While our
congregations are primarily religious communities, they
are also organizations that have the same administrative
needs as any business. Our congregations have physical
resource concerns about facilities, finances, equipment,
and supplies; and human resource concerns about staff and
volunteers.
Administration is the term I use to describe the philosophy,
models, and methods which provide a system for
maintaining/sustaining and protecting our physical
resources.
Support is the term I use to describe the philosophy,
models, and methods which provide a system for
appreciating and enhancing our human resources.
I have had administrative experience
from six distinct perspectives in both religious and
other settings.
In Park Forest, I inherited a recently changed Board structure: the prior model of the Board functioning as a Council of Chairs had been replaced by a smaller deliberative body. The change had not gone smoothly. Some aspects of administration fell into a vacuum, while others became domains of strong personalities. In the first two years at Park Forest, I worked with the Board and the congregation to explore a number of models of governance which would not be personality driven. After a series of congregational discussions, we now have in place a powerful Covenant and new Bylaws which fully establish a modified Policy Governance model. This highly successful adaptation of this model to a smaller size congregation has energized the congregation and freed the Board to pursue the needed visionary work.
In Williamsburg, I served as the chief administrator
of the congregation. There we have hired a 3/4
time Church Administrator, but I had oversight over all
employees and the general day-to-day operations. Our
staff usually included the Church Administrator, a
part-time Director of Lifespan Religious Education, and
less than half-time Director of Music, Accompanist, Child
Care Attendant, Bookkeeper, and Custodian.
The Program Staff and I met in a weekly staff meeting.
Our primary tasks were to coordinate scheduling, avoid
resource conflicts, develop shared programming, and
facilitate communications. I was in regular contact as
well with the support staff.
I also served as the staff administrative resource to the
Board and to select committees, particularly Finance,
Worship, Caring, Membership, and Personnel.
On Long Island, as Consultant to the Long Island Area
Council of Unitarian Universalist Societies, I was the
chief administrator of the Area Council's offices,
operations, and staff. With an annual budget as high as
$250,000, and as many as five other staff positions, the
Area Council's operation is a complex response pattern to
the needs of 12 local societies and the Area Council at
large.
In Andover, as minister, I worked with the appropriate
committees in the administration of a large physical
plant and three part-time staff members. I was also the
designated liaison with a resident preschool program.
In the larger community, I was the Town of Andover's
representative to (and vice-Chair of) the regional
transportation authority with administrative
responsibility for a multi-million-dollar operations and
management budget.
In Providence, I had administrative responsibility for
the supervision of the support staff (three full time,
two part time), and was staff liaison to the Treasurer
and the Finance Committee.
From these experiences, and a background in graduate
study of complex organization, I have developed simple
guidelines that express the more complex administrative
roles:
PHILOSOPHY My administrative philosophy flows directly
from my more general philosophy of religious community.
Administratively, I reiterate my belief that the
congregation is ultimately responsible for its physical
resources. That responsibility is delegated to the board,
committees, and staff in appropriate ways. In delegating
that responsibility, the congregation is asking that its
interests be represented, that its principles be honored,
and that its resources be protected.
As minister, my role is to fulfill such administrative
roles as may be delegated to me by the congregation and
to support and encourage others in their administrative
roles.
MODEL Each congregation will develop its own model of
administration, but within each model should be these
elements:
- bylaws which clearly state lines of authority and
procedures for delegation
- a system of checks and balances to ensure communication
and responsibility
- a current congregational statement of mission/covenant
that has been translated into concise objectives and
goals
- clear job descriptions of all positions, both paid and
volunteer staff
- fully-staffed boards, committees, and positions with
clear areas of responsibility
- systems of performance review of all positions, both
paid and volunteer staff
As minister, my role is to help the congregation
translate their principles and philosophy into an
appropriate model which will incorporate these elements.
I am also responsible for implementing and further
developing the models that apply to my specific
responsibilities in the congregation.
METHODS Any model of administration will only be as
useful as the methods that are used to implement that
model. Whatever the method, it will need to include the
elements of consistency, immediacy, responsiveness,
correctivity, and effectiveness.
Consistency: The congregation needs to have a
sense that those with delegated responsibility will
operate in predictable, consistent ways.
Immediacy: The congregation needs to know that its
needs will be met by its delegated administrators in a
timely fashion.
Responsiveness: The congregation needs to have the
assurance that its wants and needs will be met by the
efforts of the appropriate administrative elements.
Correctivity: The congregation needs to know that
the model of administration implemented will be able to
sense its own limitations and adapt to changing needs.
Effectiveness: The congregation needs to feel that
its boards, committees, and staff are doing effective
work on its behalf.
As a minister, I need to assess my own work in terms of
these elements, and furthermore, I need to assist other
administrative levels of a congregation in the assessment
of their fulfillment of their elements.
One of the essential, yet often
intangible, activities of a minister is support. This
begins with the support that the minister gives
him/herself, and ripples outward in the support that is given to colleagues and coworkers. Our
congregations thrive because of the volunteer efforts of
our members, and support for those people and their
efforts is important.
TAKING CARE OF MYSELF
One of the best ways that I can be supportive of others
is by taking good care of myself, both physically and
spiritually.
For my physical well-being, I follow a
program: walking and/or bicycling coupled with moderate aerobic and
weight-training exercises , adequate but not
excessive sleep, regular attention to my medical needs, and
attention to the signals my body gives me about my
health.
For my spiritual well-being, I attempt to provide a
balance of varied nurturing activities. I know that I
function best when I have time in my day for music,
reading, silence, visual beauty, and constructive
activity; and I schedule my time so that I do not go more
than one day without a balance of these elements. I also
know that my wife and children are important agents of my
spiritual wholeness, and I respect the time I can be with
them.
I respect and support myself in a sustained way by trying
to be a student in at least one structured class each
year, to help me keep exploring my horizons. I value my
vacation time, whether used for travel or for quiet
residence at my summer home, as a time of renewal.
I know that when I have been intentional about caring for
myself, I have been able to be the most creative,
productive, caring, and supportive in my ministry.
My care for myself provides me with energy, health, and enthusiasm, which allows me to envision continuing and passionate professional engagement into the distant future.
MODELS AND RESOURCES OF
SUPPORT
Support can be provided with models of
communication, evaluation, appreciation, and recognition.
Support can also be provided with resources.
As I mentioned in the Administration section above, one
of the best supports is interaction with staff. I
outlined how that works in my present position. I have
already mentioned many aspects of how that worked in Park Forest and
Williamsburg; let me also share another experience from
my past.
In the most complex work situation I have managed, that
of being the Director of the Sophia Fahs RE Camp, I
created some of the models of support I find most helpful
in other complex settings. I had daily conversations with
each of the 25 staff members; there is no substitute for
personal contact! In addition, groups of staff members
involved with similar responsibilities met with me to
discuss their concerns. The whole staff met together
formally at the beginning and end of the session, and
informally each day. Communication was open and regular.
Before and after camp, written communications kept all of
the staff informed of decisions, plans, and details.
It is hard for people to feel supported when their
efforts are not evaluated. At camp, I "dropped
in" on all the classes and activities so that later
I could accurately and honestly discuss the staff
members' work with them. When staff members know what
they do well and what they do not do as well, they move
toward what they do well and know when they need to ask
others for help. Caring about what they do and how well
they do it supports their value.
Each day, at one of our meals or in one of our all-camp
meetings, I tried to acknowledge the efforts of each
staff member. "Today, Jeanne and the fishing crew
caught eight fish, a new record." "If you
haven't been down to see what Carolyn is doing in art,
take a little detour on the way back from lunch."
"Bob, thank you for taking care of the Treasure Hunt
last night!" People feel supported when their
efforts are appreciated.
When our staff members arrived on the day before camp
starts, they found a warm welcome: a barbecued meal to
enjoy, childcare, and special staff shirts. The next day,
when campers and parents arrived, the staff members are
visible in their uniform of brightly-colored shirts. Many
staff members wore the shirts to their first worship
service of the fall at their local UU society, where they
are recognized once again for their efforts. One of the
best ways to support others is to make sure that they do
not become unsung heroes.
Such models of support make for appreciated, functional
administrators/volunteers. But, such support should apply
to all the people in our congregations.
At camp I supported not only the staff but also welcomed
our campers with special name tags, tried to know their
names in advance, and made sure they had ample
information. I had daily camp council sessions to hear
the concerns of campers. I tried to acknowledge an
achievement of each camper at least once during the week,
if not more often. And, on Friday, when I handed each
camper a camp T-shirt, I knew that shirt will be proudly
worn in recognition of our week together.
The best testimony I can give to my model of support from
camp is our return rate: each year, at least 95% of the
staff members and children from the previous year wanted
to return. We had a waiting list of adults who, having
heard about camp from the current staff, asked to be on
staff in the future. Several of our former campers served
as adult members of our staff and two of those staff have
now gone on to become UU ministers.
What happened at camp carried over into other areas of my
ministry. For LREDA's annual fall conference, and also
for the UUA's Independent Study Program's annual meeting,
I initiated a hospitality program to greet people upon
arrival at the airport. After flying for five hours, it
is very nice to see a friendly face waiting for you! For
CU2C2's annual meeting, support has meant transforming
impersonal business meetings into inclusive consensus
sessions. For many of those using my consulting services
on Long Island, support has meant that I came to them so
they did not need to deal with childcare and
transportation issues.
In my work, that has meant being willing
to schedule meetings and appointments to suit their needs
as well as mine.
Sometimes our families and staff need resources that will
support their roles. Many of those resources are already
available and sometimes my role is that of reference
librarian. From the many years of my experience, my
almost daily contact into the larger religious world, but
Unitarian Universalist and other, my well-developed
internet skills, and my varied education, I can often
access resources that would seem invisible.
In certain areas of concern, no single resource exists
that can meet the need, so resources must be created. For
the many teacher training workshops I conduct, I have
created a range of resource materials in such subjects as
calendar planning, using the arts in the classroom,
lesson planning, and classroom management.
Ultimately, support means giving people the materials,
resources, and respect they need to function, and being
an advocate for them and their concerns. For me, the
bottom line in building such models of support is to
always show that people are valuable!
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