Dear Friends,
Some years ago Bishop Roskam was making an annual visit to Grace Church for Confirmation. In her sermon she talked about how the outside world often looks askance at “organized religion.” Her punchline was, “The real joke is that they think we’re organized.”
This coming Sunday is the day we pay attention to the organization of Grace Church. Following the 11 am service, instead of coffee hour we will enjoy lunch together in Tuttle Hall, then the annual meeting of the parish. We’ll hear reports from various lay leaders who are overseeing many of our committees. Towards the end of the meeting I’ll share my observations, focusing this year on the nature of our community and the mission of the church as I saw it in 2024.
The annual meeting is also the time when vestry leadership changes. The vestry consists of two wardens and twelve vestry members. The vestry members serve three-year terms, with the possibility of being nominated for a second term. The twelve are grouped into three classes of four. Typically, a vestry class of four will have two members serving a first term, and two members serving a second term. Thus, when we arrive at the annual meeting, the nominating committee presents two new people to serve a first term, and two existing vestry members to serve a second term. We then give thanks for the work of the two retiring vestry members. At least, that’s the way it works on paper.
But life has a way of happening. From time to time, for various reasons, vestry members will need to vacate a seat in the middle of a term. What happens then is that the vestry goes to the list of names generated by the nominating committee, and appoints the person next in line to fill the unexpired term. When the term is expired, that person then can be nominated for his or her own first term. Or, in the nominating process, a vestry member might decline the offer to serve a second term. To cut to the chase, we can wind up with years like this year, when the staggered vestry class is altered.
The class of 2025 consists of four members, not two, who are serving their second term, and thus retiring from the vestry: Douglas Armer, Mary Cannon, Shingmin Lai, and Cathy Minuse. On Sunday we will give thanks to these four for six terrific years of service. The nominating committee then will present four new candidates for election to the vestry: Julia Bates, Carolyn Bennett, Austin Berger, and Grant Marani as the class of 2028. Also retiring from vestry service is Owen Boger, who is completing his third two-year term as warden. Grace Church owes Owen a huge debt of gratitude for his steady hand in helping to guide us through the stormy seas of law suits and the pandemic. To fill Owen’s seat, the nominating committee is presenting Sarah “Sally” Hines for a first term as warden. Because Sarah is a sitting member of the vestry (class of 2026), the nominating committee is presenting Ravi Chanmugam to fill the unexpired term she vacates to become a warden. Next year, Ravi will be eligible to be nominated for his own first three-year term. If all these names are coming at you too fast, you can see a photo and read a short bio for each, below.
There you have it: organized religion at is confusing finest. Join us on Sunday for the annual meeting and luncheon.
See you in church,