Staff Parish Relations Committee Announcement

by | Jan 5, 2022 | News | 0 comments

First Methodist Church
January 5, 2022
Dear Members and Friends of First Church Evanston, 
Happy New Year! As the Chair of the Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC), I would like to update you on some recent events and pending activities for the new year.
This past fall, SPRC embraced the spirit of Transformative Faith and decided to embark on restructuring the current staffing of our church to focus on our 2021 Strategic Plan’s areas of worship, membership care and growth, expanding mission and outreach, life-long learning for all ages, modernizing technology and communications, and caring for our historic facility. SPRC also committed to good financial stewardship by improving staff efficiency and cutting expenses while growing key programs.
Recap of Changes During the Fall of 2021
  • Two long-time staff members retired: Rev. Bonny Roth, and Business Manager Candi Boutwell
  • Pastor Grace took on the leadership of Pastoral Care in addition to her responsibilities preaching, worship planning, staff management, and committee membership for SPRC, Finance, Trustees, Church Council, and Adult Education
  • Rev. Jane Cheema took on additional responsibilities for Young Adult Ministry and Mission & Outreach
  • Alexander Dungan was hired as a part-time temporary Front-Office Assistant to cover the recently expanded front office hours. The addition of Alexander allowed us to eliminate an existing part-time position, and Alexander has taken over those responsibilities for managing the church calendar, supporting/editing E-News and the First Church Facebook page, and maintaining the church database.
New Part-Time Staff Member – Henry Pleas
Henry Pleas will be temporary part-time administrative assistant to Pastor Grace. Some of you may already know Henry – he is a member of First Church Evanston and is also an active choir member and soloist. Henry is an experienced project manager and IT professional with extensive experience in higher education, manufacturing, retail, and not-for-profit organizations.
Henry starts on Monday, January 10th. SPRC is confident that the addition of Henry will help Pastor Grace more easily manage the breadth and depth of her responsibilities for First Church Evanston.
Renewal Leave for Jane Cheema
Rev. Jane Cheema will be taking a two-month renewal leave starting January 10th through March 10th, 2022. During Jane’s absence, Alexander Dungan will be leading the youth and young adult ministries, Jim Hagedorn will be leading Confirmation classes, and Krys Juleen can be contacted regarding ASP summer youth program.
Renewal leave is a standard offering to UMC clergy every 5-6 years and is an important part of caring for the health and well-being of our pastoral staff. SPRC is pleased that we can support this time of renewal for Jane.
Message from Rev. Jane Cheema:
I am grateful to our SPRC committee and Senior Pastor Grace Imathiu for their work in helping me navigate the past year and a half. Their support was shown in many ways and now in the gift of renewal leave early in 2022. I will be away from First Church from January 10- March 10, 2022. 
The care and support from SPRC and Pastor Grace through my husband’s illness and death (especially as this was complicated by the pandemic) has helped me get through the first 18 months of this time of grief and new life. The result of this time has been overwhelming exhaustion and a sense of burnout that has been hard to shake. 
My goal for this Renewal Leave is to have time and space away from the daily and weekly demands of ministry. During this time I hope to spend more intentional family time and study time to seek renewed energy for ministry and for leadership in this congregation. My plans are shifting as the pandemic shifts but am hoping to spend a lot of time outdoors exploring Forest Preserves, State Parks and perhaps take an epic Road Trip. Resting, reading, journaling are all waiting for me. 
This definition of Renewal Leave is what I am hoping to experience:
…time for travel, rest, prayer, and the broadening of one’s sense of God’s work in the world—a time to pause, step back, and behold God and creation from a new perspective. Nourishing one’s soul and discovering a new perspective calls for both a change of pace and a change of location.
More intentional than simply taking a break, the sabbatical consists of more than just a vacation. This is a time for the pastor to distance self from the demands of leadership, to gain fresh vision and energy—a time to focus on comprehensive renewing and reequipping for long-term ministry.
2022 SPRC Budget Update
As you know, regardless of the size of a congregation, the staff expense is the largest part of any church budget. SPRC is committed to good financial stewardship and has submitted a proposed budget for 2022 that is 12% less than the 2021 SPRC budget. This puts SPRC squarely in the “healthy” range of overall budget for churches our size. 
All current staff members have taken on more responsibility, allowing us to grow key programs, such as launching a new website and church calendar, expanding front-office hours, providing streaming worship services, and growing the youth, young adult, and children’s programs. Additional expanded programming is slated for 2022 including a new senior living ministry.
In the past few months, I have been working with Pastor Grace as a volunteer in the administrative operations of the church. With Candi’s retirement, I will continue that effort as SPRC works out how to care for the administrative role. Glynis Doyle, Alexander Dungan, and Rebecca Smith are also actively helping fill gaps during this transition period. I will keep you informed as plans develop, and in turn welcome and look forward to your questions and words of encouragement.
Peace,
David Cerra
Chair, Staff Parish Relations Committee