My Sisters and Brothers,
I want to let you know that the new Vestry is now in place and working. One concern expressed at Sunday’s meeting dealt with a feeling of a lack of communication within Calvary. This echoes one of the findings of the summary from the Congregational Assessment Tool survey that reported “Our Governance Index is one of the lowest of the entire survey – about 18% as compared to other churches similar to Calvary. Responses indicate that many people feel as if a small group of people makes the majority of decisions and that the leaders in the church are not representative of the membership… This result tells us that the people of Calvary are seeking transparency and personal involvement in leadership.” The Vestry will be addressing these issues as we move forward. As a first step, they voted to increase the Vestry to nine members, adding two more with an election to be held at their next meeting so there can be more participation by the congregation. This is a two-edged sword. From the time I arrived at Calvary in July, I have heard from several people, Vestry and non-Vestry, that there has been difficulty finding the minimum number of replacements each year. Being relatively new here, that can be taken several ways. It might mean that most people are happy with how things are going, and they see no need to step in to help make changes. It also could be understood to mean that people feel they have no voice. And lastly, and most troubling for me, it could be interpreted that people do not care. I do not think that is the case. The governance of the Episcopal Church may be strange to some.
Contrary to what many people think, all decisions are not made by the clergy. Each congregation has a Vestry or Bishop’s Committee that is elected from the membership to represent all the members. That body has certain responsibilities that are spelled out in the Canons of the church and the bylaws of the congregation, but they are elected from the membership to represent the membership. It is vital that people be willing to serve and that there be more willing to serve than can be elected each year, otherwise, it gives the appearance that they are a select group and do not represent the whole congregation. It is also important that everyone know that Vestry meetings are open to all the membership, although the Vestry may “decide to meet in executive session to discuss matters of personnel or matters of unusual delicacy or sensitivity.” (Section 5.3 of Calvary’s Bylaws). All of this is to say, the church needs your participation. In an attempt to begin bridging the gap in communications, we have begun listing the Vestry members and their preferred contact in the weekly newsletter and Sunday bulletins so if you have questions or concerns you can contact them. I also remind you that as long as I am with you, I am happy to talk with anyone who has something to bring up. You should feel free to contact me directly and I am sure your next Rector will be open as well.
Peace
Bryant+
