This month’s Vestry Corner is focused on our Lay Delegates. Our Lay Delegates serve two purposes. The primary purpose of Lay Delegates is to represent their parishes at Annual Convention (together with Clerical delegates). The Annual Convention is the main governing body of the Diocese of Virginia. The second purpose is to represent their parishes to the Regional Council. Think of the Lay Delegates as members of the House of Representatives (and Clergy as the Senate); and the Regional Council as a joint committee. Our church’s governance is much like our national governance. More information is found HERE.

The Annual Convention takes place over 2 days in mid-November. Annual Convention attendance also requires some preparation time to review the proposed Diocesan budget and any proposed resolutions (such as the one in June to elect our new Bishop, the Reverend Canon E. Mark Stevenson). A few topics over the next few years will be installing (December 2022) and supporting our new Bishop, discernment efforts regarding the life and purpose of the Diocese of Virginia regions, the work of the task force on reparations, and responding to climate change. Regional Council meetings are held 4 times a year on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. There are occasionally special council meetings to address budget issues, unresolved resolutions, or to elect Bishops.

 

Lay Delegates work with the other 8 Episcopal churches in our region to share in broader issues at a diocesan level. Holy Comforter has 3 Lay Delegates and 3 alternates ideally serving 2 or 3-year terms. The North Fairfax Region comprises 9 churches: Epiphany, Oak Hill; Holy Comforter, Vienna; Holy Cross, Dunn Loring; St. Anne’s, Reston; St. Dunstan’s, McLean; St. Francis, Great Falls; St. John's, McLean; St. Thomas, McLean; St. Timothy, Herndon. A map of the Diocese of Virginia can be found HERE.

Our delegates are:

We will be looking for new volunteers in March of 2023. Our current delegates have indicated those with the ability to think broadly to address issues and concerns that effect the Diocese of Virginia, the National Church, and occasionally the Worldwide Anglican Communion, would be great candidates. It is a great opportunity to be connected to the overall activities of the parish, both to share our activities with the rest of the region and to reflect on how we might expand our activities at Holy Comforter based on what other churches share. The current team has found it most rewarding to get to know members from the other churches in the region and to recognize how blessed we are at Holy Comforter in terms of resources and a parish that really steps up when needed. 

For those interested in learning more about our Lay Delegates, feel free to reach out to them directly. You can also reach out to Jason Crum and Suzie Garrod for more information.