October 20, 2006

connecting the Community of Christ staff community

KCUR-FM's Up to Date radio interview

Tuesday, October 24 at 11:00am CDT
Restorative justice pioneer and Community of Christ 2006 International Peace Award recipient Howard Zehr and Nina Balsam, chair of the Missouri Restorative Justice Coalition, will be interviewed on radio station KCUR-FM's Up to Date with Steve Kraske of The Kansas City Star on October 24 from 11 a.m. to noon CDT. The show will air live on the Web at www.kcur.org and on radio station KCUR-FM 89.3 in the Greater Kansas City area. To listen after October 24, visit the Up to Date audio archives or get the podcast.

Space Allocation Review

Wednesday, October 25 at 1:30pm CDT
All IHQ staff is invited to a gathering at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 25, in the Continents Rooms. We will meet to review a draft of the Space Allocation Team and World Ministry Coordinating Team's recommendation for office relocations. This will not be teleconferenced or webcast since it is about space for those assigned in Independence. 

2006 Peace Colloquy - Justice for Everyone: Reframe, Repair, and Restore

October 27-29
The 2006 Peace Colloquy explores how restorative justice is real justice and leads to safer communities.  Restorative justice is less expensive and more effective.  It offers more hope for accountability and transformation of the offender, and healing of victim and community.  This Peace Colloquy is a partnership between justice professionals, not-for-profit organizations, and faith communities.  You are personally invited to attend.

Community of Christ International Peace Award

Friday, October 27 at 7:30pm CDT
Howard Zehr is the recipient of the 2006 Community of Christ International Peace Award. He will receive the award during a live webcast at the 2006 Peace Colloquy, October 27–29, at the Temple in Independence, Missouri, USA.. He will be the 13th recipient. Read more about Zehr’s pioneering work in restorative justice.

Ethnic Ministries Retreat

Ethnic ministers from around the United States will gather at the Temple following the Peace Colloquy to focus on ethnic ministry opportunities within the church. This retreat is sponsored by the Community of Christ Diversity Team.

Meetings on Wednesday, November 8

These two meetings will take place in the Temple Continents room. To accommodate those who work the evening and night shifts, 2.5 hours of overtime have been approved. Please share this information with those not on e-mail.  

• International Headquarters Staff
  1:30-3 p.m. CST - Communication Expectations for International Headquarters
  Dave Schaal will be facilitating the next staff discussion on shaping communication expectations for International Headquarters. We will continue to refine the information gathered at the October 5 gathering. This meeting will be available via teleconference for headquarters staff in the field. Those details will be distributed by Enrichment Group Leaders.
   
• Field and International Headquarters Staff (those eligible for benefits in the United States)
  3:30-4:30 p.m. CST - Open Enrollment Presentation
  Human Resource Ministries will introduce Open Enrollment benefit changes for 2007. This information is only applicable to staff eligible for United States benefits. Health plan changes, Flexible spending account information, and the dental plan will be reviewed. The time period for Open Enrollment is November 8 through 30 with changes effective January 1, 2007. This presentation will also be available via teleconference and webcast. Watch your e-mail and upcoming NewsPEACE editions for specific teleconference details and webcast links.

Orientation Period

At the October 12, 2006, World Church Human Resource Committee meeting the decision was made to begin the new orientation period for those in positions created by the redesign at International Headquarters on January 1, 2007. The January 1 orientation start date will allow staff to use the next several months for transition tasks before any evaluation takes place—defining new roles, settling into new space, and learning new organizational processes.  This decision does not impact the October 1, 2006 compensation retro date.  All staff in incumbent positions will continue to have their annual review (MAS/SDS).

According to policy 204 in the Staff Manual, a new orientation period is started each time a staff member is promoted, transferred, or has a change of category. The orientation period for staff assistants is six months with a review at three months and six months. Staff executives have a year-long orientation period with evaluations at six and twelve months. Following the orientation period, all staff will have annual evaluations. Enrichment group leaders will carry the main responsibility for staff evaluations with input from various team leaders.

If you have any questions about the new orientation period, please contact Human Resource Ministries or your Enrichment group leader. 

Interim Office Moves

Before the bulk of office moves later this fall, there will be several instances where staff will need to relocate sooner. The Technology Support team has created the following process to provide timely support for these moves.

• All move requests need to come from Enrichment Group Leaders.
• E-group leaders will submit move requests to the Help Desk.
• Technicians will contact the person moving no later than one business day following the Help Desk request. Due to other team obligations, the actual move may not get scheduled for 3 to 7 days.
• When the move request includes a new phone extension, do not give out a new number until that specific extension has been reassigned by the Technology Support Team.
• All computers no longer in use will be wiped clean and prepared for re-use. If files that might be important to others are on the hard drive, make sure they are moved to the department folder or team folder before turning in the old computer. Likewise, user folders and share folders such as the Transfer folder will be removed from the network when a staff member leaves IHQ. If documents are important to share make sure they are moved to the department or team folder before those folders are removed.

If you have questions contact Steve McCrosson at ext. 3074, or at smccrosson@CofChrist.org.

Open Positions

There are several open positions funded by local and headquarters budget. Additional information, job descriptions, requirements, and application instructions are available at each link.

International Headquarters

• Maintenance – Nauvoo

Field Positions

• Field Specialist (Youth/Young Adult Minister) Europe 

Local Positions

• Pastor - Council Bluffs, Iowa

• Pastor/Church Planter – Carlsbad, California

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