Vestry Elections - October 2007

Four new vestry members to be elected

Each member of the Vestry of Holy Trinity servwes a three-year term, which means that each year we must elect four new members to replace those who will complete their terms in December.

This year Peter, Bostock, Howard Smith, Nancy Grove and Jeff Cunningham will retire after three momentus years serving their parish church. Congratulations and thanks to them for a great accomplishment! Four parishioners have stepped forward to stand for election to replace them.

Candidates for Vestry:

LARRY SWEENEY: Larry and wife Mary have been members of Trinity Parish since early 1981. Their two grown sons, Dan and Blake, were baptized and confirmed at Trinity, and are now both living and working in Los Angeles. Larry served on the Stewardship Commission and on Vestry in the mid 1980s, and has managed the sound crew and served as an usher for the 10:00 service for more than 25 years. He served on the Hospitality Task Force to prepare for Fr. Mike’s arrival, and he is currently serving as a member of the Stewardship Commission. Larry is a consultant and a co-founder of Origin Technologies, an Intelligent Transportation Systems start-up.

LUCY STRANDBERG: Lucy has been a Trinity Parish member for 26 years. Married for over 30 years to John Strandberg, they have three children and three grandchildren. Lucy holds a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration. And has 30 years in the Semiconductor industry spanning from supervision, Production Control to site Training Manager at Analog Devices, Inc. until retiring in October. Lucy currently works part-time for Strandberg Associates and tutors ESL at Menlo Atherton High School. Among the ministries and programs at Trinity she has been part of are:
• Social Ministries; Co-Chair for the past two years. Member for the past eight. Involved in helping not only our community in shelter and food for the homeless but also in the wider community for people in need. Cook for both the monthly Saturday lunch program and the monthly Clara Mateo dinners. In February joined a Mission trip from Trinity to Camp Coast Care on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to help in the Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Involved in all the fund raising campaigns for outreach.
• Deanery delegate for the past five years, volunteer for projects within this group.
• Prayer Tree, Co-chair for the past five years. A prayer request group that prays for all in need. Prayer requests taken by phone, e-mail or first hand. Pray in groups.
• Finance Commission. Joined this year for a second stint.
• Usher for one year; Oblator at the 10 o’clock service for the past five years.
• Bible class on Monday nights for the past five years.
• Volunteer for garden work day.

When asked what she could bring to the vestry if elected, she replied: “My professional business skills and personal commitment for ministry to this leadership position. Besides being a long time member, I have been on several commissions during the past twenty years that have allowed me to become familiar with the workings of the church and the church community."

NANCY WALSWORTH: Nancy joined Trinity Parish in 1986, when her son Brian Nicholas was five years old. Now 26, he is in medical school in New York City. In 1993, she married Richard Walsworth and acquired three stepsons, a stepdaughter and three grandchildren (there are now seven, of whom five are in the Bay Area). Aside from a couple of brief stints teaching Sunday school when Brian was young, her volunteer activities at Trinity have focused on financial affairs.

She joined the Finance Commission in the early 1990s (turning it into a coed group!) and has been its chair since 2000. When the Monday Morning crew retired in late 2004, Nancy became the head of the group of 12 who, in teams of two, make sure the Sunday plate offerings are counted and deposited each week. Nancy will retire from Stanford University in early 2008. In addition to taking some classes and making a meaningful dent in her stack of “books to read sooner or later,” she hopes to contribute her financial experience and perspective as a member of Vestry.

JOHN THIELENS: John, and wife Katie, moved to the Bay Area from Manhattan four years ago and immediately expanded their family when twins Jack and Claire joined Maggie, now 8. Having been very involved with their New York City parish where John sang in the parish choir while Katie served on the vestry, finding a new parish home in California was a top priority, bringing the Thielens family two years ago to a Trinity Parish in a state of transition. The ten o'clock service provided the right mix of the traditional Episcopal liturgy and welcoming tolerance for young children learning their "church behavior". As a proud parent and lifelong Episcopalian, John believes in providing a solid spiritual foundation for the children of the parish, leveraging the rich and beautiful traditions of the Church. When home from working in the high-tech Internet security world, John enjoys music, cooking, and family.