Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

This time of year, I feel like my old elementary school principal. It was his job to get old Boardman School whipped into shape for the school year. It was an old, old building but when the kids arrived on the first day of school it smelled new. New paint, fresh coat of wax on the floors, windows washed and door knobs shined. It made a big impact on the mood of the children and the parents and set an important tone for the year to come.

As the principal of St. Andrew’s, I feel I have the same responsibility. So I am walking around our building and seeing what our buildings and grounds volunteers can do to get us ready for Sept. 11, our Kick-off Sunday.

Here is the checklist:

1. Painting. We have been systematically painting the interior sections of the church and we just finished the upstairs hallway and the kitchen gets a fresh coat next week. Since we have saved all the extra paint and kept a spreadsheet of which colors have been used where, we can also do touch ups throughout the building.

2. Arranging. The Craft Room will get a makeover and get re-stocked. The Copy Room will get cleaned out and all those nebby items you go rooting around for will (at least for one day) be in place: copy paper, scissors, pens, tape, staplers, white-out, envelopes, manila folders, rulers, and more. Office Depot here we come.

I will also go through my own office and clean out the cluttered remnants of the year just past. Cull some books, file some projects, clear the decks.

3. Signage. This is a great time to consider the signage throughout the building, making sure Exit Lights are safe and lit, directional signs are in the right place and actually make sense and add a few more where they are needed. We are also nearing completion of plans for our new main sign for the corner.

4. Communications. Word has gone out to the stakeholders of our various bulletin boards to put up a fresh new spread. We are doing a full check of our website to make sure all pages are up-to-date. We are re-tooling our newcomer brochure and packet.

5. Cleaning out the clutter. This is the one time of year that I try to achieve what we call “Church at Rest.” Everything in its place. No clutter in the corners. Lawns mowed, garden beds weeded, closets arranged. 

I remember how excited I always was for that first day of school and I know part of the excitement was that the school was in ship shape. I hope people returning to church for the fall have that same feeling.