TLDR: What exactly is an Annual Meeting? Why do we have them? What’s the role of the Rector in these meetings? Please read on for more than you ever wanted to know about these canonically mandated meetings. Also read about my interpretation of what my role is among you.
As I prepare for Sunday’s annual meeting, I am wondering if the majority of our parishioners know the importance of these gatherings in our denomination. According to the website of the national church, “The annual parish meeting typically elects vestry members, and it may elect vestry officers. Delegates to diocesan convention and representatives to other diocesan, deanery, or parish entities may also be elected by the parish meeting. The budget of the parish may be presented and approved. The rector, vestry officers, music director, Christian education director, and other parish or program leaders may make presentations at the annual parish meeting.” The parish by-laws usually determine when this canonically mandated meeting is held, and under what circumstances a special meeting is to be called.
At Saint Dunstan’s, the Parish Bylaws indicate that the Annual Meeting must be conducted on the last Sunday of January of the year. This rule necessitated a Vestry resolution last week, which unanimously gave us permission to move the meeting to this coming Sunday, February 1, 2026, because of the threat of severe weather in our area. On this coming Sunday, therefore, we will conduct our meeting at 12:30pm, immediately after the 11:15 service. At this meeting we will get a 2025 financial report from our finance committee, will receive the vestry-approved budget for 2026, will elect new vestry members, will celebrate the ministry of outgoing vestry leaders, will present the Golden Horseshoe Award to one of our local ministry heroes, and will hear reports from our Wardens and Rector.
I like to think of an annual parish meeting as the local equivalent of a Diocesan Council meeting, which in itself is the annual diocesan equivalent to the tri-annual national convention. In the same way that the Presiding Bishop, the President of the House of Deputies, and the various councils and executive committees receive their delegated authority from the National Convention, the Bishop Diocesan and The Standing Committee of the Diocese receive their delegated authority from Diocesan Council. At the parochial level, the Rector and Vestry receive their delegated authority from the Annual Parish Meeting. Of course, the right to delegate authority to the Rector is shared with the assigned Bishop, under whose authority the Rector ministers among you. Both the Vestry and the Rector are ultimately accountable to the congregation and the Bishop.
Now, as I prepare my Rector’s Report, I don’t see myself as Tim Cook preparing an annual report for Apple’s stockholders. I guess, technically, the comparison may seem appropriate, but my ministry is not that of a Chief Executive Officer, this job belongs to the Bishop Diocesan. I am a pastor who walks alongside each of you in your journey of faith. From an ecclesial and canonical standpoint, I am not even your shepherd. This duty also belongs to the Bishop Suffragan, Jeff Fisher, as delegated to him by the Bishop Diocesan, Andy Doyle. At best, I am an under-shepherd, a connecting bridge between the sheep and their shepherds. I work at the discretion of Bishops. It is not humility (false or real) to say this. This is a central guiding principle of Global Anglicanism. We are an EPISCOPAL denomination, which means, “Led by Bishops.” They are the shepherds and I represent them among you.
Saying this doesn’t mean that I can wash my hands of any responsibilities and say, “Not my job! Call Bishop Fisher!” As an under-shepherd, I have an obligation to ensure the health and wellbeing of the sheep entrusted to my care for a brief season. I must ensure that the food is nutritious and plentiful, that the water is clean of contaminants, that the sheep pen is in good repair and has basic comforts, that the farm is in good fiscal shape, and that the sheep are protected from predators (like hopelessness, faithlessness, a deficit mindset, divisive politics, internal conflicts, etc.) More plainly, I must ensure faithful and inspiring liturgy, biblically centered teaching and preaching for all ages, lights and running water in the buildings, zero debt and bills paid on time, and the issues of the day (political, cultural, financial, religious…) are not allowed to divide and scatter us.
If in addition to these basic duties, I happen to build the largest stables and most prosperous sheep farm in the land, then so be it. But this is not the ultimate goal. Personally, I will not get an extra dollar in retirement benefits for building a Megachurch, I will not get to stand closer to Jesus in heaven, I will never get a spread in Money Magazine or the designation “Pastor of the Year,” and, most definitely, I will not get a service award from the National Church. When my days are done among you, I will walk quietly to other pastures and leave the farm to another under-shepherd the Bishops will license to continue their ministry among you. There is incredible beauty in giving yourself completely to a ministry that rightly belongs to another, and to be willing to walk away without the need for glory. Now, to be clear, I am not planning to walk away for many years, if God allows me the health necessary to be with you until then.
This coming Sunday, please don’t come to our Annual Meeting looking for a Chief Executive Officer. Rather, come looking for a field report from a friend who loves you and wishes the best for you and this church. Come looking for ways to celebrate what we have accomplished together, including a 2025 budget we finished above expectations. Come to hear about areas of growth for which we need your prayers and commitment. Come to be reminded that our life in community shapes our faith and rekindles our hope every week. As Diocesan Council reminded us a few years back, come to remember that life is better together and that your rector is also a fellow sojourner on the same road you are on.
May our Lord continue to bless you,
Fr. Roman+
