As vestry members we have three main responsibilities.

The first of these is to choose the parish leadership, such as appointing the rector and other individuals as stipulated by diocesan canons.

In addition, there are two main managerial roles: taking care of finances and of our building and grounds.

When I compare our campus now to what it was when I was on vestry nearly 20 years ago, I can understand why these roles are so vital to our life in community. Since then, we have added a narthex and baptismal pool, the labyrinth, improvements to the columbarium, a meditation garden, a lych gate, remodeled the parish hall, including its storage areas and lavatories, and added an extra office adjacent to the library.  

We remodeled one of the education blocks making three small rooms into a more functional meeting room and music room. We have landscaped the children’s play area and garden. We added solar panels and have become one of the only carbon neutral church campuses in the country. Do you remember the Bishop in the Cherry Picker blessing our solar panels?!

As our campus has grown so has our responsibility to be effective stewards of our property and in vestry, we spend a lot of our time looking at reports from both the Budget & Finance, and Buildings & Grounds committees.  They work tirelessly at their ministry and their excellent reports help us to make informed decisions.

Hopefully, you now know that something the vestry, particularly the Budget & Finance committee, have been working on in the past couples of months has been engaging Chazin and Company to manage our accounts. This outsourcing to a professional company is a departure for us as a church. We have always relied upon volunteers who have given so tirelessly of their skills and time. When I was first on vestry many years ago Dick Frost was our accountant. There have been others but more recently Julie Knudsen has fulfilled this role, one which has expanded greatly alongside the broadening of our campus and programs. We have expected more and more from our volunteer accountants. It really is time to hand this over to a professional firm. I quote from a recent announcement on our website

Over the years we have asked a lot from Julie: she has been extraordinarily generous with her time and her expertise. She is leaving her current role with our systems and finances in good shape. Hiring Chazin reflects the Vestry’s commitment to manage the parish’s resources wisely, and to provide crucial expertise that is not otherwise available, either from the staff or from volunteers.

Thank you, Julie.

At each vestry meeting we receive a report from Buildings & Grounds and often a request to approve repairs and maintenance costs. I have been amazed at just how busy and active this group of people are. It is their dedication that ensures we have a beautiful safe and functioning campus.  I for one never really appreciated how much they do until I was on vestry.

Like any household, there are ongoing maintenance issues such as plumbing to attend to, and certain individuals spend much time doing this to avoid us hiring contractors.

Then there are the larger concerns that have required attention and this year they have included re-sealing the baptismal pool; the cleaning and minor repair of the sanctuary ceiling window; heating, A/C and air filtration; the placement of trash enclosures that must adhere to city council ordinances and available for use by STEAC; concrete repairs; attention to trees, irrigation, the columbarium, labyrinth and our landscape.

Tim Williams gave his expertise as an engineer to produce a very detailed and impressive report so that we could successfully request a reduction in storm water fees from the City Council.

Thank you, Tim.

There has been roofing; fire safety and OSHA inspections and remediations. The list seems endless.  We have no paid Sexton and we need to recognize Bob Holm who bears much of this role and the rest of the committee who take on complicated tasks and negotiations on behalf of the vestry.

Thank you, Bob.

And thank you to all these unseen ministers who serve on Finance and Buildings & Grounds.

Of course there are many others who enable us to function as a worshipping and beloved community. They might not come under the remit of vestry but we take a keen interest in their work. Do we ever stop to think about those volunteers, or I prefer to call them lay ministers who make things happen?

Some things just jog along but they enrich our worship and if they were not there we would miss them. Next Sunday think about who makes sure there are flowers at the altar, who polishes the silver, who launders vestments and altar cloths, who makes sure there are hosts and wine, not to mention acolytes, Lay Eucharistic Ministers, the music ministers and choir, the readers and ushers , who is  teaching the children : all things that we take for granted will be there when we walk through the doors at 8am or 10 am.

Lay leadership is not restricted to Sunday services, we have Christian Formation, Care For God’s Creation, Social Justice and Outreach Caring Ministries and Hospitality  What an amazingly rich community we are!

Thank you to everyone who helps to make it so.