Personnel Notes

It has been 6 months since Jenn Efthymious resigned as our office administrator, and many people are wondering about where we are in the process of finding permanent staff for the office. We have been on a long journey of discernment, but we have come up with a model that we believe will best suit our needs as we become a church for the 21st century. We have created two part-time positions, each with a special focus, who will help us to cover the range of administrative and communication needs of our congregation. We will be advertising and interviewing for these positions beginning next week.

The first position is an administrative assistant, who will be responsible for administrative and secretarial support to the pastors, staff, and Clerk of Session. This will be a person with excellent organizational skills who will support our general church program in all of its complexity.

The second position is a media and technology specialist, who will be responsible for communication to the congregation and the world beyond our walls in all of the media available to us, and help us to diagnose and work through the technological problems that occasionally arise as we move from “wired” to “wireless. This will be a person with great computer skills, a good eye for design, and the ability to navigate the world of electronic media.

We look forward to the search and to the discovery as we prepare for the next steps in building our staff for the future!

A Request from the Session to the Congregation

It has been proposed that we change our name tag procedure. Why?

• There are several different styles so there is no consistent look to them;
• Many of them have elastic strings which are all stretched out, making them unattractive to wear and look unsightly hanging on the racks in the lobby;
• Many people don’t even use them;
• They convey an “in group” sense to visitors and non-members.

On the other hand, name tags can be helpful to visitors and people new to UPC.

Shall we do something different, such as giving everyone an adhesive name badge to fill out and wear every Sunday morning? Shall we get rid of them altogether?

Session is looking for ideas and suggestions from the congregation. You can talk to any Session member or to the pastors, or put your written comments in the offering plate or send them in an email.

Thank you!

Highlights from Session

by Cynthia Burger, Clerk of Session

The members of Session have taken the following actions in recent months:

• Discussed whether to do something different regarding name tags or discard them altogether along with the storage racks in the lobby, and decided to ask the congregation for input;
• Agreed to participate in upcoming Children of Abraham worship/open house events in the spring and summer;
• Agreed to participate in the Preservation Association of the Southern Tier’s “Sacred Sites Open House” tour on May 21;
• Learned that Don Law had left a sizable amount to the church in his will and appointed a committee to discern how best to utilize the gift;
• Accepted an estimate for an electronic sign, to replace the sign board on the front lawn;
• Approved the budget for 2017, which will be presented to the congregation on January 29, 2017;
• Voted to request the congregation to approve, at the January 29 congregational meeting, taking a loan to finish the energy efficiency projects for thermostats, lighting, and windows.