The Annual Meeting
Prayer for a church convention or meeting
Almighty and everliving God, source of all wisdom and understanding, be present with those who take counsel at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church for the renewal and mission of your Church. Teach us in all things to seek first your honor and glory. Guide us to perceive what is right, and grant us both the courage to pursue it and the grace to accomplish it; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Book of Common Prayer, page 818
Prayer of dedication
Gracious God, we give you thanks for the ministry of Gary Jones: for the lives he shared and shaped and touched; for his gifts of preaching and teaching and contemplative practice and liturgy; for his vision of hospitality, healing, and hope captured in the life of so much in this place. We bless and dedicate this portrait, as we bless and dedicate its reflection in all the ministries and lives and people of St. Stephen’s Church. We give thanks to Gary this day and to all of you who continue his good work in this place. Amen.
February 22, 2026 | 10:10 a.m.
Like all Episcopal churches, St. Stephen’s holds an annual meeting to elect a new vestry class, receive reports on finances and other temporal matters of the church, and to reflect on and celebrate the year that has passed and all that we have been able to do as a community of faith to advance the Kingdom of God. For those who primarily attend the Celtic service, the Sunday Community Supper, and/or Compline, a summary of the meeting is presented at 7 p.m. The meeting is also livestreamed on the “This Sunday” page.
Materials from the annual meeting
If you were not able to attend the meeting or watch it on livestream, or you’d like to review any of what was presented, please use the buttons below.
MEETING VIDEO
Portrait presentation
During the annual meeting Sunday morning, Anne Pinion presented the portrait of the Rev. Gary Jones, our eighth rector, after which the Rev. John Rohrs said a prayer of dedication. Because the 11:15 a.m. service was about to begin, we unfortunately needed to switch the livestream feed from the fellowship hall to the church, and were not able to capture this part of the meeting on video. Below is a printed copy of Anne’s remarks, followed by a video of John delivering these comments during the evening presentation of annual meeting reports.
Vestry elections
May Fox and Bob Dibble, co-chairs of the vestry nominating committee, presented the following slate, who were elected by acclamation: James Driscoll, Meg Eckman, Darrell Headrick, Wortie Ferrell, Chip Jamerson, and Katie Webb.
Photos and brief biographical sketches of each are available here, and in the annual meeting packet.
The entire vestry, including 12 continuing members, was commissioned during the 11:15 a.m. service.
At their first meeting, immediately following the service, they elected the following vestry members as officers: Molly Anderson, senior warden; Brandon Spalding, junior warden; Randy Seibert, treasurer; Jay Moore, assistant treasurer; and Gayle Royals, register.
Thank you to the dedicated members of the vestry who completed their service: Robert Birdsey, senior warden; Kathy Brock, junior warden; May Fox; Mary Ashburn Pearson, register; and Chris Smith, treasurer.