Holy Trinity has had a number of different approaches to governance over the years, often tailoring Anglican polity to meet its needs. In the early 2000s, the Church increased the number of wardens to six in order to better share the workload of governance. There is not a designation of ‘Rector’s’ or ‘People’s’ Warden, yet Wardens do fulfill the duties of the Parish and the Canons. With the Incumbent, Treasurer Lay Delegate to Synod, and the Community Director, the Churchwardens constitute the current Vestry Executive Committee and meet monthly. The ongoing voice of Vestry throughout the year set direction and attend to larger issues of the parish like maintaining the Church property and its environs, supporting sub-committees, working with community partners, setting policy direction, and implementing budgets.
In late 2016 Vestry Executive began to undertake a strategic visioning process. This visioning led us to reflect on different models of governance and staffing that could help us better address the needs of the Parish moving forward. The Parish chose a model that would offer greater voice to our parishioners and partners, including a less centralized and more community-based approach to worship, ministry and decision making. Key to this change was expanding the notion of community to be more explicitly inclusive of not just the worshipping community, but of all participants, users and partners in the space and environs. The chosen model included the position of Community Director, a person responsible for, and accountable to, this community in the broadest sense. It was hoped that a Community Director could help us to become more outgoing and public-facing in order to grow the community connections, build relationships, and respond more effectively to the justice needs of the downtown core.
In 2019, the congregation hired a Community Director. They have responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Parish (including managing the caretaking and administrative staff, responsibility for the buildings, supervising programs and volunteer coordination). The Community Director currently operates in a team setting, reports directly to the Vestry Executive Committee and works collaboratively with the interim Priest. We are in the process of seeking Diocesan approval of this governing structure. Work continues to renew governance to reflect new staffing decisions, needs in policy development and implementation, and direction setting. The plan is to maintain at least 4 wardens on an Executive Committee.
In the upcoming year, The Church would like to implement a Community Advisory Group which will be made up of a Churchwarden, the Community Director, the Incumbent or Priest-in-Charge, and representatives of our partner organizations on our campus and beyond. They would gather together to set direction and provide support and accountability to our growth and transformation. This addition to our governance model will expand our planning to encompass both Church and worship, as well as our work and relationships in community formation, justice and partnership.