The vestry is the elected governing body of the church. St. Mary’s vestry consists of 12 lay members of the congregation and the rector. Four members are elected to three-year terms each year at the annual meeting. The Vestry typically meets on the second Tuesday of most months. You will find regular updates from them here.
Just as Advent is a season of hopeful expectation, so we in the Vestry eagerly watch and wait for the completion of the many projects currently happening at St. Mary’s. In the midst of the growing darkness and the freezing nights, we find light and warmth in the promise of our eventual re-gathering together in our improved building space. In addition to the completion of the ventilation system upgrade and new lighting in the sanctuary, we are looking forward to the removal and relocation of bats that have been living within certain areas of our walls for many years. Their presence has mostly been peaceful, but the work on the ventilation system has revealed the extent to which they have made themselves a little too comfortable inside our walls. They will be gently but sternly pushed to take up residence elsewhere, and there will be some new alternative dwellings nearby so they won’t be forced to travel far to find shelter.
We are also looking forward to the continual decrease of COVID cases thanks to the availability of vaccine boosters and vaccine authorization for younger age groups. The Vestry has recently approved a statement about vaccine requirements for our clergy and staff, along with a recommendation that individual ministries consider the necessity of vaccine requirements for their volunteers. We are proud that St. Mary’s supports this scientific achievement, and we believe in its efficacy for protecting us and reducing the spread of COVID. Even more, it is a way to demonstrate our love for our neighbors and our concern for the health of the whole community.
The education, conservation, and restoration work our Earth Stewards are doing also fills us with hope. Ty Zeller visited us at our November meeting on behalf of this ministry to tell us more about their work with the Earth Care Interfaith Fund and their partnership with the McKenzie River Trust and the Long Tom Watershed Council. Together these organizations are working to inform the wider Eugene community about conservation resources, implement habitat restoration, and help the land recover from fire damage. Ty also walked us through the resource packet for congregations and individuals that the Earth Stewards prepared during summer 2021. Overall, we found their resource kit impressive and thorough. We are proud of all the Earth Stewards are doing to help us consider our daily relationship with the earth and better care for this beautiful home God has entrusted to us.
We feel hopeful as well for the continuation of our discussions about racial justice and about how to develop a more inclusive and equitable community. As part of our conversation about “next steps” for St. Mary’s, we have given ourselves a homework assignment for our December meeting: to read and reflect on the Episcopal Church’s “Becoming Beloved Community vision” document. According to its own description, it “frames a path for Episcopalians to address racial injustice and grow as a community of reconcilers, justice-makers, and healers who share a passion for the dream of God.” While racial reconciliation and healing feels like an ever-shifting horizon, we are committed to the long-term work it requires, and we will keep you updated as our conversation progresses.
At our November meeting, we also collectively mourned the passing of Liz T. Since Liz had just visited us at our previous meeting as part of the Pledge Drive Committee, the news came as a shock. We first took a moment to wonder together how you even begin to grieve such an unexpected loss. Perhaps by acknowledging and speaking about it, it becomes less acute. Liz was involved in various ways at St. Mary’s, like greeting visitors at the front desk. Her joyful presence at our October meeting left an impression on us, especially since this was her first year on the Pledge Drive Committee. She spoke about how the experience was overwhelmingly positive for her, and how she felt encouraged and strengthened in her own faith by seeing the faithful leadership of the others on the team. She said that “their closeness to Christ” was something to look up to. Although her passing is heartbreaking, we can take some consolation in knowing that now she is truly close to Christ, and that St. Mary’s supported her to the very end. We hold Randy and family in our hearts and prayers. May we take Liz’s example as an encouragement to be grateful for what we have at St. Mary’s and a reminder of the painfully precious nature of our earthly life.
Finally, we want to thank the Pledge drive committee for their work this past season, along with all who pledged, made videos, and contributed to the effort to fund St. Mary’s. We send a hearty and overdue thank you to Judy Alison for all her work taking care of the building and coordinating the many improvement projects. Judy: your work does not go unnoticed, and we know you give so much of yourself out of your care for our community! We also send a thank you to Kim Davaz for her work as Vestry clerk this past year. Kim: your patience and precision is a gift to us and we are thankful for your presence! As we move into this Advent season, we invite you all to share in our hope for all the exciting things that are currently happening, along with our expectation for the good things that are yet to come.
