May 5, 2006

connecting the Community of Christ Mission Support Ministries community

Mission Support Ministries staff is warmly invited to a special staff luncheon hosted by the World Church Leadership Council on Wednesday, May 10, at 11:30 a.m. in the Laurel Club Dining Room. A catered meal from Smokehouse Bar-B-Que will be served by the Leadership Council and the menu includes: authentic hickory smoked beef brisket and turkey breast, hickory pit beans, cole slaw, potato salad, Texas toast, veggies, and cookies. There is no charge for the meal. In addition to good food and spending time with one another, several World Church leaders will share comments during the luncheon. Please plan to join us for lunch on Wednesday as we share together in fellowship! 
--The First Presidency

Interviews for the four enrichment group leaders were conducted on Monday, May 1, and Tuesday, May 2. The First Presidency expresses gratitude to all of the applicants for offering their ministries and gifts for consideration in these crucial roles.

The First Presidency is pleased to announce the following people as enrichment group leaders:

Susan Naylor: Legal, Fiscal Services, HR, etc.
Shelley Ruhlman: Volunteer Services
Jane Watkins: Message Shapers and Deliverers
Carina Wilson: Facilities, Events, Guides, Historic Sites, etc.

We look forward to the ministry that these people will bring to the pastoral care, advocacy, and holistic development of their enrichment group members.

Interviews for all other posted positions are currently being conducted. As these positions are filled and applicants are notified, staff announcements will be made. We know everyone is anxious to hear the results as quickly as possible. However, it is important that all applicants involved in the process are personally notified of the results before a staff announcement is made.

Recently several positions were identified as existing positions that will be part of the redesign. These positions were announced so that the incumbents could serve on the Mission Support Ministries Implementation Team. Originally, the World Ministries Coordinating Team (WMCT) thought that no additional information regarding incumbents would be available until the redesign is completed in June. However, recent conversations within the WMCT have made it necessary to identify four additional existing positions that are critical in the continued formation of the church’s understanding of Temple Ministries in preparation for the 2007 World Conference.

In the spirit of providing information to staff as soon as it is available, the WMCT is announcing the following additional Mission Support Ministries incumbent positions: Carolyn Brock (Spiritual Life Ministries specialist), Sandee Gamet (Conflict Mediation specialist), Jan Kraybill (principal organist and director of music), and Lachlan Mackay (Historic Sites coordinator). Additionally, we are pleased to announce that Kenneth McLaughlin has agreed to serve on the Temple Ministries Team, devoting a significant portion of his assignment from the First Presidency to this effort. As previously announced, the titles of incumbent positions may change and minor adjustments may be made to their responsibilities as the redesign is finalized.

The Council of Twelve have been meeting this week to continue work on the redeployment plans for the field. As plans are finalized and approved, information will be shared with individual World Church ministers affected by the plan. A staff announcement will be made no later than June regarding the final redeployment plan.

We have received comments expressing concern that complete answers are not being provided to the questions being asked. We are attempting to respond as directly to the questions as we understand the questions, and we are providing as much information as is available. If your question does not seem to be adequately answered, please contact Human Resource Ministries or the appropriate office to gain greater clarity.

Q: If our job is eliminated or we choose to leave, can our accumulated sick leave be donated to the leave bank? 

A:  Yes, this benefit applies to staff that accrue sick leave.  Contact Claire Smith, extension 2136, prior to your notification date and she will provide the paperwork and assist you and/or answer any questions you may have related to that donation.

Q: What are the procedures that are in place to be able to measure our success in the redesign?

A: Measuring success in the new design will occur in numerous ways. There will certainly be subjective, anecdotal measures as we listen to the stories about "how things are going" both at Mission Support Ministries and in the field. There will also be quantifiable measurements applied that will necessitate some focused data gathering. Perhaps the most significant measurement though, will occur as we measure the degree to which specific objectives are met relative to the priorities of the church's mission.

Q: It was recently announced: "Additionally, we are pleased to announce that Kenneth McLaughlin has agreed to serve on the Temple Ministries Team, devoting a significant portion of his assignment from the First Presidency to this effort." What is the Temple Ministries Team?

A: The Temple Ministries Team was identified as one of the initial teams in the March 15, 2006, paper received by staff with redesign information. This team is charged with further developing our understanding of the purposes and uses of the Temple, and the ministries of the Temple, as described in Doctrine and Covenants Section 156. The team will be making recommendations to the First Presidency about ways to enhance and add to the uses and ministries of the Temple, with the understanding that the Temple and its ministries are for the whole church throughout the world. The team will also assist in the development of some of those ministries.

Laurel Club Celebrates 100 Years of Service - The First Presidency of the Community of Christ is hosting a reception, Sunday, May 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Laurel Club dining room and Auditorium lower assembly room to celebrate the Laurel Club’s 100^th year of service. The First Presidency will make a presentation at 4 p.m. during the reception.

Laurel Club has brought people together from many nations for visits over meals. Someone may have met the person they married while eating a meal together and many acquaintances have been rekindled. So many families have given hours and hours of service with this organization.

If you have a favorite Laurel Club memory or story, or would like to send a congratulatory message, please send these to: Community of Christ, ATTN: Linda Rounds, 1001 W. Walnut, Independence, MO 64050 or LaurelClub@CofChrist.org. These messages and stories will be collected into a book to be given to the Laurel Club members. read more

Stop by the Continents Room Thursday, May 11, from 3 to 5 p.m. and share in a celebration of Danny Belrose’s retirement. Read Danny’s reflections over his year’s of service.

A video invitation to World Conference will be sent to field officers and reunion directors on DVD, and will be available at www.CofChrist.org/wc2007/ by June 1 to download. World Conference 2007, more than any previous Conference, will offer something for everyone. Plan to share this invitation to be part of a celebration with sisters and brothers from around the world. Photos: Top - Jaylene O'Keefe, Eectronic Media, films President Steve Veazey's invitation at Lake Doniphan campground in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Bottom - Communications Services' Jane Watkins takes still photos as Electronic Media's Cara Testerman (seated), Jaylene O'Keefe (at the camera), and Dirk Ellingson (at the hatchback) prepare for another take.

The "Statement on Torture" is being released by the Human Rights Committee in consultation with the World Church Leadership Council. It is available, along with discussion questions, in the May Herald and on the Web at www.CofChrist.org.

Every time you send an e-mail in GroupWise a copy of that e-mail is saved to your mailbox. Just like your Inbox, the Sent Items folder needs to be cleaned from time to time. This article will show you the steps you can take to delete old or large sent mail items.

Please take a few moments this week to do some spring cleaning on your Sent Items folder. In particular, we ask that you delete any sent mail with large attachments. Typically those attachments are already located on your C:\ drive or on the M:\ drive. Having these attachments in your Sent Items folder increases the number of places the same document appears, thus taking up a lot of disk space. Please note that deleting these messages from the Sent Items folder does not delete the file from your C:\ drive or the M:\ drive, it only removes from your mailbox.

If you have any questions about the following steps or would like someone to step you through the process, please do not hesitate to contact the RIMS Help Desk (extension 1234 or InfoSys@CofChrist.org).

To help us recover the disk space used for these messages, you are encouraged to empty your trash folder. To empty your trash, right-click on the Trash folder ( Trash) and select “Empty Trash.” Please note, this will delete all mail messages in your trash folder and permanently remove the mail from the system. This action cannot be undone. As above, you may be presented with a Delete Item dialog, shown above. As in step #4, select the option “My Mailbox.”

(Optional Step) To help us recover the disk space used for these messages, you are encouraged to empty your trash folder. To empty your trash, right-click on the Trash folder ( Trash) and select “Empty Trash.” Please note, this will delete all mail messages in your trash folder and permanently remove the mail from the system. This action cannot be undone. As above, you may be presented with a Delete Item dialog, shown above. As in step #4, select the option “My Mailbox.”

Thank you for helping us keep our mail system running efficiently! Again, if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact the RIMS Help Desk.

Celebrate Harry S. Truman's birthday on the Independence Square Saturday, May 6.