Vestry View Late Spring 2024
Welcome to the inaugural Vestry View! Some of the info in this release will also be found in the annual report to be issued at the Annual Meeting on May 19th, immediately after the 10am service. I hope you all will join the clergy, vestry and staff for this annual event. We will have cake and beverages to celebrate Pentecost and the completion of another wonderful year. You will be provided with updates from the clergy, committees, etc.
The Vestry View will be issued periodically, via a link in eNews, and will focus on the following categories of information:
· Buildings and Grounds
· Life Within Our “Walls”
· Community at Large
1) Buildings and Grounds
I hereby declare 2023-2024 as “the year of reckoning” for a beautiful, but aging campus. Our properties have presented us with a fair set of challenges over the past year. Many of those challenges were unbudgeted emergent work. Bert Duvic, the Buildings and Grounds chair, has done a masterful job in juggling contractors, quotes, etc. while ‘getting’ to explain everything to the Finance Committee and the vestry. Some little factoids to keep in mind are that we have six buildings to maintain (not counting the ECC) and that our “new” church was completed in 1967. We have 14 air conditioning units, the oldest of which is 36. We have a bell tower, which offers a wonderful selection of drainage “opportunities”. We lack parking and we face the beautiful reality that we need more nursery space. And I could go on. The bottom line is that we are doing our best to mitigate maintenance issues and protect our buildings. A constant challenge remains in finding the funds for the emergent, unbudgeted work.
A church property facility master planning committee has been formed to better understand how to maximize the utilization of our campus and to develop a long-term plan. The committee is comprised of Bert Duvic, Carolyn Carpenter, Fr. Seth, and myself. The committee has met with “design and use” experts (Andrew McIver, the McMath team, Michael Hunley) to begin the ground work for a master plan. More to come on that!
2) Life Within Our “Walls”
Attendance continues to be strong. Don’t you all just love seeing and hearing the little ones in church? It warms my heart to see all of the families worshipping together. CECC continues to buck the national trend of shrinking membership. We’ve had some babies baptized
recently and look forward to several baptisms at Pentecost. We are so blessed to have clergy that are so genuinely welcoming and so grounded in faith. All truly are welcomed.
Our Newcomer’s Committee, led by Carolyn Carpenter, hosted a Newcomers brunch on May 5th which attracted a nice crowd of newcomers and old-timers as well. Thanks to Mike, Jamie, and Ella Andrepont for providing breakfast tacos and to the newcomers committee for all of the other goodies. Newcomers were also introduced to all of the volunteer opportunities. Volunteering is a great way to meet people and to build community while providing a service.
Keep your eyes open for the start of the summer breakfast series in early June. Details will come out soon.
The Endowment Board, led by Ray Rabidoux, is comprised of an all-star team that has done an amazing job this year. Please remember the current challenge goal of raising $30K by June 1st, to be eligible for a matching $30K from an anonymous and generous estate. This is a wonderful opportunity to build for the future. Please prayerfully consider this.
The Emergency Prep Committee met on May 9th, to ensure measures are in place in the event of a hurricane. We hope and pray that this plan will remain on the shelf.
3) Community at Large
Please mark your calendars for the week of July 28-August 4th as Family Promise will be back. This is a much needed and very rewarding ministry with every volunteer stepping away with a renewed commitment to the importance of this project. Many thanks to LaVondra Dobbs and Bert Duvic, along with the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, for their dedication and support to the Family Promise ministry. More volunteer information will be available as we get closer.
Also, Vacation Bible Study will be from July 29th to August 2nd. I popped by a few times last year and the kids were having a great time. At one point they were building the Tower of Babel. It made me want to be more than a few decades younger so that I could play too! Contact Olivia at children@christchurchcovington.com to hold your spot.
Third Sunday has their final concert of the season on May 19th at 5pm. Don’t miss it!
Blessings,
Laura Williams
Senior Warden
