Due to the rise in Covid cases over the last several weeks, we have decided to offer a virtual option for our annual Parish Meeting, which is set for Sunday, January 23, 2022. We hope you will find this FAQ helpful, especially regarding registration and online voting in the Vestry election.
Future updates will be posted on AdventBirmingham.org/ParishMeeting.
If you have any questions, please contact Margaret Pope (205-226-3510 or Margaret@CathedralAdvent.com).
When and where will the Parish Meeting be held?
The Annual Parish Meeting of the Cathedral Church of the Advent will be on Sunday, January 23, immediately following the conclusion of the 9:00 a.m. services, both in-person in the Nave and virtually via Zoom Webinar.
Do I need to register to attend?
Registration is required only for the virtual option. You can access the registration link at AdventBirmingham.org/ParishMeeting. Registration will open on Monday, January 10 at 9:00 a.m. Registration will close at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 23. Please note that we will not be able to accommodate late registrations.
Can I vote whether I attend in-person or virtually?
All confirmed, adult Advent members who attend — whether in-person or virtually — will be able to vote for the next vestry class.
How will I attend the meeting virtually?
We will host the meeting on a Zoom Webinar for anyone who is unable to join us in person. The meeting will not be streamed on our website.
How can I access the Zoom meeting?
In order to join the Zoom meeting, you will need to register at AdventBirmingham.org/ParishMeeting, starting Monday, January 10 at 9:00 a.m. You will receive a confirmation email, containing the link to the meeting. Keep this email handy; you cannot join the meeting without it.
What do I need if I have never used Zoom before or if I am joining the meeting on a new device?
You will need to download Zoom on the device you plan to use for the meeting. To download, click here and select to download the “Zoom Client for Meetings” which is the first option on the page. Here is some helpful information about joining and participating in Zoom Webinars. Focus on the section titled “Joining a webinar by invitation link.”
If more than one person in my household plans to join the virtual meeting, do they all need to register?
Yes, everyone in your household who will be attending (and voting) needs to be registered for the virtual meeting. You may all tune in on the same device (i.e., watch the meeting on the same laptop) but everyone who plans to attend virtually needs to be accounted for separately. This will help us track attendance, as well as ensure the validity of our online voting.
Am I eligible to vote in the vestry election?
“Those entitled to vote shall be confirmed adult communicants in good standing…and physically [or virtually] present at the meeting…” —Canons of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Alabama (Canon 9, Sec.3)
How will I vote in the vestry election if I am participating virtually?
During the meeting, you will receive a link to a digital (online) ballot via the chat feature on Zoom. For more details about our digital voting process, click here.
A practice ballot is available here. To emulate the day-of voting experience, the practice ballot is also password protected. When prompted, enter: Practice2022.
How will I vote in the vestry election if I am attending in person?
We will handle in-person voting the same way we have in past years with paper ballots, distributed and counted by the outgoing vestry class.
Will the meeting be recorded for later viewing?
Though the entire meeting will not be recorded, the audio of Canon Smalley’s address will be available at Audio.AdventBirmingham.org.