Vestry effect what would today usually be called a parochial church council, but was also responsible for all the secular parish business now dealt with by civil bodies, such as parish councils. Eventually, the vestry assumed a variety of tasks. It became responsible for appointing parish officials, such as the parish clerk, overseers of the poor, sextons and scavengers, constables and nightwatchmen. At the high point of their powers, just prior to removal of Poor Law responsibilities in 1834, the vestries spent not far short of one-fifth of the budget of the national government itself. More than 15,600 ecclesiastical parish vestries
A Sort of Homecoming (song) of inspiration for the song originally. "A Sort of Homecoming" was not performed again until opening night of The Joshua Tree Tour 2017, where it has been performed occasionally in alternation with "Bad." A Sort of Homecoming (song) "A Sort of Homecoming" is the first song of U2's 1984 album, "The Unforgettable Fire". A live version of the track is found on 1985's four-track EP, "Wide Awake in America". It is also the only song with lyrics inside the sleeve for the album. As the opening track on "The Unforgettable Fire", "A Sort of Homecoming" epitomises the new direction U2