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Leadership Memo 7: By-Law Conversations
May 3, 2004
Index of Leadership Memos
We had a very light turn-out at the conversations about our proposed By-Law revisions at yesterday's service. This might mean that the communication steps we've taken--such as these Leadership Memos--have helped people feel comfortable with the revisions. It also might mean that people couldn't attend yesterday, but still have questions and concerns. And in spite of newsletter articles, order of service announcements, and e-mail announcements, some people may still be unaware of the revisions.
Here are a few questions that did come up at the conversations. Some of these questions are not related to the By-Law revisions, but are more general questions about church operation.
What happened to the Communications and Aesthetics Committees?
These committees were set up to make decisions about certain aspects of the church organization. They put guidelines in place about the newsletter, e-mail announcements, art displays, color schemes, etc. However, once that was done there was not enough work for an on-going committee. We will ask the people from these groups to come together when a decision about something needs to be made. Meanwhile, some of the Aesthetics people are serving on the Buildings and Grounds committee. Also, we have a half-time staff person, Nancy Singer, who facilitates congregational communication. It is our hope, and the experience of other congregations, that when volunteers are not needed for the more "business" aspects of church life, they can spend their time in more personally satisfying ways, such as working on a social justice project, planning the Religious Education program, or participating in Adult Education events.
If Program Council no longer exists, who does my committee report to?
We are in a time of flux with the organization of the many different groups that comprise Eliot Chapel. Right now we plan on organizing the pilot Social justice Council, so all groups that have responsibilities with social action will find support and authority in that structure. Other committees, such as the Fun Committee or Music Committee, will work with staff. Eventually we will likely set up an Activities Council to recommend policies on how to set up the various Eliot social activities groups. But many of these groups don't really need lines of authority and accountability. The Hikers group, for instance, just lets people know where they're going to hike and anyone can join. If you have questions about a specific group or committee, if for example, you're wondering if you can set up a table in Adams Hall for this or that project, ask our Administrative Assistant, Joy Gorden. She'll help you find the right person to get your information. Eventually, we expect the lines of organization to become more clear. But this Governance transition will mean some time "in process." Any member of the Board will always be ready to listen if you do not get a satisfactory resolution elsewhere.
Is Eliot losing lay leadership?
Some of the above discussion may make is sound as though we are "phasing out" lay leadership at Eliot. Neither the Board, the staff, nor the ministers believe this is true. We continue to need strong lay leadership in all aspects of Eliot's life. The Board itself will be comprised of nine lay leaders. In addition, there are committees that report directly to the Board that run important aspects of Eliot's "business." The Finance Committee, Building and Grounds Committee, Bergfried Committee, and Stewardship Committee all take on the nuts and bolts of keeping this place going. On the Program side, we'll have lay people chairing committees, and chairing future councils (comprised of committee chairperople). The RE Council alone will have about six people on the council, and approximately 25 people will sit on various RE committees at any one time.
However, there are aspects of church administration that need more attention than volunteers can give them. When the congregation hired a Business Administrator 6 or 7 years ago, this person took over aspects of the Treasurer's job and the Finance Committee's job because the jobs needed full-time attention. We need to acknowledge where staff can best support church life, and where lay leadership is the best way to get things done. There will likely be differences of opinion on where some of these lines lie; however, with continued communication and good will, we'll continue to work through the questions to find workable solutions. Overall, we want people at Eliot to find meaningful ways to contribute, that enrich their own lives and makes the world a better place to be. That's the ministry we believe in at Eliot Chapel.