To the faithful in Corinth, Paul wrote that there is only one true foundation for the church, which is Christ Jesus, upon which each subsequent generation, according to the grace of God given them, builds with care. Each of us, parishioner and priest, builds this church upon the efforts of those who came before and in anticipation of those who are yet to come. Sometimes building requires some redesign.
With support from the wardens and vestry, I am restructuring the positions of our operations staff, some of those who literally provide the foundation for our ministry. For the past decade, we have been served by a Chief Operating Officer, Paul Barkett, responsible for our finances, property, HR, and IT. In this, Paul has been supported by several others including an Operations Manager, Catherine Outten Olivo, responsible for supervising the housekeeping staff and managing the calendar of all parish events.
Going forward, these responsibilities will be redistributed to a Director of Finance & Administration (finances and HR) and Operations Manager (property, IT, and operations). Both Paul and Catherine will be leaving their positions at the end of June. During his tenure, Paul has been a steady rock -- recruiting and supporting staff, providing leadership during the interim between rectors, overseeing major property improvements, and handling untold administrative and pastoral details. Through it all, many of us have come to appreciate that Paul is a man of deep faith, with devotion to the church and gracious warmth in all his interactions with parishioners, staff, and all who enter our doors. He is a joy to work with and we will miss him. Catherine has kept our property fully occupied, well cared for, and humming along, all with her buoyant energy. As announced, on August 1, she will begin a new role as Director of Youth Ministries.
I have a team in place to assist in the search and selection of these new staff (position descriptions will be posted shortly). In the meantime, I will call on two or more people to assist in an interim capacity this summer (let me know of good candidates!).
During the transition, because it continues to be a challenge to complete past financial audits while maintaining current operations, the Finance & Property Committee is securing bids from financial consultants to complete the prep work, so we can bring our financial records up to date.
Please join the vestry and me in offering thanks to Paul and Catherine for their valued service as we build for the future.
Peace,
