Hi, all. The end of our first year together is coming to an end! Can you believe it?
As agreed to by the Board of Directors, I will be taking off the month of July as vacation and the month of August as a study break, preparing for the coming year. I likely will be frequently unavailable for direct communication, so I wanted to share with you my plans for delegating certain responsibilities in my absence. Please communicate questions or concerns in July and August to the following people.
Weekly operations: Office Administrator Wendy will continue to manage communications and scheduling from her home office. Treasurer Vicki will continue to collect mail and handle financials. The building will remain closed through August, with exceptions made only by the board. Sexton Sandy Hay will continue to keep an eye on the building.
Plans for large gatherings: The board will continue meeting and making decisions about our suspension of in-person activities (and any exceptions). I will consult once or twice with board and staff members while I am away. Please contact President Shannon or President-elect Beth.
Member needs: The Pastoral Care Team is prepared to monitor and follow up on members’ needs. If there is a death or urgent need, Gisela Bailey or someone else from that team will contact me.
Worship planning and execution: The Worship Team is on top of this and has made good progress on planning summer services. Sarah Nuss-Warren and the team will work with Wendy, Melanie, and Heather to produce online worship services, as we have for the last three months.
Religious education: Heather’s time with us as DLRE officially ends July 31, but she will assist us as acting DLRE until we hire a new DRE. She will be taking a couple weeks of vacation in July and will announce her summer hours soon.
The RE Team is planning a thank-you and celebration of Heather’s work with us in coming weeks. Members of the new Director of Religious Education Search Team are Amanda Clifton, Scott Hughes, Lisa Janetski, and Karen Roth. They and I will gather before my break so we have a plan that they can implement while I’m gone.
Before I take time, the Finance Committee (led by Speed and Tom) will recommend to the board a budget for next year. I encourage teams and committees to continue meeting over the summer to discuss what efforts may be possible to further y/our mission, beginning in September.
If you have any questions or concerns before the end of June, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Thank you.
Blessings,
Eric