Restructuring Our Staff
A message from our Rector, the Rev. Philip DeVaul
July 29, 2021:
Last week, I wrote to you about how the pandemic has created a time for reflection about the way we order our lives, and the way we move forward. As I mentioned, this is not just happening on a personal level, but is happening within communities, organizations, and businesses – and it is certainly happening with Church of the Redeemer. I have already introduced the decision to change how we structure Sundays, and I hope you will give us your input on that via the survey and worship forums in the next few days. But this time has also caused us to examine how our staff is structured and managed, and we will be making some changes here as well.
During the pandemic, our approach to Worship and Mission both changed pretty dramatically. We were deprived of how we primarily experience both our gathering together and our reaching outward. But neither ministry area died, or even laid dormant – both shifted to fit the needs of our community. And both of these ministries were under the able leadership of the Rev. Melanie W. J. Slane, our Associate for Mission and Liturgy. But each area of ministry became a full-time job in itself, and we made the decision to temporarily split the work, having Melanie focus solely on Mission while Anny Stevens-Gleason, our Minister for Worship and Incorporation oversaw our Worship.
This division of labor worked beautifully. Going into this program year, we will continue to see some substantive changes and development of how we worship and how we minister to our neighborhood, so we have decided to make this change more permanent. Moving forward, Melanie will be our Associate for Mission, and Anny will be our Minister for Liturgy.
As is the case with many workplaces, the way our staff works together has changed significantly during the pandemic, and the administration of our operations is changing to reflect that. Our Head Sexton, Kris Woolf will become our Buildings & Grounds Manager, and will oversee the maintenance and use of the Church of the Redeemer campus.
Our current Communications Minister, Nancy Schwartz, will be stepping into the role of Director of Operations. With her extensive knowledge of worship procedure, scripture, parish operations, printing processes and electronic media; she will be overseeing all aspects of church operations; technology, staff support, HR, membership – in short, the way we share life as a church. She will also lead the search for a new Communications Minister.
Sadly, this new structure will eliminate Mary Jo Schottelkotte’s current Parish Office Administrator role. There’s no easy way to talk about this, as Mary Jo has been a stellar employee. She is a friend. She is a member of our community. Mary Jo has done amazing work over the last six years to get so many of the administrative aspects of our parish into shape and we will miss her terribly. I ask that you keep her in your prayers as she begins her job search.
All these role shifts will be effective on August 1st. If you have any questions about who is overseeing a specific ministry in this new structure, please reach out to me and I can help you with that. I appreciate your commitment to the life and ministry of Church of the Redeemer. We continue to be in this together, and I’m grateful for that every day.
