The next two weeks, we will be introducing your Vestry Slate. Featured in this issue are two of the candidates, Joanna Cory and Kit Shenk. Come back next week for the final three! Annual meeting will be held in our Historic Sanctuary with an online option on Sunday, Feb. 27th, at 9 am. A parish breakfast will be offered before the meeting in Cleaver Hall at 8 am.
Joanna Cory
I grew up in the South, where I was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal Church. I studied Art and Spanish.
In 1984 I moved to California to pursue a career in retirement planning. While in Los Angeles, the pace of my spiritual journey quickened, and I was afforded numerous opportunities to stretch and grow in my faith. At a large Episcopal parish I served as verger, wedding coordinator, and director of the Homeless Assistance Services with a team of forty volunteers. I have had the opportunity to found and lead a Center Prayer group and organize several Taize services. I served as Senior Warden at one parish in Los Angeles while also serving on the worship committee and presenting a series of forums on spiritual growth. I have preached at three different parishes in the Diocese and coordinated outreach opportunities for the parishioners of those parishes. I am a trained spiritual director and an oblate of the Order of Saint Benedict.
When I came to COS I felt as if I had not only found a caring parish family but also a parish where I would be challenged to grow in my faith. While at COS I have served as parish verger and Eucharistic Minister, and I organized the first parish Alternative Christmas Market. I bring a love of liturgy and serving God to COS along with a growing sense of Benedictine spirituality. I look forward to using my skills as a member of COS Vestry.
Kit Shenk
Our COS membership (46 years and counting) began in 1976 when Tom and I were drawn to the Church of Our Saviour through my brother, Fr. Roger Hampton, who was a priest on staff. Our two sons, John and Robert, began their time at COS in the crib room with Yolanda Galeazzi, then continued on through Sunday school, as acolytes, and in youth programs until they graduated from high school.
Throughout our time at COS, I have served on Vestry three times, twice as Junior Warden; the Endowment committee; the board of A Child’s Garden School; Strategic Planning Committees; and as a Lay Eucharistic Minister for the past 25 years. I am currently on the Adult Formation/Forum committee and enjoy being part of Lay Weeders.
Most rewarding and life-changing has been participating in and leading Bible studies, beginning with the Bethel Series in 1978. Since then I have led groups in the Art of Engaging Holy Scripture, a variety of Sunday morning Small Groups, and the Journey in Joy Bible study that has been active since 1987!
I look forward to being part of the COS Vestry team as we, undergirded by faith, embrace the opportunities and challenges ahead.