What is Vestry?

The vestry is the governing board of the parish and consists of the Rector, the Wardens, and lay members. The Vestry of the Episcopal Parish of Alton is comprised of twelve members. Each year at our Annual Meeting the congregation elects new members for three-year terms. A Rector’s Warden is appointed annually by the Rector and a Parish Warden is elected annually by the Vestry. A Clerk of the Vestry and a Parish Treasurer are also chosen annually by the Vestry, in consultation with the Rector.

The Rector presides at meetings of the Vestry which is responsible for the parish’s business and temporal matters. The Vestry also serves as an advisory council to the Rector who by church law is the parish’s chief liturgical and pastoral officer. The primary responsibility of the Vestry is to oversee the parish’s financial health. In partnership with the Rector, it develops and approves the annual budget.

Vestry members serve on one of the following nine commissions: Property and Maintenance, Finance and Insurance, Parish Life, Education, Evangelism and Outreach, Public Relations and Communication, and Liturgy and Music.

The Vestry of the Episcopal Parish of Alton meets monthly in St. Paull’s Heneghan hall.

Our Vestry