Leadership
Priest-in-Charge
The Rev. Stephanie Shockley
Wardens
Harry Allen, Senior Warden
Deb Raggi, Junior Warden
Treasurer
Betsy Gomes
Clerk
Erin Zirkel
Vestry Members
Jamie Glock
Kemper Mitchell
The vestry is comprised of lay people (“the people in the pews”) who are elected by the congregation to govern the local church. Originally the word referred to the room where the priest would put on his vestments, at which time local laity would meet with him to discuss the affairs of the parish. Over time the name of the room came to signify the group of parishioners who governed a parish because it was where they met. While the vestry meeting location has changed, the name has remained the same.
The vestry of an Episcopal church has three primary responsibilities. The first two are managerial: to take care of parish finances and the parish buildings. The third is to choose individuals to fill various positions of leadership and representation: the choice of a rector, the choice of delegates to the diocesan convention, and the selection of others as the diocesan canons may stipulate. The vestry also serves as an advisory council to the rector who by church law is the parish’s chief liturgical and pastoral officer.
The wardens are the primary elected lay leaders of the congregation and serve as the principal liaisons between the parish and the rector. The wardens are the lay partners of the rector in articulating the mission and vision of the parish, managing its day-to-day operations, identifying and nurturing leaders, and empowering members of the congregation to live out the Gospel in their daily lives. The senior warden presides at vestry meetings in the absence of the rector, and the junior warden presides at vestry meetings if both the rector and the senior warden are absent.