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Meet the Vestry

As a parish of The Episcopal Church, The Falls Church Episcopal is governed by canons and bylaws that prescribe a sturdy but rather flexible framework for the vestry. Working in partnership with clergy and staff, we set priorities, organize people and processes, and steward parish resources. The work of the vestry can also be described using phrases that we hear each week during worship service.

 

“…always and everywhere…”

The vestry has built-in succession measures to ensure constant refreshing of perspectives and energies, while preserving the permanence of the body itself. Individuals with specific talents and skills may be called to serve at particular points in time that reflect immediate challenges and opportunities. However, the most important charge of the vestry – to discern God’s will for the parish – supersedes the professional training and personal experience of the 12 elected members. It is a collective, holy act to listen for and respond to God’s timeless and omnipresent call.

 

“…seen and unseen…”

These words end the first stanza of the Nicene Creed, adopted by early Christians in the year 325. They are applicable to so many elements of faith, including the vestry’s work. The “seen” acts of the vestry are evidenced by minutes of its monthly meetings, the approval of an annual budget, the filing of parish reports with the Diocese, and participation by vestry members in worship as greeters, ushers, readers, chalice-bearers, choir members, and announcement-makers. Vestry members may host fellowship events in their homes or at the church and they lead and attend committee meetings, formation classes, and ministry and outreach activities. “Unseen” is the time spent in study and reflection over the concerns of the parish, the Church, and the wider world, striving to identify what role The Falls Church Episcopal can play in healing people and the Earth in this broken time.

 

The Vestry is comprised of 12 active members, four of whom are elected to three-year terms each year at the Annual Congregational Meeting in January. The presiding officer of the Vestry is the Rector, who is supported by the Senior and Junior Wardens, who are elected annually from among members of theVestry.

~ Kim McCleary; Vestry 2015-2017, Jr. Warden 2016, Sr. Warden 2017

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