Friends, this week I want to provide a brief update on the work of your Vestry. As you know from previous announcements, the Vestry has been considering adding solar panels to our facility. The practical effect is to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel energy—the symbolic effect is to demonstrate our attention to Creation Care. At our most recent Vestry meeting the members voted to proceed with the solar project pending a successful application process (engineering study, Duke Energy approval, etc.). We anticipate a start date before the end of the year to ensure that we meet the 30% rebate requirements.

The Vestry members also approved replacing the shingles on the sections of the roof covered by the solar panels. The current roof has about 10 years of life remaining, but we decided to replace those affected sections now rather than incurring the cost of removing and replacing the solar panels at the end of the shingle life. By doing this, the new shingles will last beyond the life of the solar equipment.

In other business, we have been discussing our website presence. After consultation with a website designer, the Vestry members are close to a decision on contracting with a web designer to rework our site. Vestry approval of this project will likely occur in the coming weeks.

The Vestry members are currently gathering the information needed to formulate the 2026 budget. We want to thank all of you who have responded or will soon respond to the “Moving Forward With Grace and Generosity” pledge campaign. Your faithfulness enables us to meet the needs of our growing congregation. Thank you.

Finally, the Nominating Committee is actively soliciting nominees for the new Vestry Class. If you have interest in serving on the Vestry, please reach out to one of the committee members: Paula Benton, Molly Tartt, Denis Bolena, Jann Mellman, Jo Buescher, David Yeager. 

Thanks again for all you do to make St. Philip’s such a vibrant witness to our community.

David Yeager,

Sr. Warden