Announcements January 13-19 2015

Serving on the Vestry

Serving on the Vestry 2015 

Serving on the vestry is a unique and special ministry. Our vestry is comprised of servant leaders with a variety of skill sets and passions for ministry. The vestry is described by the Episcopal Church Foundation as “the body within the congregation that, with the clergy, leads the parish.”  Among vestry members’ duties are, with the rector:  to identify goals, to engage in short and long range planning, to ensure adequate resources and effective stewardship, to establish and monitor programs and services, and to communicate with the parish and the wider community. 

           

      The St Timothy’s vestry demonstrates and models Christian love and forbearance; serving as leaders and examples of what it means to be a healthy Spirit led Christian community. The St Timothy’s Vestry supports all of the decisions of the vestry, even if they are not the individual’s decision, trusting decisions by the vestry have been focused through, discernment, prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit. We treat each other as beloved children of God.

St Timothy’s vestry communicates, inspires, and lifts up the body of Christ. 

      Serving as a parish leader a vestry member strives to create and maintain a healthy spiritual life though regular worship, study, prayer, and service.

St Timothy’s Vestry is ministry centric and strives to accomplish through servant leadership the various tasks and responsibilities of the vestry. Vestry meetings are often inspiring as we, discern, learn and plan together.

The vestry has spent their time since the beginning of 2014 as advocate leaders developing ways we can all participate as ministers to each other, and the positive, hopeful and spiritual life of the vestry has been instrumental in the development of the ministries and joyful experiences of St Timothy’s we are all encouraged to be part of.

      The Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and in the Diocese of El Camino define the basic qualifications for Vestry.

·     Article II of the Canons of the diocese of El Camino Real states Vestry shall be confirmed or received, (or have completed the Confirmation, reception, conversations and waiting to be confirmed) Fr. Ron

·     adult communicants in good standing as defined by Canons of The Episcopal Church and registered in the Parish.

·         You are a baptized member.

·         Over 16 years old.

·         Faithful in worship attendance

·         Contributing to the church financially in such a way as can be noted

          by the Treasurer (pledge, check, etc.).

What we need from you to share with the faith community.

A digital picture suitable for publication.

A short Bio, how long you have been a member of St. Tims, and then complete these questions.

1. What attributes or talents will you bring to the Vestry?
2. What ministries have you participated in within the last two years at St Tims?
3. Which leadership area do you believe you could help grow, expand and be an advocate for.

Areas you might consider
Welcoming the stranger  

Discipleship, (a learning strategy for all ages and places in life)

Hospitality (connecting us through the faith community)                                            

Out reach\In reach to the least of these and within our faith community)

Stewardship     Time, Talents and Resource

Finance and Grants  

Communications (broadcast and narrowcast)

Facilities

Junior Warden

Senior Warden

Children\Preschool

Youth

Special projects:

·         Strategy for the continued development of short term Missional projects

·         Volunteerism

Delegates for convention

      The Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the Diocese of El Camino Article II states Convention delegates shall be confirmed adult communicants in good standing as defined by Canons of The Episcopal Church and registered in the Parish.

Vestry Candidates for 2015: 

Introducing Rob Roe

     

      Most everyone, if not everyone, already knows my main contribution to St. Tim’s has been and will continue to be in the music ministry.  Although I have been in many positions, one of my biggest roles to date was during Peter Sammel’s sabbatical where I took on a leadership position for the 9:00 service.

Outside of St Tim’s I created my own outreach ministry called “Bike Rides for Humanity”.  This consists of a weekly bike ride into the downtown area of San Jose where I hand out a combination of $$ and Manna bags (when I have them) to the homeless.  The $$ and Manna bags help to break the ice into what often becomes heartfelt conversations, the laying of hands and prayer. 

Over the last 2 years I estimate that I have had near 400 interactions during this ministry.

As I understand, one of the main responsibilities of the Junior Warden position is to oversee the maintenance of St. Tim’s campus. I am well suited for this with many years of experienced running and owning a handyman business called Saratoga Maintenance.

The creation of Saratoga Maintenance actually began when I was a realtor. Every property listed for sale began by managing the “curb appeal” improvements, followed by the actual home inspection and the resulting Section 1 & 2 repair work. I was the kind of realtor who carried coveralls in the trunk of my car and I got my hands dirty a lot.  Not only did I manage the repair work, but I also took a very active, hands-on part.

It was during these years that I fully realized how big the demand was for a “Do-It-All” Handyman service and recognized my own propensity to do the work myself. So, I tossed the tie, put on the coveralls full time, traded in the 4-door sedan for a pickup truck, and launched Saratoga Maintenance. 

Over the 10 years I went from realtor to handyman, I worked on just about everything imaginable – specializing in both residential and commercial properties.

I look forward to having this opportunity of applying my experience from the past with my current spiritual growth. I have reached a point in my relationship with God that it is time to exercise my faith in applications such as this.

Although much of the vestry’s responsibilities are a mystery to me, I come as a fellow servant of God whom dwells within the spirit. This gives me peaceful confidence that I can be an asset to the vestry, congregation and campus as Junior Warden.

If elected as Junior Warden by the vestry, I plan on acquiring an in-depth knowledge of our campus through a series of inspections, will create various reports of my findings, provide prioritized recommendations for repair, propose a maintenance schedule and create a resource list of repair providers. We can also talk about creating a list that would consist of “low-hanging fruit” projects that might be appropriate for church member involvement, or work-party days.

Introducing Susan Pimlott

      I joined St. Timothy’s in 2006 after attending services sporadically the previous two years with my son, Luke.  Although my parents had me christened at St. Tim’s when I was a baby, my family did not practice faith and it wasn’t until I became a parent that I was drawn to God and brought Luke to St. Tim’s to be baptized in 2004. St. Timothy’s has provided a safe and nurturing environment for us to learn to follow Jesus and to practice our faith as Episcopalians.  I participated in confirmation classes last year and was confirmed by the Bishop in October.  The Bishop met with the candidates before the service, and during our discussion I shared that, for me, being confirmed was a coming out.  I had been a somewhat closeted Christian, keeping my faith to myself, but the journey that led me to confirmation had empowered and strengthened me to be unafraid to be open about my faith and to continue on my faith journey. 

      Being one to jump in with both feet, over the years I have helped with or been a leader of the rummage sale, Godly Play, Vacation Bible Camp, fishes & loaves, covenant groups, and administrator for the women’s retreat.  Last year, I accepted Father Ron’s invitation to become the Clerk of Vestry, because I am an administrator and organizer by nature and profession, and I was searching for a new way to serve.  I soon realized that I could best serve St. Tim’s by taking on more responsibility for our mission and ministry as a regular Vestry member. 

I’m ready to dive deeper and apply my spiritual gifts of administration, helps and leadership to serve our parish.  If elected to the Vestry, I will continue to serve as the Clerk, in addition to working with other leaders to enhance our youth program.  I would also like to be part of a team for the continued development of short term missional projects and volunteerism. I’m excited to continue the work of Father Ron and the Vestry, and about what we can accomplish together as the hands and face of Jesus.  



Introducing Karin Dutra 

Karin Dutra has been a member of St Timothy’s since 2004 and while her daughter Kristin and husband Doug no longer attend regularly, Allen and his mom have grown together in faith in this community.  Karin has been privileged to participate for many years in children’s ministry.  She enjoys being a storyteller for the Godly Play program and loves VBC week.   Karin gathered the current Children’s Homily team for Rector Phillips some years ago and the team is still going strong!  During the last two years Karin launched the Sanctuary Arts ministry, working to beautify the sanctuary and deepening our collective worship experiences.  Karin also sings with the Morning Glory 9:00 band and loves every minute of it!   Karin has more free time now because she recently graduated with a Masters of Arts in Theology from Fuller Seminary after a wonderful and thought provoking ten year journey.  Karin is interested in joining the vestry because participation in the visioning and governance of St Timothy’s seems to be a good next step for a retired seminarian and she looks                                         forward to working with this wonderful community. 


Introducing Cindy Howard

      My family and I made a gradual transition to St. Timothy’s between 2005 and 2006. First we just came to dinner. Then I joined a Covenant Group. And finally, we began worshipping at St. Timothy’s, for two years at the 5:30 service and then moving to the later morning service. Currently my daughters Gwen and Laurel (when she is home) sing in the band at the 11:00 service and I am often running the projector at that service. I have seen several seasons at St. Timothy’s but the fundamental belief in growing and worshiping as active Disciples of Christ has remained steady and has been deeply nourishing for me. I am grateful for the loving, generous, caring community that is St. Timothy’s.
Professionally, I work as a parent educator, bringing together parents and their children and helping parents become more self-confident and knowledgeable about parenting. In addition to 3 degrees in civil engineering, a credential in parent education, a certificate in technical communications, and 36 early childhood education credits, I will complete a graduate degree in social work this August. Volunteer experience includes serving on the board of directors of both La Leche League of Northern California/Hawaii and La Leche League International, a two-year term as PTA co-President, serving on the board of Canterbury Episcopal Ministry at Stanford as both treasurer and president (but not simultaneously), and most recently as the chair of the 2011-12 search committee at St. Timothy’s. Throughout my paid and volunteer work, I have striven to stay grounded in faith, listen deeply, and build community.

Introducing Elizabeth Winchell 

      I was raised Roman Catholic, and as an adult member of that church I participated in choir and music ministry, and I became a Eucharistic Minister (which is like being a Lay Assistant in the Episcopal Church).  I also baked communion bread.

      After some serious soul searching, I started attending All Saints Episcopal church in Palo Alto in 2009.  In 2010 I was received into the Episcopal Church, and was an active member at All Saints.  I volunteered assisting the church administrator in the office, I served on the Altar Guild for a year, I sang in the Choir, and during their version of The Point I taught arts and crafts to the kids on Sundays.  When my husband and I moved to Mountain View, I kept going to All Saints for another year. 

      When I started attending St. Tim’s, once again I was lucky to receive a warm welcome as a new comer at church, even though I was not attending very regularly at first.  I started to attend St. Tim’s regularly about a year ago, and at that time Julie Hansen invited me to join the flower guild, and I love arranging flowers with Julie.  Julie also invited me to join covenant group, and if you have never been to covenant group, try it.  It’s amazing.  And at Christmas time, I was thrilled to have the chance to join the choir for the 11:00 a.m. service. 

      Recently when I was asked to run for a position on the Vestry, I had to ask myself what skills I have that might be useful.  During college, I worked as a Buyer for a housing and dining co-op.  I’ve also been an Art Therapist, a Social Worker, a Paralegal, and I worked my way through Law School as a Legal Secretary.  But I stopped working outside the home in 2009, so I am not a practicing Lawyer at this time, and I certainly have free time that I could give to the Vestry. 

      I tried to think about some of the things I have done in my career life that might possibly translate into skills I could use to serve St. Tim’s, and below is a short list.

1. As a buyer, I helped identify areas where we were overbuying perishable foods, and basically having to throw away money on a weekly basis.  By helping us match up our buying much closer to our actual use, I helped us eliminate overspending.

2. As a Social Worker in a psychiatric hospital, I helped manage a children’s unit, and I provided family therapy.  I can pray for families in crisis, recommend educational literature, and provide moral support.  Even parents with healthy, happy children need support.

3. As an Art Therapist in a psychiatric hospital, I conducted therapy groups with adults recovering from alcohol or drug abuse, and tried to assist them finding new hobbies to fill the extra time they would have on their hands living sober.  I’m a good listener, a person who can be trusted with sensitive information, and I can pray for people who want support.

4. As a therapist and social worker, I mediated many family disputes.  I can offer my support, mediation, and prayers when people want to resolve differences of opinion.  Even among people who really respect each other, differences of opinion sometimes arise, especially where money or management matters are involved.

5. As a therapist and social worker, I have provided grief/bereavement support.

6. As an Art Therapist, I have provided companionship, group social activities, and emotional support to senior citizens in day programs and in nursing homes.

7. I served on the Board of Directors the Orton Dyslexia Society of Northern Ohio, so I have experience participating in the management of a nonprofit organization.

8. Working in law in various capacities from 1996 through 2009, I gained experience in matters of premises liability, personal injury, insurance, employment law, and mediation and dispute resolution.  I can easily research issues that might arise, and assist the Vestry in making decisions.

      My hobbies include baking, reading, snuggling my cat, drawing, painting, and singing.