One
of the biggest issues facing Episcopal Vestries at the beginning of a new year
is how to best welcome and incorporate the newly elected vestry members.
Most Vestries operate by
electing 1/3 of their members each year at the Annual Meeting. My experience is that these Vestries do not
pay close enough attention to the inclusion of the new members. Simple steps can help new members more
quickly become fully participating leaders.
Over the years, Vestry members have told me that usually it takes about
a year for them to feel free to speak up and understand all that they are
called to do. Here are a few suggestions
that I have for making this transition go faster and better.
1. Tell nominees up front what you expect of
them. This year at the Cathedral
we created a nominating form that states clearly the expectations and
requirements of vestry members. We asked
both the nominator and the nominee to sign the statement, which includes the
nominee’s agreement to support the mission of the Cathedral as stated in our
mission statement.
2. Bring
the new members on board right at the first meeting. Here is my favorite question to ask new
vestry members: “Could you share with us
why you were willing to allow your name to go forward for election to the
Vestry at this time? Or, “What concerns
do you bring to the Vestry as a new member?”
3. Orient
them to unfinished business.
Take time to have a warden or longer-term member share what the on-going
matters are before the Vestry. For
example, we do our Stewardship in January at the Cathedral, so we spent time at
our first meeting with the new members explaining both the rationale and the assumptions
we made in our budget and the on-going challenges we faced. In addition, three major facilities
renovations are in process. We explained
these and allowed for questions.
4. Debrief
previous challenges. When
appropriate, I ask the current Vestry members to share what they see as the greatest
challenges the parish has faced during their tenure. It is also stimulating to ask them to share
what has been their greatest sense of accomplishment during their time on the
vestry. Even when there has been
substantial conflict in the past, these questions allow all the members to gain
some perspective on the issues.
5. Have
the Rector share her or his experience with Vestries. Most clergy have had considerable experience
with Vestries. Take advantage of this
early on. I always like to share what I perceive
to be the greatest problem a Vestry faces; namely, a Vestry member with a sole agenda
who is unwilling to sacrifice this agenda in the best interest of the entire congregation. I have lots of examples after 40 years!
6. Share
on how to bring feedback from congregational members to the Vestry and Church
leaders. Explain “triangulating”
and how to avoid this. It is always best
to do this before issues arise.
7. Talk
about how decisions are made.
Most vestries work by consensus until “something really important or
legal” comes along. Discuss what
decisions with take a simple consensus, which ones require a vote, and which
ones would require a ¾ majority. (Yes,
there are some really important ones that do!)
8. If
you have Vestry committees, describe these and give the new members an
opportunity to participate on the committee of their choice. We have four at the Cathedral, and we give
new members a description and ask them to indicate their first two
choices. The Senior Warden and I then
assign them to a committee based on these two preferences. (We do not worry if the committees are equal
in number.)
It was the lack of good orientation for Vestries that led
my last Diocese (Texas) and my current one (Dallas) to provide a Vestry
Leadership Day. Our newly elected Vestry
members find these very helpful. Take
the time to bring new members on board and you will reap plenty of rewards in your
life together.
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