Grace Church is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Maine.  

• Our chief pastor is the Bishop of Maine, and we live our lives in communion with all the other congregations of the Diocese, with the national Episcopal Church, and with the worldwide churches of the Anglican Communion (see the "Links" page for more information on the all of these entities).

At the parish level, our leadership is a combination of clergy and laypeople.  

• The clergy person in charge of Episcopal parishes is called a "Rector"; at Grace Church the Rector is the Rev. Michael N. Ambler, Jr.  For a welcome letter from the Rector, click here.
• We are blessed by the presence of an Assistant Rector, the Rev. Martha Kirkpatrick, who is also the Environmental Missioner for the Diocese of Maine.  
• The clergy have responsibility for the spiritual leadership of the parish:  leading worship, offering counsel, and participating in the task of discerning how we can best live out God's call to us in this time and this place.

Lay leadership is vested in the Vestry, whose members are elected by the parish at the Annual Meeting in January.  

• Two church-wardens are the chief officers of the Vestry.
• A Treasurer is in charge of parish finances (with the support of a Finance Committee which advises on budget and spending matters)
• A Clerk keeps minutes and other records of parish life.  
• The Vestry collectively has responsibility for most of the temporal affairs of the parish; it also works in fellowship with the clergy in discerning the specific ways that the parish carries out the work God has given us to do.  Vestry meetings are generally on the third Tuesday of each month, from 6:30 to 9 in the parish hall; while only elected members of the Vestry are eligible to vote, meetings are open to anyone interested.

Finally, the activities of the parish are carried out by a wide range of committees and less formal ministry groups.  For more information on these crucial committees and groups, see the "Ministries" link. 

Vestry – 2008

Officers (All elected to one-year terms):

Senior Warden: Jim Paterson 

Junior Warden: Mary Richardson 

Treasurer: Marnie Hackenberg

Clerk: Greg Millert

General Vestry Members (with year term expires):

Jim Tainter (2009)

Seth Washburn (2009)

Mitch Miller (2009)

Kathryn Klingaman (2010)

Cynthia Musk Fontenez (2010)

Evelyn Dunphy (2010)

Chris Wallace (2011)

Marti Torbeck (2011)

Robyn Butler (2011)