Vestry Papers / Buildings and Grounds

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  • New Heights ✓
    In today’s world of decreasing church attendance, changing parish demographics, and difficult economic times, it is essential that all of us optimize the stewardship of the resources with which we are blessed.
  • Resurrection Leadership ✓
    Do we really believe in resurrection? That is the question that the people of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Waco, Texas, asked themselves after closing St. Alban’s Memorial School, an Episcopal school that had served the children of Waco for 60…
  • Capital campaigns, faith and hard times ✓
    St. Michael and All Angels is not a wealthy congregation. However, the story of our capital campaign over the past couple of years has been quite remarkable.
  • Cortejados por los Presbiterianos
    Primero aprendimos a alquilar y administrar un parqueo. Después aprendimos a alquilar grandes partes de nuestro extenso campus en el centro de la ciudad.
  • Dating the Presbyterians
    We are "dating" a Presbyterian congregation that may one-day co-habitat with us in our buildings.
  • From Death, New Life
    What do you do when a once-vibrant ministry that defined a parish's commitment to social ministry outlives the needs of the surrounding community and the resources of the parish to sustain it?
  • Hospitality Matters: Seeing Our Buildings Anew
    Episcopalians have moved beyond the era when, as the old joke went, evangelism meant unlocking the door on Sunday mornings. But how often does force of habit make us blind to our worship environment – without regard to design flaws and neglect that…
  • Maintenance Helps Mission
    Rightly, the Episcopal Church is attempting to emphasize mission and noting that we often focus our efforts on maintenance. As a vestry member, you are familiar with the problem. Here are some suggestions.
  • Keep the Plaster out of the Soup
    Last year, I asked five clergy –- evangelical and mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Jewish -– to record a short meditation from their own tradition that answered the question, Why should we spend money on our buildings when ther…
  • Flames and Faith
    St. Edward the Confessor in suburban Minneapolis burned to the ground last April after a young man threw gasoline-filled bottles at the structure late on a stormy night. We asked the rector to share tips with our readers on coping with such a loss.
  • How Does It Work?
    How do your boilers work? Where do you go to turn on, or down, or whatever, the air conditioners?
  • Avoid Unhappy Surprises
    I’m the new warden of St. William’s in the Woods. The Deep Woods.
  • Teamwork, Patience and Humor
    Vestry Papers asked wardens from the Consortium of Endowed Parishes their thoughts in planning for long-term maintenance of parish buildings.
  • God is in the Details
    A storm spinning thousands of miles over the Pacific Ocean drives ahead of it warm but powerful southerly winds and dark, foreboding skies.
  • Holy Care of Holy Places
    Serving on a buildings and grounds committee is probably one of the most thankless tasks you will ever be asked to do for your church.
  • Faith in Action
    Faith in action – loving God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength by loving our neighbors as ourselves – is the hallmark of Jubilee Ministry.
  • Greening Our Faith – Putting Belief into Action
    More and more people believe that protecting Creation is a religious value.
  • Meeting God in a Faith Garden
    Gardens have always been places to meet God and God’s people.
  • Giving Away the Church
    “Giving from Our Abundance” sounds like a tired stewardship campaign slogan, but what might happen if a church did this?
  • Feed the Poor or Fix the Roof?
    There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, but it was raining at St. Tiffany’s-in-the-Fields. Inside.
  • Rejoice & beware: Practical issues
    A capital campaign is an opportunity for building community, yet it can be fraught with obstacles.
  • Living hospitality
    Dr. Alan Watton was ninety years old when he started coming to church, via a ride from our hospitality chairs (a husband and wife team). After the first service, he stopped on his way out and asked if I made home visits.