In an effort to streamline finances, encourage collaboration between staff, and better respond to the changes and challenges facing congregations, the management team at church offices, backed by the Life and Mission Agency Committee, announced major changes to the national church.
A total of five positions have been cut, and the two main departments responsible for congregational support and church development — the Vine and Canada Ministries — will merge beginning Jan. 1, 2011.
“This is a difficult day,” said Stephen Kendall, principal clerk, during a Sept. 20 all-staff meeting. “People will be leaving, and we’re very sorry about that.”
The five positions affected are as follows:
• custodial services (one position)
• support staff (already retired; position not being renewed)
• Youth in Mission (half-time; vacant; not being renewed)
• Ministry and Church Vocations (one half-time position)
• the Vine (one position)
• Canada Ministries (associate secretary retiring; not being renewed)
Youth in Mission duties will fall to Lindsey Hepburn, Mission Interpretation Coordinator. The newly merged Vine and Canada Ministries will operate under one associate secretary, who will be chosen by Aug. 31, 2011.
“Supporting congregations in transition and all of the ministry areas within the mandate of the Vine will continue to be the priority of the merged departments of the Vine and Canada Ministries,” said Vine team leader, Tori Smit. “Together, through this centrally located office we will continue to place the greatest priority on congregations and their access to readily available support through people, programs and resources.”
Financial management within the Life and Mission Agency will also undergo a makeover. Beginning Jan. 1, a three-person team will handle the finances of the LMA in the new department of Administration and Program Support. Currently, each department within the LMA looks after its own finances. Centralizing the work will enable staff who have specific training in this area to look after an important aspect of church business, and will free up other LMA staff for different duties.
“The management team expresses its appreciation of all staff who have lived with the knowledge that a reorganization is underway at the national office,” states a press release. “These changes have not been without pain and stress and we regret that several good colleagues will be leaving the national office. The ongoing dedication and commitment of the national office staff to serving our church is acknowledged with gratitude.”
The changes were sparked by decisions made by the Assembly Council in Nov. 2009, which required the national church to produce a balanced budget. Due in large part to decreased givings to Presbyterian Sharing for the past several years, budget shortfalls were common and monies were being taken from other church funds to make up the difference. Noticing that such a pattern could not continue, several measures were taken by the Assembly Council as a first step to rid the church of red ink.
Changes announced in Nov. 2009 included a mandatory unpaid, one-week holiday for church offices staff for 2010 and 2011, a suspension of the cost of living allowance increase for the same two years, decreases in the operating budgets of the General Assembly Office, the LMA and Support Services, and a reduction in grants to colleges.
These changes included two facets of budget review. One was an exercise in finding temporary savings of $900,000 to ensure that the projected operating fund has no deficit by the end of 2011. These temporary savings amount to spending reductions that were implemented in 2009 through 2011. The other was an exercise in finding permanent savings of $815,000 in the 2011 budget that will provide for a projected balanced budget in the future.
The more recent decisions made at Wynford were the next step in securing long-term financial stability for the church, while simultaneously overhauling the way work is carried out and by whom. Financial savings were already included in the numbers mentioned above.
According to a press release posted on the church’s website in October (presbyterian.ca/pcconnect/daily/5488), the recent changes reflect a return to a vision first developed in 1992:
“The original vision (1992) for the Education for Discipleship Team provides an excellent model for the desired flexibility and adaptability that are required within the LMA as we seek to be responsive to the needs of congregations and the entire church in these changing times. The original vision was for a team which could be re-shaped, reconfigured, and adjusted depending on the needs of the church in the areas of congregational nurture and development.”
That vision led to the creation of the Vine, a two-year pilot project, which will now morph into a new department with Canada Ministries.
“This is a transitional time. It’s not easy for anyone,” said LMA general secretary, Rick Fee during the all-staff meeting. “It requires flexibility, and pitching in by everybody.
“This is painful, stressful, regretful. People may not feel valued, but the work you do for the church is important and it is appreciated and you are valued.”
