The Vestry Nominations Committee (Sharon Bennett, Pat Liston, and De Sellers) are pleased to submit the following slate for Vestry and the St. James’ Diocesan Council Delegation. The Spirit has been at work in this process, leading us to identify four candidates for vestry, four delegates for Council, and one alternate for council, who are uniquely gifted for the work and enthusiastic to serve.
In developing this Vestry slate, the Vestry Nominations Committee took a careful look at our three-year goals and sought out individuals with the passion, experience, and skills needed to help us realize those goals. We are delighted to present you with a slate of proven leaders, committed to the St. James’ ethos of radical hospitality and representative of the various diversities of our congregation. Vestries always work and listen hard, and they frequently have to make difficult decisions for the life of the congregation. The nominees on this slate offer their names without reticence, but with a clear-eyed view of challenges we must tackle in our multicultural community’s life together.
In developing the Diocesan Council slate, the Vestry Nominations Committee thought about what will be going on at Diocesan Council 2020 and who needs to be there representing St. James’ in order for our delegation to be an effective voice and presence, alongside our clergy.
2020 Vestry Slate
Each year four new Vestry members are elected to serve for a three-year term.
Teresa Chang (5:30 pm service) is a writer, photographer, retired textbook editor and executive committee member of the One Human Race Initiative. Under her leadership, the One Human Race Initiative has moved in the direction of expansion, receiving grant funding to expand the impact of its work. She has been a member of St. James’ since 2005. Teresa and her husband enjoy eating out, travel, and evenings on the couch with their dog Mac, a 12-year-old pit bull mix.
Rudy Green (8:00 am service) Originally from Ft. Worth, Texas, Rudolph “Rudy” Green is a long time Austinite, having recently returned to Austin from Miami, FL. Rudy’s professional career as an attorney and businessman has spanned 4 decades and included engagements with law firms in Houston and Austin, as well as service for many years as Vice President and General Counsel for Prime Cable, headquartered in Austin. Before entering his current semi-retired status, Rudy also enjoyed a “second” career in higher education administration having served as Chief Compliance Officer for each of The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Miami. Throughout his careers, Rudy has served his community with a focus on arts, culture and education. Rudy received his B.S. from Yale University and holds J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and has been a member of the St. James’ Episcopal Church community since 1997.
Alondra Johnson (10:15 am service) was born in Juarez, on the border between Mexico and the United States, and moved to Austin at the age of eight. I earned a B.A. in Government and Mexican American Studies from UT Austin, and a Masters in Public Administration and J.D. from Texas Tech University. My professional life lands at the intersection of law and policy with an emphasis on addressing discrimination and advocating for the rights of people who are immigrants and children. My husband Ulysses, and I began attending St. James’ three years ago, and I serve as a Spanish Epistler at the 10:15 Sunday service. I would be honored to serve for the Vestry of St. James’, where I have found a warm and inclusive community.
S. Craig Watkins (10:15 am service) is the Ernest S. Sharpe Centennial Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the founding director of the Institute for Media Innovation, a boutique hub for research and design. Craig is an internationally recognized expert in young people’s media and technology behaviors and is the author of six books. He has been a member of St. James’ Episcopal Church for eight years and has served on the Vestry were he helped lead the transition of St. James’ Episcopal School to Child Inc., a community leader in Head Start services and education.
2020 Diocesan Council Slate
Delegates to Diocesan Council commit to attending the entirety of the Council meeting in 2020 and being a part of the preparation for the work of Council.
Delegates
Lora J. Livingston has been a member of St. James’ for approximately 25 years. She has served on the Vestry and as Senior Warden. She has happily served as an usher and a lector and she loves serving communion. When it comes to St. James’, there is no job she won’t tackle (if the timing is right!). Lora has served as a Delegate and as an Alternate at a few Diocesan Council meetings and is looking forward to serving again in 2020.
Eric Kennedy is a member of St. James’ Episcopal Church and has been very involved in a number of ministries including Welcome Table, the Vestry Finance Committee, UBE and the Commission on Black Ministry. Eric is married to Lora Livingston and has two children, Emily and Jonathan, and one grandchild, Jaidon.
Scott Madison has attended St. James’ Austin since 2004 and has been involved in various ministries and leadership positions. He has served on the Vestry at St. James’, as clerk, Junior Warden, and Senior Warden, and was chair of our most recent rector search committee. He also served as Vice Chair for the Diocesan Host Committee for General Convention in 2018.
Roger Williams, and his wife Norma, joined St. James’ when Bill Miller was rector, and their children Joseph and Rachel were baptized at St. James’ on MLK. Roger has served St. James on the Vestry, the Finance Committee, and the Children’s Ministry, is a Lector at the 10:15 and 5:30 services, and has represented St. James’ at three previous Diocesan Councils. Roger was confirmed at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and attended St. Andrews and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Schools. He is an intellectual property lawyer in private practice in Austin., and his wife Norma, joined St. James’ when Bill Miller was rector, and their children Joseph and Rachel were baptized at St. James’ on MLK. Roger has served St. James on the Vestry, the Finance Committee, and the Children’s Ministry, is a Lector at the 10:15 and 5:30 services, and has represented St. James’ at three previous Diocesan Councils. Roger was confirmed at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and attended St. Andrews and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Schools. He is an intellectual property lawyer in private practice in Austin.
Alternate
Lizzie Cain Clark‘s home away from home throughout childhood was St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham, AL, where she was baptized, confirmed, and married. Since the late 1990s, she has been a parishioner at St. James’ Austin where she has served on the finance committee, stewardship committee, lay ministries committee, vestry, and as senior warden. She has also coordinated outreach activities at St. James’, volunteered with St. James’ Welcome Table, served as a lay chaplain with the Community of Hope, and is currently in year 4 of Education for Ministry (EfM).
Immediately following services on January 12, 2020, we will hold elections and vote on the slate. We will not receive nominations from the floor at that time. However, we will have a week-long petition period ending on January 2, 2020. If you would like to petition to be added to the slate, please fill out this online form by 9 am on January 2, 2020. Petitioners must meet the same basic qualifications as other candidates, and they must make themselves available for an interview with the rector and a member of the nominations committee between January 2 and January 4. If petition candidates are added to the slate, that will be announced on January 5. Please note that filling out the petition form does not guarantee you will be added to the slate.
If we add petition candidates to the slate, we will hold a competitive election. If not, we will vote for the slate by affirmation.
