Vestry update
The Vestry is a group of elected volunteers that serves as the parish’s functional Board of Directors. Vestry members, who serve in three groups for three-year terms, provide leadership and oversight of the mission and ministry of the congregation, and manage the church buildings and property, finances, and personnel. Photos of current Vestry members can be found on Saint Philip’s website by clicking here.
Saint Philip’s Vestry gathers for a hybrid meeting on the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Below are highlights from the meeting (prepared by Liz Wood and summarized by Bonnie Winn) that took place on Wednesday, November 16*.
Present: Michael Anderson, John Bremond, Herb Burton, David Hass, Erika Johnson, Meredith Mullins, Roger Rainbolt, Tamzin Sugiyama, Bonnie Winn, Liz Wood, Fr Robert Hendrickson, and Mtr Mary Trainor
Absent: Barbara Cone
John Bremond opened with prayer. The Minutes of the October meeting were reviewed and approved.
The date of the next Vestry meeting was moved to December 14 to accommodate Christmas schedules.
The Vestry was given a document prepared by the Strategic Planning Task Force that reviewed the church’s mission and values statement with the Baptismal Convenant as its foundation. Vestry members were asked to review it and provide feedback with the intention of finalizing the document at December’s meeting. The next step will be to link this work with the development of longer-term strategic goals and then identify where and how each of Saint Philip’s ministries connects to the stated mission and demonstrates the parish’s values.
Third-year Vestry members David Hass and Liz Wood comprise the Nominating Committee. They offered a report on their progress in identifying candidates for the 2023-2026 term.
At the Vestry’s October meeting, members discussed the schedule of Sunday services and attendance at each. As attendance at the 11:15am service has increased since the October meeting, it was agreed to table consideration of a single worship service at 10:00am for now.
The annual meeting will take place on Sunday, February 19, 2023, and it was proposed that on that particular Sunday the 9:00am and 11:15am services be combined at 10:00am. This would allow ample time for lunch and the meeting.
Several people have expressed desire for resumption of the Sunday breakfasts. An experiment of sorts will be conducted to gauge interest and participation; Vestry volunteers will help with breakfast service on the first Sunday of February.
The 2023 Stewardship campaign is well under way. To date, the 2022 and 2023 campaigns have approximately the same number of pledges, but the 2023 dollar amount is ahead by roughly $36,000. There are about 100 households who pledged in 2022 but have not yet pledged for 2023. There are 32 new pledges, about 20 of which are from households that have not pledged in the past. There are also 146 households who, while not pledgers, do make recurring gifts.
The Christmas Gifts campaign will focus on three giving opportunities: Memorial gifts, the Christmas school project, and a special collection to fund a Beloved intern at St Philip’s to assist with special projects.
Herb Burton, Treasurer, reported on the 2023 budget process and acknowledged the work Mtr Mary has contributed to make it detailed and accurate.
There being no other business, the meeting closed with a prayer.
Sincerely,
Liz Wood, Secretary Pro Tem
*The Vestry met on November 16 (the second Wednesday of the month) instead of November 23 because of the Thanksgiving holiday.