Get to know your Vestry- Q&A with Lane Norton
During Mother Nikki's sabbatical, the Friday newsletters will feature one Vestry member each week. Please thank them for their service to the congregation, and let them know if you are able to assist with their committee's work!
Q: Name?
A: Lane Norton, 2nd year on Vestry
Q: What's the best part about serving on Vestry?
A: Getting an understanding of how a parish functions, what most concerns the parishioners, and how decisions are made. It is also a wonderful opportunity to get to know people in the church.
Q: What's your committee assignment?
A: Pastoral Care! As liaison to Pastoral Care, I get to witness the important work of compassionate connectivity this ministry provides. Gifts of transportation, meals, visits, Christmas cookies, flowers, and all manner of reminders to shut ins and those who are experiencing the pain of grief, illness and loneliness that they are not alone. More volunteers are always welcome. Contact committee chair Rhonda Packer to join.
Q: What other ministries do you engage in at St. Gregory's?
A: I've been at St. Gregory's for 13 years now and have served on Flower guild, Labyrinth guild, as a choir member, and as weekly facilitator of the Dream Group. Serving on the Flower guild allows me to feel as though I am in a small way sharing the bounty and beauty of creation within sanctuary space. Flower guild is active all year, with especially busy times at Christmas and Easter. Currently there are 5 members of the guild to cover the year. Each volunteer serves 8-9 Sundays each. More hands are always needed for Advent Greening, Christmas decorating, and Easter Flowering.
As a parish, we are very fortunate to have acquired our 32 ft, 11 circuit Chartres labyrinth through a combination of grant money and church funds. I have a small but loyal crew of 3 whose task it is to lay out and subsequently roll away the 50 pounds of canvas. The challenge of the canvas labyrinth is finding a suitable time to access it. So much goes on in our busy Parish Hall that is is extremely challenging to find even a few days around All Saint's Day and during Holy Week to reserve the space. One group or another is always inconvenienced. It is my dearest wish that St. Gregory's will find a way to build an outdoor labyrinth. A prayer path that would be accessible at all times. Perhaps a permanent labyrinth will be budgeted through the upcoming capital improvements campaign.
Singing in the choir is an opportunity to share passion for the divine in harmony with others. My most beloved hymn is "My Shepherd will Supply My Need" the last line of which is "no more a stranger nor a guest, but like a child at home." Singing in community as well as serving at St. Gregory's feels like coming home, to me.
| 
