Vestry Handbook

An indispensable and practical guide for day-to-day running of a 21st-century parish.

Continuously in print since 1988, The Vestry Handbook is an essential and comprehensive guide for clergy, wardens, and vestry members. The revised third edition includes updated information on the Canon of the Church, available resources, and financial considerations, as well as new sections on safe-church training and dealing with conflict. Included in the appendices are helpful examples of contracts, purpose statement, inventory lists, a glossary of church terms, and an organizational chart. The Handbook explore among others, the following subjects:

• Leadership roles and organizational structure
• Managing parish finances
• Buildings and grounds
• Liabilities and insurance
• Relationships with clergy, parish staff, the diocese, and the national Church
• IRS considerations
• Meeting and elections
• The spiritual lives of vestry members.

Since it was first published in 1988, the Handbook and its updates have sold more than 90,000 copies and continues to sell well each year.