Serving on the Vestry

I have been a priest for almost twenty years. In that time, I have been to over two hundred vestry meetings. I have served with around 150 vestry members. I have been to at least fifteen overnight vestry retreats and several day-long planning sessions. I have heard more motions and seconds and debates and votes than I can count.

Each vestry has a character of its own. Some have been more focused on their work, while others have been more playful. Some have lingered in anxiety, and others have been remarkably care-free. Some have disagreed vehemently among themselves, while others have only ever voted unanimously. Most of them have laughed far more than they have complained, and collectively all of them have been faithful to their calling to serve God and God’s church.

Sometimes a vestry is made up of a disproportionate number of lawyers or business executives. Occasionally, there is hardly anyone with legal or managerial experience in the room. Often, a vestry represents a balance of gender, age, occupation, and personality, but sometimes we overwhelmingly represent a particular demographic or mindset. Sometimes the vestry is full of life-long Episcopalians, while other times no one has been a member of this denomination for more than ten years.

Throughout it all, I am convinced of one thing: whomever a parish elects to serve on a vestry will have the gifts they need to accomplish God’s work for the coming year.

Given their particular responsibility for the temporal resources of the parish, you might think that a vestry is supposed to be made up of people who like taking care of finances and properties. While it helps to have at least a few budget-conscious members on the vestry, I trust that whoever has been called to serve will find and empower other people to support them with whatever gifts are necessary to complete their work faithfully. Our goal is not to hand-pick the right mix of people who can carry out the work of the vestry but to seek faithful people whom God has equipped and will equip for the ministry of serving in this particular way.

On December 7, it will be your responsibility to elect four new members of our vestry. (Technically, the four people you elect will be presented for their official election at the Annual Meeting on January 25, but the ballot on December 7 is how you determine what four individuals will be nominated for this ministry.) Between now and then, it will be your job to discern whether you or someone you know has gifts for that service. When you think about the people who might be good at this ministry, I encourage you not to think of particular skillsets but for faithfulness. Who among us is faithful to God and to our church? Anyone who meets that criterion would have whatever gifts are needed.

The canons (e.g. rules for the church) identify four requirements for serving on the vestry. First, a member of the vestry must be a confirmed member of St. Paul’s. Second, they must be at least eighteen years old. Third, they must attend services frequently. Fourth, they must be a regular financial contributor and pledger of record. There are no requirements for physical or mental ability. One does not need to have a high school diploma or a college degree. You do not need to be a native Arkansan or a prominent citizen of Fayetteville. To be on the vestry, you simply need to be a confirmed adult member of our church who shows up and gives.

How will you know who is the right person to nominate? What does someone who meets the qualifications look like? Sometimes people ask me if I think a particular person would be a good vestry member. Except certifying whether someone is a confirmed adult member of the church who makes a regular contribution, I do not express an opinion about anyone’s potential as a vestry member. I may, perhaps, offer a rather generic, “Sure!” but I trust that whomever you choose will be the right person. It is my pleasure to work alongside whomever you elect.

Nevertheless, given the specific four-fold canonical requirements, I do think I can offer this assessment: people who come to church make good vestry members. When it comes to the requirement for regular participation in worship, the canons do not define “frequent attendant,” but I believe that that phrase is important and informative.

Members of the vestry are called by a congregation to serve on their behalf. They are chosen—set apart—for this peculiar ministry. It is hard for me to imagine someone fulfilling the obligations of vestry service without being intimately connected with the rest of the congregation. The decisions we make are shaped by the prayers and worship we share on Sundays and Wednesdays. Our vision for the future of this parish arises out of the assembled body of the faithful. Our hunger for faithfulness unfolds in conversation around the table at Sunday breakfast and Wednesday dinner. Our commitment to God is enfleshed in our study of the Bible and through our service to the wider community. The faith we share comes alive in the silence held by our contemplative groups and the physical movements of our yoga ministries.

How can anyone serve on the vestry unless they are taking part in the life of our church? Regardless of their individual skill set, no one can be faithful to God’s call if they are isolated from the people they serve. If you want to know what a faithful member of the vestry looks like, look around the church when you are here.

You cannot look at someone and tell whether they are a confirmed communicant of this parish. You cannot look at them and know whether they are a contributor of record. The good news, though, is that you do not have to worry about those details. That part always gets sorted out in the nomination process. But you can see faithfulness on the face of every person who shows up, and, if you see someone showing up week after week, that tells you all that you need to know about their ability to serve on the vestry.

Whomever is chosen on December 7, I believe that God will use the vestry to carry out whatever work God is calling us to in the coming year. That may sound naïve, but I think that is what faithfulness looks like—on my part and on yours as well.

Yours faithfully,

Evan D. Garner

Interested in serving or nominating someone? Click here to complete the Vestry Nomination Form.