The vestry is the elected, governing body of the parish that attends to the welfare, mission, and vision of the parish. A vestry serves many of the functions served by boards of directors or trustees at other non-profit organizations. Our vestry is responsible for the financial management of the church, making sure our bills are paid, all our facilities maintained and our money managed safely and effectively. While our priest is our spiritual leader, the vestry support, through their actions and example, is critical in moving all of us to a closer relationship with Christ.
There are 12 people on the vestry at St. Mary’s. At our annual meeting each January, we elect new vestry members to begin serving a three-year term. Typically, one third of the vestry will be finishing their terms on any given year. This ensures that there are fresh voices and new energy every year.
The entire congregation votes for who will be on the vestry. The vestry then, in turn, votes for a handful of positions to represent them; those being the two wardens, the treasurer, and the clerk. The wardens are viewed as the leaders of the vestry. Traditionally their duties have been divided so that one warden is the primary liaison between the priest and the congregation, and the other warden has primary responsibility for buildings and grounds. The priest, wardens, treasurer, and clerk make up the executive committee.
Our vestry meets on the first Tuesday night of every month. The meetings start at 7:00 p.m. Any member of the congregation is welcome to attend a vestry meeting. However, there may be a rare occurrence, when the vestry chooses to “close” or have a private meeting. This is done at the complete discretion of the vestry. The minutes of the vestry meetings are posted in our parish hall and will also be available on the website in the near future.
The rules of governance of our church were established with our Canon Laws, which are similar to a constitution. For more details on the structure of our church and its relationship to the national and international Anglican Communion please follow this link: