by Andrea Schmid
Like many of us at Saint Matthias, I didn’t grow up in the Episcopal church.
The church I grew up in had a congregational structure—one in which all major decisions were made by a vote of everyone in the church. Business meetings in my tiny small-town church could be tedious. They were held quarterly on Sunday evenings and sometimes went on for hours. Coming from such a background left me frankly unenthusiastic about attending anything that sounded remotely similar.
But that same small-town church also left me with a strong sense of responsibility toward my faith community, so after attending Saint Matthias for about a year, I found myself dutifully settling in for my first annual meeting. I was pleasantly surprised—for several reasons!
There was only one major vote, and it was unanimous.
Instead of voting on every issue the church faces, Episcopal congregations elect a vestry to handle most of the church’s business. The vestry typically includes twelve members who serve three-year terms, with just a few people at a time rotating on and off. At Saint Matthias, we elect our new vestry members as a slate. Well in advance of the annual meeting, the rector and vestry nominate people, speak to them regarding their interest in serving, and publicly post a list of names. That means that at the meeting itself, the only remaining step is to elect them.
Rather than focusing on business decisions, the meeting focused on helping parishioners get an overview of what was going on in the church.
Since the vestry handles business decisions at its monthly meetings, the annual meeting is more of a “state of the church” event. It includes an overview of the budget as well as reports from the parish leaders involved with the Soup Hour, communications, women’s ministries, senior ministries, youth ministries, and small groups. It’s also an opportunity for members of the congregation to ask questions and share ideas.
As a newer member, participating in the annual meeting helped me feel more connected to Saint Matthias and helped me put faces to names that I’d been hearing since I first started attending. It also gave me a chance to see how the check I put in the offering plate each month was being spent.
There was an atmosphere of celebration.
A major part of the annual meeting is thanking the vestry members who have completed their three-year terms and welcoming those who are just beginning theirs. There are gifts and applause. The celebration continues as Fr. Bill and the representatives of the various ministries report on what has been accomplished over the past year. Overall, it is a positive, encouraging experience.
It was short!
I really didn’t know what to expect from my first annual meeting, but I was prepared to have a very late lunch afterward. I was pleased to be out in about an hour. This year’s meeting should be even shorter. It will follow an abbreviated service and take place right in the sanctuary. Fr. Bill tells me he hopes to keep it to around thirty minutes.
If you’re uncertain about whether to participate on Sunday, I encourage you to give it a try. Not only do I think you’ll find it far less tedious than you might expect, but I think you’ll come away with a stronger sense of your place in our community and a deeper understanding of how Saint Matthias strives to be, as Fr. Bill often says, an address for the Kingdom of God.
