This reflection is offered by Loren Dixon, Director of RenewalWorks.

Last week I travelled to Tennessee to join the vestry of St Paul’s Episcopal Church at their annual retreat. It is a beautiful part of the country with warm weather, good barbeque and much hospitality.

St Paul’s recently launched RenewalWorks in their church. This comes after a period of growth and a significant capital campaign centered around some needed physical church improvements. During recent years, the vestry has worked hard to ensure the future security of the church, and that their space will care for the needs of their parishioners. 

With much of the campaign and construction now complete, Rector Rusty McCown discussed that he hopes the church will now add a spiritual master plan to the 2026 parish priorities. During the annual meeting, he invited the leadership and the parish to determine how they will use their facilities, activities, and ministries to foster and encourage a deeper parish spiritual life, a deeper love of God and neighbor.

At the retreat, the vestry spent some time on the methodology of RenewalWorks and the findings on Episcopal churches. We also discussed the notion of spiritual leadership. At RenewalWorks, we call this “The Heart of the Leader.”

The gifts God gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.  Ephesians 4:11-12

How is serving on a vestry different from the local non-profit? And how can vestry service include a spiritual component for each participant that will deepen their own relationships, spiritual practices, and learnings?

The group spent considerable time discussing how vestry meetings - despite all the work that must get done - can also include some spiritual food?

St Paul’s vestry is made up of thoughtful and dedicated folks. They had healthy discussion about how working on their own spiritual journeys can provide a model for others in their ministries, their lives, and the community. They discussed many options for incorporating spiritual conversations and spiritual practices into their vestry meetings, often reflecting the individual members’ different backgrounds, needs and faith journeys.

Ultimately, St Paul’s decided that they will begin vestry meetings with one person sharing a selected bible passage that is important to them. They will provide historical context for understanding the passage, but mostly they will share how and why it resonates in their life. A different vestry member will share at each meeting. This is meant as a first step and they look forward to contemplating the Heart of the Leader question further throughout the RenewalWorks process.

We wonder how you are sharing spiritual food in your church meetings and activities. How are you modeling your faith in your life and community? And how do these practices sustain you and draw you deeper to God and others? In this season of Lent, we invite you to reflect on these questions.