Why didn’t we have a voice in this decision? The Episcopal Church’s governance is not congregational. We elect vestry & chapter members to oversee the governance on behalf of the congregation. Staffing decisions are the prerogative of the dean, although they are normally made in consultation with Chapter. Chapter was consulted in this case. Beyond that, personnel issues are treated confidentially. I thought our stewardship drive meant we could keep all these people. The stewardship goal is to fund all the ministry programs. We fully expect these programs to continue and grow in the coming year. If the programs are continuing, why aren’t the staff members who run them? The staff restructuring required qualifications and talents that are different from those of the current staff. Why at Christmas? Staff contracts are renewed in December for the coming year. As difficult as the timing is, letting staff members know about the restructuring now means they have the as much advance notice as possible to make other plans. What will they do now? They all leave with strong references from St. James. The diocesan deployment office has been notified of the changes and stands ready to assist them. What was the bishop’s involvement? Bishops have no jurisdiction over parish staffing decisions. Bishop Lee was advised of the decision that was made by the deans and Chapter.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 03:20:42 +0000
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