What Does a Vestry Do?
Our Vestry operates in most ways like a board, having been “vested” with the authority to oversee the temporal realities of the church, as well as supporting and discerning the vision as a leadership community along with the Rector (i.e. lead pastor).
The leaders on this team are representatively elected annually with a rotating three-year commitment.
The Vestry Member's Declaration:
“I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the Word of God and to contain all things necessary for salvation through Our Lord Jesus Christ and I do yield my hearty consent to the fundamental declarations set forth in Article I of the Constitution, and to the discipline and forms of worship of the Anglican Church in North America. I promise that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of Vestry member of this Congregation to the best of my ability.”
- Anglican Diocese of the Carolinas (ADOC)
Canon 6, Section 3e
What Does "Vestry" Mean?
The term “vestry” derives from being “vested” with the authority of responsibility over the church. But whatever this varying lay leadership team has been called, they have always been prayerful, committed believers, and it has been a steadfast source of godly wisdom, direction and protection for The Vine.
This is something of an ordination into a particular leadership in two overarching ways:
- Overseeing the finances and property of the church as the legal representatives of The Vine Anglican Church.
- Collaborating with the Rector for big-picture discernment and direction. As a group, we try to discern what God is doing in our midst and walk in step with that (Exodus 13:21).
