parish. The Vestry should be among the most generous and financially committed members of the church. Why? Because members who give generously have often learned how to make faith-based decisions about money and thus can lead the parish well in this area. And because people who are sacrificial givers—tithers—have usually discovered in themselves a heart of generosity that will help create a parish-wide culture of generosity in the years to come.

Questions
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the members of the Vestry which can be found here:  

Steven White, Senior Warden Steven White 

Rachel George, Junior Warden rgeorge.va@gmail.com

Harrison Brooks, Treasurer harrisonbrooks22@gmail.com

Nick Joy, Secretary NicholasNJoy@gmail.com

John Hammer, Facilities jhammer53a@gmail.com

Esther Sumner, Prayer  e.s@esthersumner.com

* Blog Post adapted from Redeemer Anglican Church, Richmond Virginia. https://redeemerrva.org/blog2/2022/2/the-definition-and-purpose-of-a-vestry

* Language borrowed from The Rev. David Roseberry, The Rector, the Vestry and the Bishop: The Essential Guide for Anglican Leaders.