Vestry

The Vestry* is the church board. The basic responsibilities of the vestry are to help define and articulate the mission of the congregation; to support the church’s mission by word and deed, to select and support the rector, to ensure effective organization and planning, and to manage resources and finances. Generally, 1/3 of the nine Vestry members are elected each year at the annual parish meeting and serve a three-year term. The presiding officer of the vestry is the rector. The officers include two wardens, a treasurer and a clerk.

*The origin of the term vestry is from the early church in England. Parishioners met about church business in the vestry, the room off the chancel where the clergy vested. The assembled parishioners came to be known as the vestry.

Vestry Members

  • Roni Portillo

    Roni Portillo

    Senior Warden

    Email

  • Keely Clifford

    Keely Clifford

    Junior Warden

  • Ellen Jahn

    Ellen Jahn

  • Mary Hood

    Mary Hood

  • Robert Daunt

    Robert Daunt

  • Ray Ramirez

    Ray Ramirez

  • Coburn Palmer

    Coburn Palmer

  • Photo of Brita Bruemmer

    Brita Bruemmer

  • Photo of Roger Miller

    Roger Miller

Vestry Meeting Highlights

  • The Vestry met on April 23. Meeting highlights include:

    • Easter Sunday was very well attended with 170 people present! Thank you to everyone who helped make it a wonderful day!

    • Donna Daunt stepped down as the chair of Buildings and Grounds at the end of April after a very productive tenure. (Thank you to Donna!) Keely Clifford, Junior Warden, agreed to serve as the new chair of Buildings & Grounds.

    • The Columbarium Fee Schedule has been updated and the new prices will become effective 6/1/25. Contact Ann Pettit for more information.

    • Pastor Kristine introduced our new bookkeeper, Alicia Sanoian.  

    • Kathy Stoner gave a brief update on parish finances. We recently transitioned from an accounting and contributions system called Aplos to a combination of two more widely used and reliable web-based systems, QuickBooks and Realm. 

    • Pastor Kristine shared that she was recently appointed as the Vice President of the diocesan Standing Committee. 

    • We reviewed our group norms and made a couple minor revisions.  

  • Highlights:

    • The Vestry welcomed its two new members, Brita Bruemmer and Roger Miller.

    • Pastor Kristine announced re-appointment of Roni Portillo as Senior Warden.

    • Vestry re-elected Keely Clifford as Junior Warden.

    • Vestry re-elected Kathy Stoner as Treasurer.

    • Vestry elected Penny Portillo as Clerk.

    • Approved 2025 Operating Budget

    • Approved 2025 Capital Budget

    • Approved minor revisions to Articles of incorporation

    • Approved revisions to church bylaws to bring into compliance with current law and church canons. Bylaw revision will be voted on at upcoming Annual Meeting.

     

    • We have engaged a new bookkeeper, in light of Susan's recent resignation. Alicia Sanoian will join us later this month.

    • The nominating committee was appointed to identify a slate of candidates for two vestry seats that will become vacant when Jackie Frey and Elizabeth McCorkle complete their three-year terms. The committee members are Jackie Frey, Elizabeth McCorkle, and Keely Clifford. The election will be held at our Annual Meeting on February 2, 2025.

    • Jackie Pierce, chair of the Celtic Music Ministry provided an update on this thriving program.  The Celtic jam groups are growing, and the concert series brings many community members to our campus. Jackie has a terrific team of volunteers who host the concerts and offer refreshments. With donations and concert proceeds, the ministry is self-supporting.

    • The Currents of Love stewardship campaign is on track, and members have been asked to finish submitting pledges by November 3rd.  Over 60% of pledges received so far have been an increased amount from the prior year.

    • The Vestry discussed the frequency of the ministry reports that leaders are asked to submit each month. Many leaders don't have updates that often. The Vestry agreed to change the frequency to quarterly. Of course, ministry leads can bring issues to the Vestry as they come up.

    • The investiture of presiding bishop-elect Sean Rowe is coming up on November 2nd. The Diocesan Convention will be held Nov 9th.  On Nov 10th after service, a summary will be shared with the parish, including a recording of the bishop's address.