This will be the last epistle from me until after Labor Day. Summer schedule changes are listed below in this E-News. On the focus for this last epistle until after Labor Day, I feel torn. I want to explain the recent review of the church office job descriptions and other changes with regard to office opening hours. Yet, as I write, the most horrendous things are coming to light with regard to the separation of children from families and their incarceration in facilities along the border that are grossly inadequate for the purpose.
The last living prosecutor from the Nuremberg Trials speaks of this situation constituting a crime against humanity. The United States never ratified the Treaty of Rome which defined the scope of a crime against humanity. Maybe this explains why the American press and people remain ignorant and silent in the face of atrocities against migrants and refugees; women, men, and particularly children. I commend to you
That nothing- nothing – merits the stripping away of person hood, the systematic violation of a people, the removal of humanity. Not a thing- and definitely not being a
refugee or migrant.
I also want to take this opportunity to write about the recent reorganization of the church office as a result of a review of office staff job descriptions. We have come up with the following job profiles and their holders:
·
Deborah will remain as
Parish Administrator covering reception and routine office administration however this will now be a 20 hour a week job and from Labor Day, the public opening hours for the office will be 10 am - 2 pm, Monday to Friday.
·
Melinda will remain as
Finance Administrator with an added responsibility to advise me on personnel matters.
·
Susan will continue as
Assistant to the Rector and will be the overall
Office Manager with continued co-ordination of internal membership and volunteer areas. She will take on new responsibility for the monitoring of facilities and contractors in coordination with the lay-led Property Committee.
·
The new 18 hour per week position of
Events and Marketing Coordinator is a response to a growing need for one person to be responsible for events, marketing, and more actively profiling St Martin’s across social and print media and within the wider community.
If interested in this position, please contact
Susan Esposito.
Following the retirement of Missy and Gordon, the main purpose of the review has been to clarify the core elements of the existing positions, identify new areas of work such as a new integrated parish management & data system, and tighten up the boundaries for co-working between areas of responsibility. A good example of co-working across lines of job demarcation concerns our buildings. Oversight is Susan but routine buildings use i.e. bookings and rental remains Deborah, and Event hosting will fall within the new job profile of Event and Marketing Coordinator. All office positions are now classified and part-time, i.e. maximum of 20 hours per week.
Other changes: Brigit will continue as part time manager of the Thrift Shop. With Mario’s resignation as full-time sexton, David will continue as Sunday and events sexton with three additional weekdays. Ian, and new person and currently a student will fill in the two remaining weekdays. We have engaged a commercial company to carry out a weekly deep clean of the Church and other public areas. I am pleased to say we have managed this reorganization within current budget realities.
In particular I want to thank Melinda, Susan, and John (Bracken) who worked tirelessly to review and construct the new office job descriptions and roles.
Summer time invites a change of pace, for many this means some time off, but for all of us our attention shifts to a more measured pace of life. I want to wish all our members and readers a happy 4
th of July and a peaceful and relaxing July and August.
Until September then, but remember Church attendance qualifies as recreation not work, and so is a very fitting summer-time activity!
See you on Sunday,
Mark+
