Vestry Nominees 2025

Top row: Molly Anderson, Jay Moore, Elizabeth Peay, Joan Putney
Bottom row: Andrew Robertson, Brandon Spalding, Katherine Farley

Nominees to serve three-year terms concluding in February 2028

Molly Anderson has been a member of St. Stephen’s Church since 2020. A retired lawyer, she currently serves on St. Stephen’s Racial Healing Commission and is a member of the flower guild. In the past she participated in Sacred Ground, the Universal Christ reflection group, an Emmaus group, and a book-study group on racial healing meditations written by Catherine Meeks, where she was co-facilitator. Among other volunteer activities, Molly is on the board of Capital Trees and previously served on the vestry at St. James Church and the board of the Steward School.

Jay Moore is a partner and senior advisor at Brown Advisory focusing on providing strategic, legal, and financial advice to individuals, families, endowments, and foundations. A member of St. Stephen’s Church since 1958, he currently serves as an usher and lay reader. Previous roles include discernment committee co-chair, outreach committee chair, finance committee member, St. Stephen’s endowment trustee, annual giving campaign co-chair, and vestry member.

Elizabeth Peay has been a member of St. Stephen’s Church since 1978. She is currently a Senior Assistant Attorney General at the Office of the Attorney General. She is an active member of St. Stephen’s, previously serving as Sunday school teacher and Ladies Night Out co-chair.

Joan Putney is a retired attorney who served in the Division of Legislative Services of the Commonwealth of Virginia. A member of St. Stephen’s Church since 2015, she serves as a Women of St. Stephen’s program committee member and Celtic setup team leader. She also regularly works in St. Stephen’s Food pantry and is a greeter as well as wedding guild and May Fair House volunteer. Previously she was active in St. Stephen’s jail ministry and served as executive chair of the Women of St. Stephen’s, May Fair House board chair and volunteer, Sacred Ground facilitator, vestry nominating committee, and Vacation Bible School volunteer.

Andrew Robertson is Director, Data Engineering, at Capital One and holds an MBA from the University of Virginia. A member of St. Stephen’s Church since 2018, he is a chorister parent, active in Palmer Hall, and co-facilitator of Many Parents, One Vine.  Having grown up in the Roman Catholic tradition, Andrew was formally received into the Episcopal Church in May 2024.

Brandon Spalding has been a member of St. Stephen’s Church since 2002. An attorney and Senior Vice President and General Counsel at VSC Fire & Security, Inc., Brandon serves on the family ministry guild and as a liturgy greeter and a youth usher captain. Past involvement includes serving as an annual giving campaign co-chair, a member of the vestry nominating committee (twice), and a member of a vocational discernment committee.

To complete a two-year term in February 2027

In addition to this slate of six presented by the nominating committee, participants in the annual meeting on February 23 will vote to affirm Katherine Farley for a two-year term.  Katherine replaced a vestry member who resigned early in 2024.

Katherine was a commercial real estate attorney in the Atlanta offices of Kilpatrick Stockton and Troutman Sanders.  She has been at St. Stephen’s Church since her family moved to Richmond in 2017.  She is a co-chair of the family ministry guild and a member of the outreach grants committee. She serves on the Palmer Hall altar guild, the Palmer Hall flower guild and as a Palmer Hall chalice bearer.  She also volunteers in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and has co-chaired the Live Nativity.

St. Stephen’s Church has a vestry of 18 parishioners, with groups of six rotating off each year and six new members being elected by the parish at our annual meeting in February. This system provides both continuity and new energy and ideas. To facilitate the process of recruiting and naming nominees, the vestry appoints a nominating committee each year consisting of the six outgoing members of the vestry and six at-large members. The vestry also appoints one or two of the members of the nominating committee to chair it.

The parish is invited in late fall to submit names for consideration by the nominating committee. In compiling a slate for election at the annual parish meeting, the nominating committee considers not only what the six new members of the vestry will bring to that group, but how their skills, experiences, and participation in the life of this parish will complement those of the 12 continuing members. They also follow the criteria listed below.

Those nominated for vestry service:
• should be qualified according to the Canons (church laws). This means that she or he should be a confirmed or received member, and should be “known to the treasurer.” Someone who is known to the treasurer means to us that she or he has been a contributing member of St. Stephen’s with sustained giving for the most recent three years, or if newer to St. Stephen’s, they should have given sustained financial support during their time here;
• should have demonstrated a level of commitment to St. Stephen’s which is appropriate to vestry service, including attending worship regularly and engaging in the ministries of St. Stephen’s;
• should have the ability to be a constructive and unifying influence even when working with those of different viewpoints; and
• should not be the spouse, sibling, parent or child of a member of the nominating committee, the current vestry, a current staff member, nor have served on St. Stephen’s vestry for at least three years.