Vestry

The Vestry of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church

The Vestry of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church is a 12-member board of parishioners elected by and representative of the parish to fill the lay role in church governance. Each January at the annual meeting, four members are elected to replace those whose terms are ending. A Senior Warden, this year Joy Rouse, is then appointed by the Rector, and the Junior Warden, now Steve Crock, is elected by the vestry.

This year we began the year by creating three documents to be the foundation of our work: Vestry Responsibilities (a revised job description), Vestry Norms (how we do this job), and Vestry Covenant (how we seek to conduct ourselves as members of the St. Timothy’s vestry and greater community).

All are living documents and will be revised as times and circumstances change. I invite you to read especially this Covenant and join us in committing to it as a way of being an active member in the St. Timothy’s family following the teachings of Jesus.

Joy Rouse. Senior Warden

Current Vestry Members (Term Expires)

Ellen Ciesla (2022)
Mac Connelly (2022)
Steve Crock (2022)
Rick Sharp (2022)

Tony Corey (2023)
Jeremy Gibbs (2023)
Joy Rouse (2023)
Dennis Whittington (2023)

Eric Buckley (2024)
Hank Conard (2024)
Willard Mosely (2024)
Sam Synder (2024)

New Vestry Members - 2021

Eric Buckley

I grew up attending the Riverside Church in New York. It was there, amongst the 12,000 pipes of the organ (yes, really) and the hourly chime of the 20-ton bell (yes, really) that I developed my love for liturgical music. I sang in the boys choir and, after moving upstate when I was in High School, joined the adult choir at our new church (which had a much smaller organ and bell).
Music was not all I learned there. Normally, we would take the West Side Highway along the river to church. But, every now and then, we would go back through Harlem and the South Bronx. My parents wanted us to see that not everyone was as fortunate as us. They taught us not to judge those born into lesser circumstances, but rather to understand that the blessings we had were meant to be shared.
After undergrad, I served a brief missionary stint with the Antioch Missionary Baptist church in Buffalo. While I completed my assignment, I left scarred and despondent by the injustice I witnessed in the inner city. To say life took some odd turns after that would be an understatement, but 35 years later I find myself still wishing the problems were just a little less deep. The inequities of our society are so intractable that it is often difficult to find the will to confront them. And, yet, that’s what we are called to do.
St. Tim’s has a long history of both good music and social justice. But, these things will only continue to be true if we make them. My family has been very happy at St. Tim’s these last 15 years, but we are not complacent. To this end, I can help. I have managed complex projects for Fortune 500 companies for the last 25 years. I can provide that same expertise as we search for the means and the ends to expand our mission of radiating Christ’s Love.
As we seek to find a new Rector, I believe we are presented with an opportunity for the Vestry to become a stronger voice in the future of the Church. I believe that the Vestry has often been too deferential to the clergy. Not because the clergy does not have the Church’s best interests in mind, but because they, frankly, have better things to do. The clergy should be focused on spiritual leadership and personal counsel. They should not also be burdened with determining the policy for renting the Parish Hall or which vendor should replace an aging air conditioner. My goal as Vestry member would be to provide such management so as to free the clergy to focus on shepherding.

Hank Conard

I am a cradle Episcopalian who grew up on a farm in small town in Michigan and went to Purdue to become an Aerospace Engineer. I spent the last 30 years at Boeing in various roles in Aerospace Engineering and Management with special assignments on Boeing’s Diversity & Inclusion Council as well as the Employee Community Fund Board of Directors which awarded grants to local non-profits. Along the way I married Amy, got my MBA at St Louis University and raised two boys Jacob (Sophomore at Case Western) and Peter (Sophomore in High School).
Amy and I have been at St Tim’s since 1994. During that time, I’ve been on the Vestry, Stewardship, Finance, Worship, Discernment and Reaching Out Committees as well as a term leading acolytes. I also play in the Sunday morning guitar group, participate in men’s Bible Study, and am a cameraman in the newly formed audio visual team that live streams our services to Facebook.
I happily retired early this fall so I could devote more meaningful time volunteering at a number of local non-profits. My days are spent as an English and US citizenship tutor with the Immigrant Home English Learning Program (IHELP), as a gardener and handyman south of Delmar with Love the Lou, on the eBay team at Wings of Hope where we turn donated items into free medical flights for sick children, and finally as an Assistant Scout master with our scout troop.
I would love to be part of the Vestry team that will grow our mission out of the pandemic into all the opportunities that lie ahead.

Sam Snyder

I was raised Episcopalian, living in Ferguson and going to church at St. Stephen's. I once drew people to the church carnival by walking up and down a very busy Florissant Road in full clown costume and makeup, which should prove my willingness to think outside the box on the vestry! After earning a bachelor's in History at UMSL, I met my better half Ashley while earning a master's in History at WashU, where we began attending Sts. Michael and George. I then spent eleven years in UMSL Admissions, during which we had our daughter Madeleine.

In 2018, I took a job handling insurance for Enterprise, moved to Creve Coeur, and joined St. Tim's. It was a big year for the Snyder family; Maddy also started kindergarten at Spoede. We immediately felt welcome at St. Tim's and are happy to be part of such a warm community.

In my free time, I particularly enjoy reading, walking, and spending time with my family. Many of you have probably seen us at the 9 AM service, though we went to the 10:45 occasionally. I've tried to participate in church life as best I can and have enjoyed my time at potlucks, church camp, and other events. I would be honored to serve on the vestry and hope to help the church fulfill its mission in these challenging times.

Willard Moseley

I was born in St. Lous and have lived here most of my life. A cradle Episcopalian baptized at St. Michaels and St. George (Clayton). As an adolescent, my family bought a radio station in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I was confirmed at St. Luke’s and trained as an acolyte there.

As an adult, I have been a member of three parishes, Emmanuel (Webster Groves), St. Mark’s (Berkeley, CA) and since 2010, St Tims. I have been a delegate to the Diocesan convention twice, as well as teaching Sunday School for many years. At St. Tim’s I have chaired the Worship Committee, Spirituality group, and the Harvest of Hope band concert. I have also been involved with the Stewardship committee. I have previously served on the Vestry and as Junior Warden. My true passion at St. Tims is singing tenor in the choir. I love being a small part of something so beautiful, praising the Lord in song. I met my beautiful wife LaVerne at St Tims. We were married at the 5:00 o’clock service one very fine day in April 2012. Since my life has been filled with indescribable joy, adventure, and faith.

I am very grateful and humbled to be asked to serve on the vestry in this time of great change. I am looking forward to finding new way for us to radiate Christ’s presence in our parish and community.