How Our Chapel Is Organized

The Bishop appoints the chaplain
The chaplain of the chapel is appointed by the Bishop, not elected by the congregation. Establishing a campus ministry in the first place takes a vote of the Diocesan Convention acting on a recommendation from Diocesan Council — but once a center exists, the Bishop names the chaplain to lead it.

This is different from a parish, where the vestry calls a rector. At a diocesan chapel the appointment authority sits with the Bishop, who is responsible for placing leadership at the center.

"…it shall be lawful for the Church to establish college centers and for the Bishop to appoint chaplains thereof, such establishments to be made by vote of the Diocesan Convention acting upon the recommendations of the Diocesan Council."

Yes — a lay person may serve as chaplain
The chaplain may be either lay or ordained. The canons do not bar a lay person from serving as a chaplain, and the Standing Committee of the Diocese has affirmed that a lay person may serve as chaplain of the chapel. Our current chaplain is a lay chaplain. The official glossary of the Episcopal Church notes that the laity may serve as chaplains. (Episcopal Church glossary: “Chaplain”)

A lay chaplain leads the ministry — teaching, pastoral care, administration, and the day-to-day life of the chapel — while the sacraments are provided by priests. Under the Prayer Book and the national canons, celebrating the Eucharist and pronouncing absolution are reserved to priests, so the chapel is served by various supply priests, invited by the chaplain, who provide the sacraments while the lay chaplain leads the community. This pattern is common across Episcopal campus ministries.

Nominated by the chaplain · appointed by the Bishop · annually
Each year the Bishop appoints an advisory committee for the chapel, and the members are nominated by the chaplain. The committee works under the direction of the Diocesan Council's division for administration and planning.

At our chapel, the advisory committee always includes at least:

• our diocesan (lay) delegates;
• the President of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Foundation; and
• the chaplain's resident interns.

Under Canon 24, the committee's charge is to help steward the ministry and its property. In practice, the chapel's resident interns care for the property and report needed improvements and repairs; and the President of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Foundation serves as the advisor for the disbursement of the chapel's endowed funds, under the guidance of the Foundation Board (see "Where does my giving go?").

The chaplain proposes the chapel's budget each year · the diocese funds operations · Convention adopts the diocesan budget
Each year the chaplain proposes the chapel's budget to the Diocese's budget committee, alongside every other diocesan ministry, projecting the giving the chapel expects to receive in the coming year. The chapel's request becomes part of the wider diocesan budget.

From there, that budget follows its yearly rhythm:

• Diocesan Council's Common Ministry Budget Committee gathers the requests from all ministries into the diocese-wide budget for funding Diocesan programs — the "common ministry budget" — working in conjunction with the diocese's Finance and Investment Committee.
• Diocesan Council prepares the diocesan program and budget and submits it to Convention.
• Diocesan Convention — the "chief policy-making body for program and finance" — reviews and adopts it (delegates first hear it at a pre-convention meeting).
• Diocesan Council then provides the chapel's operating expenses and the chaplain's compensation, and administers the budget between conventions — authorizing expenditures and managing accounts.

Most giving goes to the Diocese to fund the chapel's pledge · designated and over-pledge gifts may go to the Foundation
When you give to the chapel, your gift goes to the Diocese to fulfill the chapel's annual pledge — the amount the chapel commits to the diocese each year, usually around 15% of the chapel's annual budget. Proceeds from the chapel's football-parking fundraisers are likewise pledged to the diocese.

Money reaches the Holy Trinity Episcopal Foundation in two cases:

• gifts expressly designated for the Foundation; and
• with the permission of the Ecclesiastical Authority (currently the Standing Committee), giving received above the annual pledge to the diocese.

The chapel's one endowed bequest is held by the Foundation; its President advises disbursement under the guidance of the Foundation Board and sits on the chapel's advisory committee. Under Canon 24, that committee aids the chaplain in the stewardship of such funds and bequests.

Because the chapel is part of the diocese, broader safeguards also apply: Diocesan Council authorizes the expenditure of all diocesan funds, and the chapel's finances are included within the diocese's own independent annual audit (the chapel is not audited separately, the way a parish is) — with the national church's "Business Methods in Church Affairs" canon requiring sound bookkeeping throughout the church.

Yes — our own lay delegates at Diocesan Convention
As a Chapel of the Diocese, our congregation is represented at Diocesan Convention just like other congregations. Lay delegates are chosen at a congregational meeting, and the number of delegates is based on average Sunday attendance.

• Average Sunday attendance of 1–150 → two lay delegates, plus one more for each additional 150 (or fraction) in attendance.
• Delegates are selected by the congregation at a meeting called for that purpose.

The chaplain also keeps the official chapel register and files annual reports to the diocese — part of how the chapel stays accountable and connected.

The chief pastor of the diocese. For the chapel specifically, the Bishop appoints the chaplain and appoints the advisory committee each year, and recommends the chapel's operating support to Diocesan Council. The Diocese currently has no seated Bishop, so these functions are being exercised by the Standing Committee as the Ecclesiastical Authority.

The diocese's legislative authority and chief policy-making body for program and finance. It's made up of the Bishop, the clergy, and lay delegates from every congregation — including ours. Convention adopts the budget, elects diocesan leaders, and votes to establish college centers in the first place.

The diocese's executive body between conventions, chaired by the Bishop. It has overall responsibility for diocesan program and finances: it prepares the budget, authorizes all expenditures, manages funds, and orders the annual audit. For the chapel, Council provides operating expenses and directs the advisory committee's administration and planning.

Its voting membership includes the Bishop, the Regional Canons, five lay and two clergy members elected by Convention, and a youth member — with the Secretary, Treasurer, Chancellor, and Standing Committee president serving ex officio.

A council of advice to the Bishop, made up of three clergy and three lay people elected by Diocesan Convention. If the diocese has no Bishop, the Standing Committee becomes the Ecclesiastical Authority and steps into the Bishop's canonical role. That is the case right now: the Standing Committee is presently serving as the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese — and it is the body that has affirmed our lay chaplaincy.

The chaplain — who may be lay or ordained — leads the chapel, nominates the advisory committee, keeps the chapel register, and reports annually to the diocese. When the chaplain is lay, the sacraments are provided by various supply priests the chaplain invites. The advisory committee — appointed yearly by the Bishop from the chaplain's nominees, and including our diocesan delegates, the President of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Foundation, and the resident interns — cares for the property (through the resident interns), flags repairs, and helps steward the chapel's funds.