Dear Parishioners,
Christ Church Cathedral, like any other Episcopal parish, has a dual identity as an institution. It is both a non-profit religious institution in the secular world and a community of the new covenant of Jesus Christ. As a secular institution we have governance matters that are to be addressed like Annual Meetings, elections and reports. Those governance matters are to be informed by our discipleship and faith. Annual Meeting will be February 2, 2020, at 11:30 am. Translation services will be provided. Elections of the next vestry class will be at that meeting. Your full participation in this process is an act of ministry.
The Vestry is our governing board. The responsibilities of the vestry are to help define and articulate the mission of the congregation, to support that mission by word and deed, to ensure effective organization and planning, and to manage resources and finances. They are also responsible for the call of, provision for, and relationship with the Dean and Rector.
The candidates for vestry, three year terms, are:
Who may vote? An Eligible Voter, according to the by-laws, is at least 16 years old, has received Christian baptism, that baptism has been ‘duly recorded in The Episcopal Church’ AND who has enrolled in this parish for at least one month. There must also be a record of contributions from their household. If a member was confirmed or received here, that record assumes baptism.
Cathedral by-laws include a provision for absentee ballots to be cast in advance of the meeting, should you be unable to attend. Your absentee ballot for voting in the 2020 Christ Church Cathedral Vestry election will arrive to your home the first week of January. Please make your selection and return the ballot in the enclosed envelope by January 24, 2020. You must vote for three candidates for your ballot to be counted.
There will be a candidate forum on January 16 after both the 10 am and 1 pm services to help your discernment. Please make sure that your name is only on the return envelope, and not on the ballot.
If you have any questions regarding voting please feel free to call (317) 636-4577, or contact Tom Craig, Parish Administrator at tomc@cccindy.org. If there is any question about those baptismal records, please contact our Ministry Support Coordinator, Veronica, veronica@cccindy.org or at the same number, who maintains the parish database.
This will be an exciting year for Christ Church Cathedral as there is every expectation of a successful search process and the call of a new Dean and Rector. It is also a year when , as a faithful community of our Savior Jesus Christ, we will rise to greet our hopes and challenges with an ever-widening witness to Christ with our voices and hearts.
In the name of the One born in Bethlehem,
The Very Rev. Mary Slenski
Dean and Rector (ad interim)