Heather Reed

My name is Heather Reed and I am running for a position on the vestry. I am seventeen years old, a junior at Stone Bridge High School. I was baptized at birth Episcopalian and confirmed in the faith in 2006 at St. David’s. I have been involved with and worshiped at St. David’s Parish since I was in fifth grade when I moved to Virginia from California. I currently serve as a member of the praise band and altar guild; I have been trained as a chalice bearer and acolyte. Since my start here I have been involved with Vacation Bible School (once as an attendee and the latter years as a volunteer), youth group, Daughters of the King, Sunday school, Christmas pageants, and other such volunteer opportunities. My mother is a teacher as St. David’s preschool, so I am closely involved with the teachers, directors, and families of the parish. I am a leader and a hard worker. I’ve grown up a Christian, and am a prodigal daughter at that.

I’m running for vestry because I love the Lord more than anything else, He’s truly first in my life. I have great emotional and spiritual commitments to St. David’s and have since I’ve moved here. In 2007 I did a research project based on Margaret Mercer, the woman who started Belmont chapel and the school on the grounds, setting the stage for St. David’s and its preschool. Not only did I learn about her history, I learned about our church; how it came to be and the values on which it was established. She was an amazing woman and I value her ideals of worship, equality, spirituality, servitude, and love. I only want to see this church prosper and flourish just as she did.

If I am elected, I would have several priorities. First being the youth, after all, they are the future of our church. If we don’t reach out to them, they’ll never come back to visit when they come back from college and we’ll have lost a very valuable and intelligent generation. Second, restoring and preserving the history of our own church. Many have no clue who Margaret Mercer is, what its main principles were at establishment, where the idea of the church came, why it’s was established, or how it has lasted so long. This church has a beautiful and inspiring history dating back to the civil war and after. I adore its story. As well as youth and preservation, I look forward to being able to learn a great deal about finances, church traditions, and business operations.

I hope that you will find me a viable candidate for the vestry. I hope to use the spot on the vestry to help continue to honor the great legacy of our parish, as well as look to the future.