In the Episcopal Church, the leadership of congregations is rooted in a partnership between the Rector and the Vestry. This group meets monthly with the Rector to share in the work of leading the parish, to dream of the future, and to plan for the life and well-being of the whole congregation. At St. Andrew's, the Vestry consists of nine members, two wardens, a treasurer, and a clerk. Members of the Vestry are elected at the Annual Meeting which takes place on the last Sunday in January. Vestry members serve staggered three year terms.
You can read about some of our wonderful leaders by scrolling further down this page.
You can read about some of our wonderful leaders by scrolling further down this page.
Vestry RetreatEach year we go on away for a full Saturday and spend the day focused on a particular topic. This day is an opportunity for us to deepen our relationships with each other and to delve more deeply into a particular aspect of our leadership. Being away allows us to listen more carefully for God's voice in the midst of our work together. In July of 2016, our Retreat was held at the Mercy Center in Madison, CT and we began to learn together (again) about what it means to be good stewards of all the gifts that God has given to us. As a Vestry, we know that stewardship is a life-long journey, so we began to think about this together in new ways. We expect you'll hear more about this very soon!
Vestry Retreat 2014In 2014, our Vestry Retreat was held at Camp Washington. We spent the day beginning to write a Covenant for ourselves that guides our work together. Each year, as new members are elected to serve on the Vestry, we re-visit this covenant to add/edit/delete as necessary for our life together. As the spiritual leaders of the parish, we have committed ourselves to living and working together in this way. We update and re-sign this Covenant each year.
To read our Covenant, click here. |
Vestry LeadershipWe are involved in many different aspects of the life of the congregation - and we have a lot of fun together!
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Meet some of our Vestry members...
Mark Flinchbaugh, Senior Warden
So a few words about me… I am a husband to a wonderful wife and father to an awesome 13 year old boy. I travel quite a bit, as I work in Los Angeles and we frequently visit family and friends in CA. We moved to CT 8 years ago… I grew up in Newington, CT. Lyssette is from Northern CA and Jake was born in Southern CA. I like to golf (but not well), hike, camp, bike, take pictures, and do just about anything with my family. We have been worshipping at Saint Andrews for about 7 years. Accompanying me in the photo is Charlie. |
Dave Lowe, Treasurer
Dave has been on the vestry and served on various other committees and enjoys supporting our booth at the Meriden Daffodil Festival. He can often be found taking photos at church functions. Dave's day job is in IT management for a national insurance company. Born and raised in Southeast Pennsylvania, Dave and wife Deb have lived in Meriden since 1983. They joined St. Andrew's in the early 90's, introduced and welcomed by family friends and neighbors who were already worshiping here. They have two children, David and Cindy, who are both married and residing out of state. |
Scott Oberg, Junior Warden
Scott was born and raised in Meriden, is married and has two grown daughters. Scott serves as Junior Warden and as a Lector during Sunday worship. Prior to becoming Junior Warden, he also served on vestry for three years. Currently he works as a Production Control and IT Manager in Farmington. When he is not working, his passion is mountain biking, whether racing or trail riding or maintenance, he loves being out in the woods or mountains enjoying the peacefulness it brings. He is a great cook and loves smoking meats, along with brewing beer. He also enjoys traveling and golfing. |
Alan Swisher, Vestry Member
Alan has been a member of the St. Andrew’s community since childhood starting in the early 1990’s. He served as an Acolyte from the age of 8 to 18, and continues to serve as an Acolyte and as the Acolyte Coordinator, training and scheduling the other Acolytes for the Sunday services. Alan also performed his Eagle Scout project with renovation work to the St. Andrew’s kitchen in 2004. He grew up in Meriden, moved to Arizona after college and came back to Meriden when he started his current job. He currently works for an international environmental design and consulting company in Manchester, performing a variety of environmental work for private, commercial, and governmental clients. In his free time, he spends time working on his wood working skills (like is grandfather before him), hiking, and spending time with his wife Amy. |
Tracey Oberg, Vestry Member
Tracey was born and raised in Meriden, is married and has two grown daughters. Tracey has been a member of St. Andrew's for six years, and aside from her leadership on the Vestry, she is very active in the parish. She serves on the Altar Guild, Soup Kitchen team, as well as Coordinator of the Food Pantry Breakfast which serves a meal for up to 200 people each month as groceries are distributed. She currently works in the New Haven Public Schools as a Registered Dental Hygienist that serves the inner city students. Along with her current fulltime job she is completing her last few college classes toward her Bachelor’s degree in health sciences and will continue on to her Master’s Degree in public health. When she has free time, cooking and learning to brew beer is a favorite as well as traveling, learning to golf and being outdoors and spending time with friends and family. |
Alisa Piech, Vestry Member
Alisa was born and raised in Seymour, CT. She moved to Meriden after college and has lived here for thirty-nine years. She has been a parishioner of St. Andrew’s for the past 15 years. She has taught in the Church School, volunteered at the Daffodil Festival booth, served on the vestry once before, was a member of the search committee when Reverend Marissa was called to be our rector, and is presently a lector. Alisa is a retired Special Education teacher. She retired in 2016 after 37 years of service at the elementary level in the Town of Southington. She is married to Martin who is also a parishioner at St. Andrew’s. They have a son, Peter, and a married daughter, Danielle. Alisa enjoys reading fantasy and historical fiction, baking goodies for her family, listening to music and singing along to her favorite musicals, practicing yoga, bird watching, walking or biking along the Quinnipiac River Gorge Trail, cheering on the UCONN women’s basketball team, and spending quality time with family and friends. |
Jean Gura, Vestry Member
Jean was born and raised in Southington, CT and has an adult daughter living in Nashua, NH. Jean moved to Meriden in 2006 when she married the love of her life, Mickey. She was introduced to St. Andrew's through family. In 2016, Jean realized she had finally found her family in faith after being so warmly welcomed by the congregation. Jean is a retired fourth grade teacher, office administrator and day care assistant. She is an avid reader, gardener, novice quilter and crochets with the prayer shawl ministry. With her husband, she is a proud standard poodle parent. A long time recreational musician, she currently plays clarinet with the Cheshire Symphony and bass clarinet with bands in Middletown, Wallingford and Glastonbury. |