St. Peter’s Vestry

What is the Vestry?

The vestry is a group that represents the church in legal matters, especially when it comes to church property. The number of vestry members and how long they serve can be different in each parish, but they’re usually chosen at an annual meeting. The rector, or church leader, is in charge of the vestry.

The vestry's main jobs are to help decide the church’s mission, support it, choose the rector, make sure the church is well-organized, and manage the church’s money and resources.

History

In England, church members would get together each year during Easter week to choose new church leaders called wardens. They met in a room called the vestry, where the clergy prepared for services. Eventually, the group of people who attended these meetings started being called "the vestry." In England, any adult male in the church could join in these meetings, kind of like a modern church meeting where everyone can participate.

In colonial Virginia, the parishes were really big, so it was hard to get everyone together. Instead, they met once to choose twelve men to represent them, and these men served for life. This was known as a "closed vestry," and it became official in the 1630s. The way vestries work today in the Episcopal Church comes from this old practice.