Sandra

Good Shepherd’s nominees for the 2025 Vestry are Andrea Aaron, Natalie Chalverus, Peter Rawlings, and Charles Sanford . Their term would be for three years. Their nominations will be voted on at that Annual Parish Meeting on Sunday, January 26 following the 10:30 am service. Learn more about them and why they wish to join the Vestry below.

Andrea Aaron

Why do you feel called to serve on the Vestry?

Goodness… I don’t know that we always know WHY God calls?  I can know God has called and in my lived experience that call has often come “out of the blue.”  This call has been no different.  All I can say with any certainty is I am aware that when the ask was made, I was quite surprised I felt a strong call to say “yes.” I am still surprised, but I am also clear that I do feel called, I just can’t say I know what God has in mind. 

What gifts do you bring to the vestry? 

This question might very well answer the first question.  I have been a member of Good Shepherd for almost 30 years.  I taught Godly Play for several years and worked on the Episcopal Church Women (ECW), outreach committee, and have participated in supper clubs. However, more often than not, I have participated in the outreach or extra curricular offerings outside of Sunday programs.  Starting in the mid 90s with Disciples of Christ in Community (DOCC), Education for Ministry (EfM), Center Point, Thursday Spiritual Seekers group with Katie Taff, Enneagram classes, Sacred Studies weekends and Dream Group. (Why even my Tai Chi class is held here in the Library!)  These programs/offerings have been a staple in my spiritual journey and certainly had a hand in my decision to complete Spiritual Directors training back in 2016. In the past couple years, I have become a devoted attendee of Lectionary Class.  It is the belonging I found in Lectionary on Sunday morning that has brought me full circle back into a desire to serve the community of Good Shepherd that has served me all these years from the “outside edges and corners.”   I hope to bring a bit of an “outsider” vision to keep Good Shepherd being a light on the hill so that all may have a chance to enter… if not through the front door, from the outside edges and corners.  

Natalie Chalverus

Why do you feel called to serve on the Vestry?

First of all, I’m honored to be asked to serve on the church Vestry. I grew up at Good Shepherd. I was baptized at Good Shepherd in the early 1970s.  I was in the first graduating class of Good Shepherd School. I have spent many hours in the choir both as a child and as an adult. 

Although I’ve been part of the church for a long time, I dedicated most of my time to raising my three kids and building my real estate business. Now that my two older children are off the payroll, I feel like I have more time to dedicate to other things. I’m excited to learn more about church operations and participate in our community outreach. 

What gifts do you bring to the vestry? 

As far as my skill set, I feel like I have good people skills. I feel I can engage with people no matter their status in life. I am very good at gathering information together and I’m good at sticking to a budget. I’m excited to get to know more about my church family and how our church operates.

Peter Rawlings

Why do you feel called to serve on the Vestry?

When you look at your life line, it is never a straight one. In retrospect, you can define what I call “inflection points”— events or people that alter your trajectory. The younger you are when they occur, the more long-term impact they seem to have on your eventual end point. I have many of these, and some very significant ones involve my religious experiences.

I grew up in a house where both my parents attended church—it just was not the same one. Mother had been a Presbyterian since she was five and she attended LMPC. My Dad could not find himself comfortable there; he migrated to his father’s church, the Episcopal Church, and joined Good Shepherd.

My early years were with the Presbyterians. Late in high school, things changed right around the departure of Steven Ortlip, who was the music director there. His move to Atlanta left a big void in the church for me. It was during college that I approached Bob Wood at Good Shepherd, and one summer we had a small Inquirer’s Class which led to me to join the Episcopal Church. After Milly and I got married, our first real church other than Good Shepherd  was in El Paso, TX, followed by one in Lawton, OK, and later Fayetteville, NC as we moved from medical school to residency to pediatric practice in the US Army.

In 1986, we moved to Lookout and reestablished our connection with Good Shepherd. The next big change for me came in the early 2000s when John Talbird asked me to fill a vacancy on the Vestry. He failed to tell me he was about to retire and, as some may recall, it was a stressful search time. Being a part of the Vestry at that pivotal time prodded me into wanting to pursue other avenues to expand my religious foundation. Education for Ministry with Hap Harwell and a dedicated group of fellow sojourners made for a fascinating (though at times exhausting) four years. The term “God Sightings” comes pleasantly to mind. The experience prompted a group of us to turn the once-a-week meeting into a book club, which I attended for the next decade until vision issues made a large amount of weekly reading more difficult.

It was during this time that Robert Childers approached me about being a Lay Eucharist Minister (Chalice Bearer) which I have done for some time. Since I retired four and half years ago, I have volunteered for funerals as a LEM and/or Crucifer. Covid 19 altered the practice of going to church for a significant amount of time, but Good Shepherd jumped into the digital world with live and recorded broadcasts. Helping with the streaming has been an enjoyable experience. To me, if I am going to be at church, I would like to be contributing where my efforts can be of help to the church, which is really the wonderful people that make it up.

What gifts do you bring to the vestry? 

I have served on numerous boards over the years: the local Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti; Chattanooga Hamilton County Medical Society; and the Medical Foundation of Chattanooga. I presently serve on the Volunteers in Medicine board. I have held various board positions including president of each except for VIM. I believe my experience in board work and especially with the last transition should allow me to be of help to Good Shepherd at this time.

Charles Sanford

Why do you feel called to serve on the Vestry?

I have been going to Good Shepherd all of my life. Growing up at the church: I was baptized when I was 2, went to the preschool, grew up worshiping at the service and Godly Play on Sundays as a child, frequented Shepherd’s Night Out on Wednesdays, attended Parish Camp and other retreats annually, went through the Youth Group program as a teenager, and was confirmed before leaving for college. Once I left for college and for several years afterwards, I didn’t frequent Good Shepherd, or really any church. After getting married and starting a family, I wanted my children to grow up in the church as I did, and I started attending regularly. My return made me realize how much a part of my life the church had been. Throughout the years I wasn’t going, there was a void in my life. The church has always been my weekly escape and reset from the chaos of life. It helps me to realign, prioritize, and direct my day-to-day life with a higher purpose and birds-eye-view.

Because the church has been such a large part of my life, I want the opportunity to give back. I want to do my part to help the church grow and continue to be an influence on others. I have been teaching Godly Play the last few years, and it has been extremely fulfilling. But, I think I also have more that I can offer and the Vestry is a great outlet to do so.

What gifts do you bring to the vestry? 

I believe that I have several skills that I can bring to the Vestry:

1. I can relate to many of the multiple experiences that the church has to offer. Having grown up and going through the different phases of life that the church offers, from baptism on, it gives me perspective on the various programs.
2. I also bring my business acumen. I have been in Capital Equipment Sales for most of my career to design and sell multi-million-dollar solutions to business owners. Throughout the process, I become a consultant to show how different options can give my clients a return on their investment and help them make a business case. In doing so, it has helped me to get the big picture of how organizations can operate efficiently.
3. Finally, coming from a sales background, I am proficient at fundraising and can help raise money to ensure the financial stability of the organization.