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Well, that darn annual report has been shared with the parish and the phone can't stop wringing. Here are the complaints, in no particular order:
* One person did not like the photo I chose to place next to her name. She would like it to be deleted out of the computer and never used again. (She could provide me with the photos she would like me to use and then she won't have to worry about whether she likes what I happen to have available to me).
* Most people liked the format. One found it to be a waste of resources and money. It should just be on boring white paper with nothing to make the page interesting, like photos, frames to separate the different reports, etc. If each individual report is on a page by itself, they don't need fancy stuff to separate them. (Of course, if the document is one report per page it would have used a lot more paper, taken much more time to run off, and been difficult to staple together, not to mention bulky and more difficult to read, but that is beside the point).
* Not all the financial information was available--and it was not passed out at least a week in advance so the parishioners could take time to study it. (Federal law gives financial institutions until January 31 to get that information out. It has been trickling into the office since about January 15. We still do not have all the year-end statements from all the financial institutions and were darn lucky to have received enough to put together any type of report by January 24, let alone a week earlier. Besides, realistically, how many members of any church actually take the time to read the financial report, understand it, and ask questions about what they don't understand)?
* If we are expecting a lower income next year than last year, based on the pledges received, why are we bothering to send money to the diocese? (Why, indeed?!? Maybe because in order to remain a parish in any organized church you have to be able to prove you are financially able to take care of yourself. If you can't meet your fiscal obligation to the diocese you are in danger of losing parish status and becoming a mission. The bishop has the authority to assign a priest to a mission. A parish gets to choose their own priest. Since our part-time, priest-in-charge is scheduled to retire in about a year, maybe now is not a good time to give up our say in who gets the job next).
Wish I could remember all the comments, as some were pretty interesting. However, most of them were complimentary. And it is really good to work at a place where I feel that my efforts are appreciated. It's also kind of fun to laugh at the oddities while being thankful for having a job I enjoy where I get to interact with people I like.
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jewel tones was the theme
4 comments:
God bless you, Jaz!
Diocesan convention begins here tonight. That'll be a kick.
And let me go on the record as saying that all of the choices you made for the annual report were correct. You were the one tasked with the job. The job got done. End of story.
I can't believe I forgot the first comment I received. A person who was married in the church last spring, but who has only attended a couple of Sundays since then, left a very nasty message on the answering machine complaining she couldn't believe that I was presumptuous enough that I would include her and her husband in the members section! (She did have a letter of transfer sent here before the wedding). And how dare I not know her birthdate! Or her husband's! Wow--had she responded to the plea for update info in the monthly newsletters or in several weeks of Sunday bulletin announcements, I would have had that info. The only other way to get it would have been to go through the bossman's private files and get the dates from the wedding application.
But, it does seem odd to be mad there is missing info while mad that she was included at all, doesn't it?
My reaction was to delete the message from the machine. When I worked at Probation I did not respond to rude messages. I see no reason to change that policy. If she wants to communicate, she will approach me in a more polite manner.
Time to remind the parish that one doesn't shoot the messenger, that you are simply reporting what they said they have done, spent, etc.
Federal law vs. canons: Maybe the church needs to rethink and change to fit within the society where it exists.
Not send your money to the diocese? Been there; done that. Does anyone ever expect the Spanish Inquisition?
Start looking now for another job. I know you love this one, but . . . .
I know there are places where the fiscal year and the calendar year are not the same (like IL state government). I'm not certain whether there are any Episcopal congregations that do that, though. Does that make end-of-the-year statements easier to complete? Or are the problems the same, just transferred to a different month?
The Articles of Incorporation require that the annual meeting be held the second Sunday of the year or, if that is not possible, the earliest Sunday after that. I don't see why a parish couldn't declare that because the financial statements won't be available, they wish to schedule the meeting for the first Sunday of February. The Vestry terms could run from Feb 1-Jan 31 (or Feb 15-Feb 14, for that matter).
As for job hunting, I don't think we are at that point, yet. Only one person wanted to not pay the diocese and she backed down when I explained the probable consequences. Many folk complimented my work and have told me that they are impressed with the increased efficiency of the office since I started. As long as they remember what came before I think I am safe.
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