March Vestry Re-Cap
Restoration is governed by a board of elders, the vestry. We meet once a month to oversee the finances, operation, and vision of the church. We are fortunate to have an excellent team at the helm. I want to give you a quick update of decisions we made this month.
Small Groups
Tri1 2013 ends this week. We have had a record amount of participation. We averaged 62% of the adults in worship on Sunday participating in a small group during the week. That’s over 200 adults in a small group every week. We are thrilled for what that means as people get to know each other, wrestle with hard questions, find prayer support, get celebrated and loved, and think about ways to go deeper in their relationship with Jesus. Tri2 registration will open on Easter and we have at least 23 great groups for you to consider.
Website Overhaul
We have been working on a face-lift and overhaul of our website. This ol’ thing has served us well for 4 years, but we are almost ready to launch something new. Stay tuned!!
Financials
We are grateful for a strong start to 2013. Thank you for being faithful to your capital campaign pledges. Restoration commissioned an audit that took place in February. We will have a report from our auditors before the summer. I am grateful for generous people and for excellent skill in the management of our finances.
Holy Week Offerings
Every year, we give away all of our Maundy Thursday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday offerings to an organization that is outside of Restoration. This year we will give all of our Holy Week offerings to Stephen’s Children. I am so excited about the chance to partner with these folks. Stephen’s Children offers hope and transformation for children and families living in Cairo’s fetid garbage slums and impoverished communities in rural Upper Egypt. Our own, Lawrie Hayes has been there and is a witness to the gospel work that they do. Mama Maggie is a woman who works closely with this organization. She has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and you can see a video of her speaking at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit on the front page of our website. Please, give generously.
Doorways for Women and Families
Hopefully you are aware of this organization that provides safe places for women and families who are seeking to transition out of domestic violence and homelessness. It is unique in Arlington County. They have been renovating their safe house and Restoration chose to give $8000 from our outreach budget to this project. Our church is so grateful that this organization exists and we are please to be a part of this home renovation.
Parish Administrator
We are continuing our selection process for a new full-time parish administrator. Please pray for us!
Exterior Elevation
We are thrilled with how the exterior as come together. Imagine a wedding photo on that front porch. Think about people walking down those steps. Check out the ‘on grade’ entrance that leads to an elevator and handicapped access. It is beautiful, practical, and captures what we do best on Sundays.
Transition!
There has been a lot of excitement about the transition in our Sunday worship services. On April 7 at 5pm we start. There will be a catered Bbq dinner for everyone after the service concludes, so please plan on sticking around. If you have other questions, we have probably answered them, here.
I am very grateful for our vestry. They serve our church well. Hope you are having a great week.
-David
March 31, 2013 @ 10:24 am
How many women do you have on your vestry and in leadership positions?
Where are the financials (most churches publish them).
YEAH more space and a new place..
Why are you doing mission work in Egypt when so much of DC has so much poverty?
Small groups are an awesome way to build community.. Love the google map but how do you sign up online
March 31, 2013 @ 1:51 pm
Hi Curious.
We have women who serve our church as clergy, ministry directors, elders, and small group leaders. We have about a 50/50 breakdown across the board.
Our financials are published in our on-line community called church community builder. You need to have a username and password to access it. We are happy to give you one. We also share this information at our quarterly parish meeting.
You’re right. There are lots of needs in lots of places. We have several local partnerships that you can read about on our outreach page. We always give our Easter offering away and our elders felt that Stephen’s Children in Egypt was where God was calling us to be generous.
Small Group Registration is open three times a year for 4 weeks. It just opened up today. If you go back to the small group page, you will be able to register.
Hope that helps!