Restructuring our church boards and committees

In April 2005, our church began the process of taking a look at our current organizational structure and came to the conclusion that we needed to make some changes to better serve God and make the process of running our church easier. The following report is from the Moderator's report in the September 2005 Candlelight.

Restructuring

I wanted to take some time to discuss the current progress toward restructuring our boards and committees so that we can operate more efficiently in the future. Our last meeting, open to the entire congregation, was held on August 9, 2005 in Pilgrim Hall. During that meeting, we continued to define some of the finer points of committee interaction, Executive Committee make up, and other details that need to be addressed.

At our Quarterly Meeting on September 25, 2005 a preliminary report of the progress being made will be presented. At that time, additional input will also be gathered. To help those of you who have not been able to attend these special meetings, I have outlined much of the progress below:

Principles

To find the right structure, we will need to try new things. Therefore:

• The plan to implement changes will be cautious.
• A trial period will be defined (e.g. 2 years)
• A request will be made to suspend those articles in our current by-laws that will be impacted.
• A working document will be created to be approved by the congregation as a framework for our new structure.
• The working document will be updated during the trial period with appropriate congregational controls.
• Once the trial period has concluded, the congregation will be able to vote on whether to keep the new structure or return to the previous structure.

Board and committee composition

What will our new boards and committees look like in the new structure? At this point, the following has been identified (of course, all subject to change through the will of the congregation). For these descriptions, I will use the current titles for the board or committee so that everyone has a reference point. The names themselves may change.

Trustees. To be composed of four members (down from nine today) with three year terms (no change). Two terms maximum prior to being one year ineligible for election (no change). There are three responsibility areas that will be managed by the four members: Day to day operations (one person: prioritization of bills, managing extra income, and the controller function); Operational (one person: employees, supplies, and periodic maintenance); and Project Works (two people: building and grounds, parsonage, etc.). The pastor would be ex-officio (no change).

Deacons. To be composed initially of six members with a final structure of three members (down from twelve today) with three year terms (no change). Two terms maximum prior to being one year ineligible for election (no change). There are three responsibility areas that will be managed by the six (and later three) members: Worship (two people then one person: Chancel duties, ushers, acolytes, and flowers); Clerical and Financial (two people then one person: Finances, membership role, gifts, and book of remembrance); and Worship Services (two people then one person: Communion, lay readers, special services, and pulpit supply). In addition to the three areas, there are several shared responsibilities defined: Music, Confirmation, Outreach, and Visitation. The Pastor (no change), Minister of Music, and Junior Choir director would be ex-officio.

Missions. To be composed of three members (down from nine today) with three year terms (no change). Two terms maximum prior to being one year ineligible for election (no change). There are three responsibility areas that will be managed by the three members: Financials (one person); Covenant to Care coordination (one person); and outside project coordination (one person: fundraisers, Habitat for Humanity, etc.). In addition, there are several shared responsibilities defined: Coordination, bake sales, service projects, identifying needs, etc. The Pastor would be ex-officio (no change).

Christian Education. To be composed of two to three members (down from nine today) with three year terms (no change). Two terms maximum prior to being one year ineligible for election (no change). There are two responsibility areas that will be managed by the three members: Financials (one person) and youth and adult education (one person: youth groups, adult education, ASP, etc.). In addition, shared responsibilities include coordination, event preparation (Rally Day, Children's Sunday, Christmas Pageant, etc.), and employees (CE director, youth director).

Other Committees.

• Nominating: Responsibilities collapsed into the Executive Committee.
• Scholarship: No changes.
• Hospitality: Two people using existing committee term limits (two year terms, no max)
• Pastoral Relations. Appointed. Two by Executive Committee, one by the Pastor.
• Communications and Publicity (new). Currently undefined. May be a role.
• Stewardship. Role to be somewhat redefined.

Transition

To transition to the new structure, existing boards and committees will be asked to identify their own membership from their existing members. If there are still more individuals than what the board or committee members defined as their new structure, those individuals will be permitted to remain on the board or committee until their terms under the current by-laws expire: No one will be left out who desires to continue with their current responsibilities.

Additional materials

Additional materials may be found on this web site:

• Presentation charts from the April 26, 2005 meeting.
• The May 19, 2005 meeting was an informal discussion about the prior meeting.
• Presentation charts from the June 21, 2005 meeting.
• Derived Structure Notes from the June 28, 2005 meeting.
• Restructure Notes from the August 9, 2005 meeting.
• Restructure Notes from the September 6, 2005 meeting.
• Current Restructure Draft. This document will be distributed during the next quarterly meeting of the congregation (September 25, 2005).

Note: The next meeting will take place on the quarterly meeting of the congregation on Sunday September 25, 2005. A follow-on meeting will be scheduled in October.