I would rather not write this newsletter, but I want you to know that we have a couple of staff changes coming our way. Laura Wannamaker, who has served as our Kitchen Coordinator since September 2019 is resigning as of the end of August. Laura has both facilitated and cooked many meals for our church family. She has done a wonderful job and I am very sad to lose her steady hand! And, I am also very sad to tell you that our Office Manager, Adele Wyatt, has let us know that she will be retiring at the end of 2024. Adele has been the face of FLPC’s office for fourteen years! I really don’t want to think about what our staff hall will be like without Adele there every day. I know that you will want to thank both Laura and Adele for their service and presence.
And, I also ask your prayers for our sexton, Ebony Eaddy, who is having major back surgery on August 21st. Ebony will be out of commission for months, and I ask that you pray for successful surgery, pain relief, and speedy healing for Ebony. I also ask that you pray for Ebony’s husband, LC, because Ebony is a “do-er” and keeping her down is going to be difficult. In her absence, Ebony’s father – Richard Huiett – will be filling in with help from Ebony’s niece, Sarah Middleton. Long-time members will remember when Richard and Antoinette (Ebony’s late mother) used to bring “little” Ebony as they cleaned our church facilities. Join me in thanking Richard for filling in while Ebony is recovering!
But in all these changes, our congregation has a wonderful Personnel Ministry who works quietly behind the scenes to make sure that all our staff are supported. As soon as Adele and Laura told us their plans, Personnel swung into action. Laura Wannamaker is helping by serving on the search committee to find the next Kitchen Coordinator. Interviews are underway now! And Personnel and I spent the summer interviewing the staff and evaluating how well our current staff structure functions. We have taken Adele’s retirement (although we don’t like it!) as a chance to investigate how we might do things more efficiently and better support the church’s ministry. So, at the August Session Meeting, three position descriptions were approved. The Office Manager position has been changed to a part-time (30ish hours a week) job that focuses on communication and administration. So, the new title is Director of Communications and Administration. Shannon Fancher, our Business Manager, is NOT going anywhere (we pray!), but her duties shift just a bit, and her title is now Director of Operations. There are going to be changes to the church office hours, and we will let the congregation know when that is finalized. My goal is to spend as much time and money as we must to provide the staff who will support and help us grow our Church’s Ministry, and to spend and to give as much as we can to internal programs and benevolences. I take the responsibility of being a good steward of your pledges very seriously.
So, your mission (if you choose to accept it 😊) is to pray for Ebony, Laura, and Adele, and to pray for the two search committees who will be looking for new staff.
