Our Vestry

St. Stephen’s is blessed with an active, working vestry made up of dedicated parishioners who give generously of their time and talent. Our vestry includes people with a variety of skills and backgrounds, ages, and length of time as parishioners of St. Stephen’s.

Exterior of Three Chopt entrance at St. Stephen's Church in Richmond, Virginia

What is a vestry?

A vestry is a group of lay people elected by the parish to work with the rector to oversee the temporal health of their congregation. A new group of vestry members is elected at each annual congregational meeting in February. Prior to the annual meeting, the vestry appoints a nominating committee which invites parishioners to suggest people for vestry service, or to offer themselves as possible nominees. This process is announced in our weekly communications.

This year’s nomination process has begun. You can read more about it here.

VESTRY NOMINATIONS

Current Vestry Members

The vestry of St. Stephen’s Church meets at 5 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month. Each meeting contains presentations about and discussion of various areas of parish life, and is attended by staff and clergy. Visitors are always welcome to attend any meeting, excepting, of course, executive sessions of the vestry.

Jeff Johnson, Junior Warden
Andy Luke
Brenda McDowell
Anne Pinion, Senior Warden
Whitney Van Der Hyde, Register

Robert Birdsey
Kathy Brock
John Crowder
May Fox
Mary Ashburn Pearson
Chris Smith, Treasurer

Bill Davis
Katherine Farley
Greta Kidd
Nan O’Connell
Gayle Royals
Randy Seibert

What are the duties of the vestry?

The duties of the vestry, and their election, are laid out in the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of Virginia.

DIOCESAN CONSTITUTION AND CANONS

Standing Committees of the Vestry

In a church the size of St. Stephen’s, it is critical to build good systems of communication and collaboration among vestry, staff, and congregation. One key way to do this is through standing committees comprised of staff members, vestry liaisons, and at-large parishioners. A number of standing committees at St. Stephen’s are well established and have a long history of operation; others have been out of commission and have needed to be reimagined. Still others are new and address areas of need.

Emmaus group at St. Stephen's Church in Richmond, Virginia

Standing Committees

To see a fuller description of the standing committee structure, current leadership, and the area of ministry for each committee, follow this link.

  • Adult Formation
  • Buildings and Grounds
  • Communal Care
  • Family Ministry
  • Finance
  • Front Porch Ministries (May Fair House, the Café @ St. Stephen’s, the Farmers Market @ St. Stephen’s, Dogwood Preschool)
  • Hospitality
  • Outreach
  • Stewardship

Vestry liaisons are separately appointed to the board of Dogwood Preschool and to St. Stephen’s Endowment Committee. Members of the executive committee of the vestry serve as the core constituency of the personnel  committee.

Standing committees gather on their own schedules, as well as at Quarterly Ministry Nights. All parishioners are welcome at Quarterly Ministry Nights. Dates are announced in our weekly communications, the Spirit (our printed newsletter distributed on Sundays) and eSpirit (email newsletter sent each Thursday).

Vestry Minutes

The register of the vestry takes minutes of each meeting. Copies of the minutes are posted on this page when they are available.

How to contact the vestry

If you have a question or comment for St. Stephen’s vestry, please use the button below to send an email.

Get In Touch