By: Mary Jane Miller, a past Vestry member
Parish life is one of the most interesting social dynamic situations you might find still happening in our society today. It thrives on the idea that we are within God’s sight all the time as we go about our life together in community.
Our Parish is Changing
Along with its leadership, the 
St Paul’s Vestry is trying to provide, represent and serve as our future unfolds and changes. Vestry is one of the most exciting committees to serve on in any parish, filled with work and insights into the community it serves, before God and neighbor. You may ask, “Who are these people and what do they do?”
Sunni Putnam, has raised the bar to new heights with her ministry of hospitality. She works with a big gang of helpers called the food warriors. Their hospitality events are all-inclusive; serious work planning, cooking, set-up and clean-up. In the upcoming year she hopes to continue her campaign to improve and upgrade our medical closet so it can better serve the community of San Miguel.
Bud Lawrence is Junior Warden and cares for our buildings and grounds. He has taken on a mountainous task of overseeing construction of our new parish rental property. Please note, the Church has never looked better: new paint job, lawn, garden and sprinkler system, kitchen shelves and a long list of small but needed improvements. Lynne Ramsey, in addition to her work on the hospitality committee also serves on the buildings/grounds and new building committee with Bud.
Mary Jane Miller leads social media, communication and assists in events planning. St Paul’s has an updated website, calendar of events for whats happening in the parish. In the coming year she wants to develop the many parish sub-committees and ministries for them to work better and more effectively.
Paul Escott is keeping an eye on our financial activities in this new millennium, including things like agreements with people who use our facility for a variety of events, LED bulbs to save money and financial advice with our Ameriprise investments.
Lynn is our Clerk of the Vestry, meaning she keeps notes, types them up and posts them each month on the board by the parish office and web site. Mary Beth has the full time, often thankless, unpaid job of treasurer, keeping our financial system accurate and understandable. We cannot thank her enough!
Doug Craig although no longer is on vestry, like many others he continues to work behind the scenes. Our parish makes and receives sound at morning prayer, choir and liturgy, general thanksgiving through song and praise, along with Karen O’Malia and her bell choir. Thank you all.
We have worked with a limited Vestry this past year; instead of eight members we have had six. Lourdes Medal, may she rest in peace, and Barbara Espinosa, who has retired to Florida, are both missed and recently had their positions filled by Quinn Brown and John O’Malia. John Barham has resigned. We are working towards returning to a Vestry of eight.
This brings me to the best announcement!
There are opportunities for YOU to participate, the list of needs is extensive. The Vestry will do its best for the next three months as we refine, evaluate, and dedicate ourselves to receiving Fr. George Woodward in June. This means all are welcome at the table. Vestry meetings are the last Friday of the month at 11 am. Ask Joe Witmore our senior warden for the agenda or notify him if you plan to attend. We Need Your energy, ideas and resources over the next 3 months to receive the new leadership. Our entire community benefits from your time, talent and/or financial support. We have plenty of committees, ministries and groups dedicated to all kinds of work and new ones to be started. The body of Christ needs all its parts to be involved.
As a review, here are a few ministries that you may feel called to support:
- Kitchen and Hospitality: organize, cook,
set-up or clean-up - Social Media: newsletter, Facebook, web site, blog posts, photography,
- Around the parish: Hosting an event, lecture, movie, something for children or education
- Care Committee : Isobella Krisel and Norma Robinson visit the sick, bringing the sacrament, and phone calls of kindness.
- Mattress Project has only one person at the moment; Claudia has been doing this for ten years!
- Columbarium and Legacy program: we have Isobella Krisel and Norma Robinson who might need a hand.
- Green Team: sadly this team is inactive in an age when the environment may be the millennium’s biggest crisis in the not too distant future.
- Morning Prayer: three people have been holding it together for 3 years or more
- Lay Readers, Acolytes and Ushers: people needed at every service – Sundays and weekends 52 weeks a year.
Peace and Art Project for children
The Vestry has ideas for the coming year and maybe you have a some too. Suggestions we have heard include: a pie contest, movies on the lawn, travel slide presentations, game night, women’s issues, Mexican cooking, travel club, ecumenical studies, Gospel studies, Caminamos Juntos, visiting lecture series, and more.
Steve Clark, Daniel Morgan, Norma Robinson, Nancy Gardener, Marion Archibald and many, many, many others are silently doing lots of work, seldom noticed publicly but always appreciated. What I am saying perhaps badly is… Parish life includes new and old members to continue to develop the new and old ideas which reflect a thriving parish,community as an image of the Christ in the world. For us to look to the future we need all of you. Every gift is welcome, every effort is worthy, everyone has a voice.
Our healthy paradigm is: If you see something that needs to be done – Do it. If you have an idea – Get it started, ask for help, have a plan, organize a meeting, etc. There are hundreds of inspired ways that God keeps us all connected. Parish life is one of the most interesting social dynamics you will find still happening in our society today. It thrives on the idea that we are within God’s sight all the time as we go about our life together in community.
God makes many kinds of stones in a river – if we can see ourselves as individual stones, whether rough, smooth, big, small, colored or gray – it takes all of us to maintain the river bed where the spirit of God flows freely.