The Vestry Handbook

Third Revised Edition

Christopher L. Webber

• Publisher: Morehouse Publishing
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN: 9780819228369
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

An indispensable and practical guide for day-to-day running of a 21st-century parish.

Continuously in print since 1988, The Vestry Handbook is an essential and comprehensive guide for clergy, wardens, and vestry members. The revised third edition includes updated information on the Canon of the Church, available resources, and financial considerations, as well as new sections on safe-church training and dealing with conflict. Included in the appendices are helpful examples of contracts, purpose statement, inventory lists, a glossary of church terms, and an organizational chart. The Handbook explore among others, the following subjects:

• Leadership roles and organizational structure
• Managing parish finances
• Buildings and grounds
• Liabilities and insurance
• Relationships with clergy, parish staff, the diocese, and the national Church
• IRS considerations
• Meeting and elections
• The spiritual lives of vestry members.

Since it was first published in 1988, the Handbook and its updates have sold more than 90,000 copies and continues to sell well each year.

Introduction

This book is planned to give perspective, ideas, and resources to wardens and vestry members. No one, probably, will want to read it through like a novel. There is no plot, no character development, and no surprise ending. This book might better be used as a resource to dip into from time to time. Those asked to serve on a particular committee may find a relevant chapter. Others may find references in the index to areas that interest them. The place to begin is with the immediate assignment. Other sections, such as that on the diocese and national church, may be useful background to fill in when there is time.

Note also the suggestions that may be more properly the province of the rector. This book assumes a parish with an open style of leadership in which suggestions are always welcomed and everyone is expected to contribute. If this book suggests a new way of doing things that has some appeal, the hope is that vestry and clergy can work together in a spirit of collegiality to explore new possibilities and, where appropriate, implement them.

Just for starters, read the section “Working for Change” and the section “Burnout.” Try to balance idealism and realism. Be sensitive to others. Rely on prayer. God has a purpose for you and for your parish. You cannot accomplish it alone. This book does not have all the answers. God’s grace is always sufficient but God calls us and empowers us to respond intelligently and effectively. As with so many things in life, there is usually a relationship between the investment you make and the return you receive.

1

The Role of a Vestry Member

Canons and Customs

The vestry of an Episcopal church has three primary responsibilities. The first two are managerial: to take care of the parish finances and parish buildings. The third responsibility (though all or part of it may be assigned to the parish meeting in some dioceses) is to choose individuals to fill various positions of parish leadership and representation: the election of a rector, the choice of delegates to the diocesan convention, and the selection of other individuals as the diocesan canons and parish bylaws may stipulate. All these responsibilities are defined by the laws of the Church that are called “canons.”

Beyond this, most vestries quickly find that they have a wide variety of duties ranging from the assignment of ushers at services to making plans for the parish’s future. Some of these responsibilities may be spelled out in vestry bylaws or result from specific parish decisions. Others may simply be the result of generally accepted parish customs: “We’ve always done it that way.”

In addition to the canons and local bylaws and customs, there are sometimes state laws that define the responsibilities of religious corporations and that may be different for each denomination. In the case of the Episcopal Church, these laws may specify election procedures and even the date when the annual meeting is to be held. It might also be pointed out that, contrary to the common mythology about “separation of church and state,” the clergy must conform to state law when they perform marriages because in that role they function as officers of the state. The laws that regulate a church’s operations are not, of course, intended to restrict or inhibit the church but only to provide some ultimate referee should that be necessary.

It is important for vestry members to be familiar with the laws of church and state under which they operate and to be certain that they are in conformity with them. Parishes often fall into habits that are out of keeping with these laws and thereby expose themselves to the possibility of serious problems if someone feels mistreated or if the parish becomes involved in controversy over, for example, the sale of a building or the use of its land. Such issues can become very emotional, and, if proper procedures are not followed—even in the election of the vestry members who made the decision—complex and expensive legal actions can result.

Many parishes have brought together the Church’s canons, the state’s laws, and whatever local customs they feel are important and formally adopted them as “parish bylaws.” Such a compilation can be very helpful and should be reviewed from time to time by someone with legal training and experience.

Every new member of the vestry should be provided with such a set of bylaws. Every vestry member should review the bylaws regularly and be familiar with their provisions. Copies of the diocesan canons and national canons should also be available to vestry members, perhaps in a parish library or other convenient location.

Every vestry should also, from time to time, review the responsibilities it is attempting to carry out and ask whether it is more appropriate for the vestry or some other group to deal with each assignment and, if it does seem best for the vestry to accept the responsibility, to ask whether the vestry is properly structured to perform the task.

Bylaws and structure may not be subjects of great interest to all members of the vestry, and reviewing them may seem a waste of time. But where they are neglected there is a greater possibility of wasting time and creating conflict. Clear organizational lines are a first priority in getting the job done.

Narrow legalism and a concern to defend one’s “turf,” however, can also obstruct progress. Canons, laws, and bylaws may assign the rector, wardens, and vestry members specific roles to play or jobs to do, but none of these individuals can perform those duties adequately without the help, support, and understanding of the others. The vestry is responsible for finances, for example, but the rector’s leadership will make the necessary fund-raising easier. The rector, conversely, is responsible for worship, but an informed and supportive vestry can help him or her make wise decisions and interpret them to the parish. St. Paul’s analogy of the Church as “one body with many members” is always helpful. No member can say to the others, “I have no need of you” (1 Cor. 12:21). Where those with specific responsibilities are clear as to what their duties are but open to the contribution others can make and eager to work together, the church will “make bodily growth and build itself up in love” (Eph. 4:16).

Representation, Leadership, and Communications

Vestry members are elected by the whole parish and should, of course, try to represent the interests of all parish members. It is worth noticing, however, that most parishes have some system for nominating candidates for the vestry and that a nominating committee will usually try to see that both men and women, both younger and older members, are included among the nominees. Perhaps specific parish groups, such as the Episcopal Church Women, will be represented. If vestry members are also members of other such groups within the parish, they should naturally make it a point to report to their groups either formally or informally on vestry matters. Such reporting will, in turn, enable them to bring to vestry meetings the concerns of others and to represent those concerns constructively.Leadership, however, involves more than representation. Former Yale football coach Herman Hickman once said that he felt it was his job to keep the Yale alumni “sullen but not mutinous.” Leadership is not a matter of simply reflecting other people’s opinions and so keeping them happy but of learning, educating, informing, and persuading others.

Leadership involves working to realize a vision of what the parish could be but is not. It involves change. That may sometimes involve moving people out of their “comfort zone” and leave some members “sullen” at first but, if it is done patiently and lovingly, “mutiny” can generally be avoided. Indeed, a corporate spirit can grow that will reach into every aspect of parish life.

Leadership is a matter also of prayer and Bible study. The financial and property concerns of a vestry are not something wholly separate from the church’s life of worship or its mission to serve others. The decision to paint the church will leave less money available for outreach, but failure to paint or repair the church may make the church less attractive to new members and therefore less able to support future outreach programs. Such choices are not easily made and cannot be governed only by financial considerations. Decisions not growing out of prayer and Bible study and worship will be less likely to sustain and nourish the parish as it seeks to carry out its primary mission in obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Finally, vestry members have a liaison role to play between the parish members and the clergy and staff. They should help the clergy hear members who may not be willing or able to speak for themselves and help the parish understand the work the clergy are doing and the pressures they may be under. Good communications are critically important if the members of the body are to work together and support each other in love.

2

Vestry Structures: With a Note on the Annual Meeting

The national and diocesan canons provide only minimal guidance as to parish and vestry structures. It is common for vestries to have two wardens, for the rector to be the presiding officer, and for a senior warden to preside in the rector’s absence. Diocesan canons or state laws may specify some of these patterns, but none of them is provided for in the national canons of the church.

Whatever guidelines and requirements do exist still leave a great deal of room for variation and flexibility in working out the details. Probably no two parishes operate in exactly the same way. What is important is that each parish, while conforming to the minimum standards that are set, finds a style that works for that parish.

If certain issues keep coming up without being resolved, if meetings tend to bog down in details and run on at great length, if some members have no sense of involvement, if there is a growing sense of frustration, perhaps the time has come to consider structuring the vestry in some new and, perhaps, more satisfactory way. There are many models from which to choose, and time spent considering modification or replacement of the existing system could, in the long run, be time well spent.

Leadership

The key to a successful vestry is undoubtedly the leadership it is given. But this is not to place the whole responsibility on the rector or wardens. Leadership (apart from personality factors) is a matter of defining issues, setting agenda, choosing individuals to carry out tasks, and keeping in touch with those to whom work is assigned to see that it is going forward. Leadership is, in large part, a matter of memos, e-mails, and phone calls.

It may be that the rector can do all this in addition to carrying out the pastoral and teaching ministry, but it will be better done if it is shared and, in large part, delegated. Rectors of small parishes may well be more skilled at operating a copier than anyone else they could call on. Rectors of parishes of any size may well find it easier to carry out particular tasks themselves than to make phone calls to find someone else able to do the same work. Wardens and vestry members are subject to the same temptations. All should keep in mind a balance between efficiency and involvement. Building parish community requires involvement, and that may reduce efficiency to some degree. Often, however, it is worth losing efficiency to gain involvement. No one can do it all. A job worth doing is a job worth sharing.

A duly constituted executive committee, meeting at regular intervals, may be the first step toward systematic sharing of leadership. In traditional English practice, the rector and wardens are the vestry. The simplest executive committee might be constituted in the same way. Some parishes might wish to add two or three chairpersons of key committees. Some parishes establish the executive committee in the parish bylaws and may also give it specific authority to act between meetings of the vestry. In other parishes, the executive committee is less formally structured—simply a matter of the rector, wardens, and others getting together from time to time to see how things are going—but that runs the risk of seeming to create an “in-group” or “cabal” that runs things without specific authority to do so or any need to report.

A properly constituted executive committee, meeting at regular intervals and reporting to the vestry, can make all the difference in the way the vestry is able to carry out its work. The executive committee can appoint the leadership of other committees and each member can take responsibility for following through to see that other committees are functioning properly.

Wardens

Although an Episcopal parish usually has two wardens, there are some differences among dioceses in the way wardens are chosen and in the titles they are given. In some dioceses, one warden is elected at the annual parish meeting for a two-year term. In other dioceses, the rector appoints a “rector’s warden” while the vestry elects a “people’s warden.” Some dioceses have a third warden charged with financial responsibility. Some parishes have bylaws that specify that the vestry designates the senior warden and that person need not be “senior” in term of service. Although the canons provide only a minimal description of the wardens’ responsibilities, it is almost inevitable that the wardens will play an important part not only in the vestry itself but also in setting the tone for the parish as a whole. The wardens’ prayer life, pastoral instincts, and faithfulness in worship will set an example and provide leadership more important than executive ability.

The only specific duty assigned to “churchwardens” in the national canons is to notify the bishop “when a parish is without a rector,” and even this duty may be carried out by “other proper officers” (III.9.3a).^* Usually one of the wardens will preside in the absence of the rector, and some states and dioceses specifically provide for this. If the rector is disabled or resigns, this can, of course, become a very significant responsibility. But, for the most part, the wardens’ leadership will be more a matter of tradition and chemistry. The relationships the wardens establish can bring the opportunity to exercise enormous influence. The clergy will turn to them for support and guidance; parishioners will turn to them for leadership; all will look to them as enablers and communicators whose gifts and commitment will make things happen and bring the parish together in support of common goals.

To repeat: the canons offer little guidance to the wardens as to their role. Their ministry will become effective through such ordinary means as taking the rector to lunch at regular intervals, being careful to talk to as many parishioners as possible at coffee hours and other parish events, spending time on the telephone in “follow-up,” and, above all, praying daily for the parish and all its members.

Committees, Commissions, Task Forces, Parish Councils

The assigned work of the vestry is, as has been said, finances and property. Theoretically, a vestry could assign one committee to each of these areas and need no further structure. In some small parishes, the vestry may act as a “committee of the whole” with no further structure at all. The typical parish, however, will need committees of some sort to deal with everything from Christian education to evangelism. These can be organized within the vestry’s structures, or these responsibilities may be given to a “...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• In Conclusion
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Appendix 3
• Appendix 4
• Appendix 5
• Appendix 6
• Appendix 7
• Appendix 8
• Index