Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Haga clic aquí para leer una traducción al español de este artículo.

Does your vestry try to do it all in monthly slugfests where every issue the church faces is pulled out on the carpet and discussed? Does most of the thinking come off the top of the head? Or does it come in considered comments informed by good information? One big way to avoid the marathon meeting where no one remembers exactly what got accomplished is to send the work of the vestry back to productive committees.

A major benefit of such a model is that you can involve a much wider range of congregants in decision-making than just the nine or 12 elected members.

Here is how we set it up at St. Andrew’s. First off, we made it clear that the rector and the rector alone supervises and leads the staff. No staff member appreciates a vestry member looking over their shoulder, though they love and appreciate true lay partners in ministry.

Next we settled on the core work for which the vestry was responsible and created seven standing committees to address this work. We now have Finance, Stewardship, Buildings and Grounds, Personnel, Communications, Technology, and Planning groups who process nearly all the considerable work that comes our way. Each has a vestry liaison but all include a number of other parishioners who widen the circle of participation.

Vestry meetings consist of reports from these groups and a section called Action Items where committees get buy-in on projects they want to move forward. With such a diversity of committees, people can be involved in areas where they feel they truly have interests and gifts. Five minutes to report, more time if a decision needs to be made; that’s the rule at vestry meetings.

People are appointed to these committees for a one-year term right after the annual meeting in a letter signed by the rector and the senior warden. Then they all are invited to a holiday party in December at the rector’s home where along with the staff we celebrate the work accomplished.

We got a lot done this way without vestry meetings becoming the kind of wrestling matches where “No Decision” is the usual outcome. Plus there is always a party to look forward to at year’s end.