tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187573090343842338.post7274347077772003950..comments2020-03-19T08:55:22.077-04:00Comments on A Word from the Rector: Populist Rage and the Election of a VestryNoelle York-Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12735603975530615886noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7187573090343842338.post-29763550067453610572009-04-13T23:05:00.000-04:002009-04-13T23:05:00.000-04:00Mr. Hoare:
Sorry to hear about anonymous ugly let...Mr. Hoare:<br /><br />Sorry to hear about anonymous ugly letters; this is the first I've heard of it. No doubt there are currents and cross-currents in this wide-ranging congregation I'm not aware of. At any rate I would find membership in a church where everyone believed exactly as I did stultifying. <br /><br />About the method or methods by which All Saints' vestry are chosen: I have no strong feelings about the process. It may not be perfect, but so far it seems to work well enough -- the main risk seems to be that if not enough eligible members choose to stand for the Vestry in a given year, you may end up with some duds. [I should clarify that by "duds" I don't mean people who might not vote the way I would, I mean people who don't show up for meetings.]<br /><br />One final comment, which may seem obvious: when I used to work on public participation issues at the Wilderness Society, and later at the EPA, I noticed that, very often, disgruntled people attack a decision-making <I>process</I> when they are really mad at the <I>outcome</I>. Maybe, if as I gather there are disagreements about the way the Vestry are chosen, this is an indirect way of attacking decisions the Vestry have made, or are likely to make if so-and-so gets on. <br /><br />I guess if I ever felt that way, the most positive thing I could do with that feeling would be to stand for a spot on the Vestry myself, which begs the question -- if there are disgruntled members out there, why don't <I>they</I> seek election to the Vestry one year?David Jamesnoreply@blogger.com