Dear Friends,
They say that the only constant in life is change. All in all, a good thing, I suppose. After all, change can bring a host of wonderful opportunities. I just wish that we could control the pace of change sometimes. It seems that things happen all at once.
Many may have heard that the Wegmans will be relocating to the Chicago area where Joel will be working. Indeed, he has already begun the new job. It will be hard to see them leave St. Andrew’s. Each has been an important part in our parish life. However, we know that they will find a good parish home in Chicago, and we will continue to be united in the communion of saints and in the work of the Church.
Many will remember that Renee’, in addition to being a Seeker Leader and Junior Choir Mom, also does the yeoman’s work as St. Andrew’s Office Manager. As a result of the Wegmans move, this position will be open, and the Vestry will soon begin an active search to find a new Office Manager. I am writing to you to let you know about this vacancy and to solicit referrals and recommendations from you.
The Office Manager is an important person on our parish staff. Not only is he or she the voice and face of our parish to many people, he or she has a host of other responsibilities. The Office Manager orders all of our supplies and assigns building space to various groups (both within the parish and outside the parish). He or she produces and sees to the distribution of newsletters, fliers, the Sunday bulletin and much of the parish correspondence. The Office Manager may also be assigned book-keeping tasks. The ability to keep confidences is crucial in this position. A fuller job description is being developed and will be available soon.
Of course, each person makes any job his or her own over the course of time, and this would be expected here, too. Right now this is a near full-time position (about thirty hours per week) and the wages are competitive. If you would like to speak to someone about this position, please contact Jack Chaney (the Personnel Committee chair) or Fr. Berg.
With the Rector’s retirement and Renee’s move to Chicago, it seems that forty percent of our paid staff will be moving on. Were this to happen at a great big corporation, one would seriously question how it could continue. Put this way, the changes coming up seem unsettling. If you are tempted to think this way, you need to stop right here. When things are unsettling, it is time to look at them with a steady eye. First of all, we only have five paid staff, and this does not include Dcn. Marlyn who is non-stipendiary. It is not as if we are dealing with some huge corporation. Forty percent seems a lot; two doesn’t. Second, Fr. Bob, and Mike Johnson, and Dcn. Marlyn will continue to provide all of the fine service we have come to anticipate from them. Then, of course, we have a very fine Vestry. As the times of departure draw closer, the Vestry planning is becoming more substantial and specific. And then there is the Transition Committee which is seeing to a host of details to ensure a good and healthy transition. Most importantly you have one another, fellow pilgrims on our earthly Journey. We all have God.
Twenty-one years ago when St. Andrew’s and I were considering one another, I asked a clergy friend about this parish. His name was The Rev. Canon Ralph Parks. Ralph was a former archdeacon of the Diocese, and had been around for a long time. Ralph said, “It’s a salt of the earth kind of place, St. Andrew’s, Waterford. Good, practical people. They know what’s important and they know what’s not.” Very little has occurred over the last twenty-one years to make me think Ralph’s assessment was wrong. Much has occurred which has confirmed to me that he was absolutely correct.
During times of change, a level-headed, practical point of view would require that one use his imagination. It is a God-give faculty we too often ignore. Sartre, the French philosopher, said that imagination is the ability to think about what is not present. So, think about what might be coming, how colorful and exciting and fulfilling it might be, how nearer to God you may be drawn, how rich your common life might become. Imagine. It’s a most satisfying discipline for those who know what’s important and what’s not, and who will not be distracted by the petty and trivial. We are coming to a hope-filled time.
Chris
