Dear Christ Church,
I am pleased to announce our new Vestry candidates for 2024: Clay Davis and Amy McLaughlin. You can learn more about them below. Collectively, they represent many years of servant-leadership in contexts such as Small Group Leadership, Altar Guild, Kids Quest and Children’s Ministry, Living Waters, and other forms of quiet service. They are iconic representatives of whole-life disciples, seeking their own healing in Christ and then loving and serving faithfully in response. During the 11am service on Sunday, May 12th, the parish will have the opportunity to ratify the Vestry’s recommendation of these two candidates to serve a three-year term.
As we’re in this season of leadership transition and pruning between Fr. Cliff and myself, I have asked several vestry members to stay-on for an additional year to provide continuity in leadership. Nate Bruce, Sara Schultz, and Senior Warden Leslie Cameron will serve an additional year through the fall providing godly oversight and wise counsel for Christ Church. I’m grateful for their decision to say ‘yes’ to this invitation.
This is a good moment to remind you of the purpose of the Vestry. According to our denominational Canons, the Vestry is “responsible for the temporalities of the congregation and, except where otherwise provided by canon, supports the clergy in the spiritual leadership of the congregations.”
This finds expression in six arenas:
- They are dedicated to prayer and fasting on behalf of the church and her mission
- They protect the core values of the church
- They exercise gifts of wisdom, discernment and counsel, working closely with the Rector regarding the church and her mission
- They have full and final authority for all matters related to the facility and finance of the church
- They assist the Rector in guarding the unity of the church, crisis response, and encouraging the clergy and staff
- They lead by example in the church through Christian maturity, stewardship, and servanthood
Clay and Amy have both demonstrated integrity of character and a canny ability to serve in each of these six arenas. It is with confidence the Vestry recommends them for the position!
Grateful for God’s provision,
Matt+
Vestry Candidates
CLAY DAVIS
I have attended Christ Church with my wife, Meredith, since 2019. As our youngest was approaching high school graduation, we were drawn to visit smaller and more liturgical churches. Christ Church was the first church we visited and by the end of the service we both knew it would be our new church home. We loved the hospitality, liturgy, preaching, and meaningful celebration of the Eucharist. We currently serve on the Welcome Team and Kids Quest, and are small group leaders. I have fairly extensive board experience on both corporate and non-profit boards including Mission: Possible (parent ministry of CUB), a local Christian school, and a Rwanda-based child sponsorship ministry. Vocationally, I am a strategic advisor and investor in early-stage businesses. We welcomed our first grandchild two years ago and pray for more in the years to come! I am honored to be considered as a member of the Vestry, and look forward to seeing how God will use Christ Church during this season of transition and in the years ahead.
Amy McLaughlin
I seem to learn best through relationship and can see God's tenderness with me in the people He has put in my life all along the way. My life has been rich with the people of God. But when David and I moved to Austin, finding a church community that we really connected with was a bumpy journey. We landed at CC on a day in Feb of 2011 feeling dry as a bone. That particular day we saw small group leaders wearing their shirts stating, "No One Stands Alone" and we had a mysterious sense that it might actually be true. From that day on, we never stopped coming back.
My focus these last 13 years at CC has been relational, particularly focused in relational healing. I am so grateful to have participated in and been a part of the Living Waters ministry since 2012. God knew I needed to marinate and tenderize in that kind of sacred space. I have felt the consistent gift of working with such an honest and resilient leadership team. My other calling within CC has been as a spiritual director. I have learned from so many of you as you have deeply wrestled and settled in with the God who "attends to you, takes pride in you, does His best for you". Mt 6:30. I am spoiled now for church and am delighted to sink more fully and broadly into the life of CC as I serve alongside this amazing vestry under our trusted Father Matt.