January 27, 2006

connecting the Community of Christ Mission Support Ministries community

Announcing Team Charters

New working teams are being chartered and approved through the World Ministries Coordinating Team (WMCT). As the organizational redesign is implemented, team members may change. Teams are chartered for a variety of reasons and will serve varying lengths of time.

The Mission Support Ministries Redesign Team has been formed. The charter for the redesign team names the following tasks:

 The team will begin their work in February. Redesign team members include: Jenn Killpack, Steve Jones, Mike Hoffman, John Pinkerton, Stassi Cramm, Dave Brown, Kathy Marek, Scott Murphy, Ron Harmon, David Schaal (team leader).

 The Temple Ministries Exploration Team has recently been chartered. The team purpose is to lay a foundation of understanding and possibilities with regard to Temple ministries that can assist the Presidency in giving guidance to the church in such a way that Temple ministries will regain a key place in the life of the church. Team members include: Andrew Bolton, Carolyn Brock, Yola Compier, Mary Jacks Dynes, Gwen Hawks-Blue, Ken McLaughlin, Ken Robinson (team leader), and Donna Sperry. 

A Communications Planning Team has been chartered to better coordinate the frequency, content, audience targeting, and methodology of our communications to members, leaders, and friends. There is also a need to communicate more effectively with the entire church in multiple languages. The team is charged with

Team composition includes: Tom Anderson, Paul Davis, Jim Hannah, Mike Hoffman, Susan Naylor, Jaylene O’Keefe, Sue Sloan, Jerry van Rossum, and Jane Watkins (team leader).

The 2007 World Conference Steering Team is chartered to design and deliver the objectives of the 2007 World Conference. The purpose of the 2007 World Conference is for representatives of the worldwide church to spend sufficient time together to significantly shape the church’s understanding of its identity, message, and mission priorities through community formation, dialogue, prophetic discernment, worship, fellowship, and legislative sessions. Opportunities are also provided for discipleship/ministerial skills enrichment and networking. The Conference is planned and will be conducted in a manner that affirms a sense of inclusion for all generations, languages, and cultures where the church offers it ministry and witness. Team members include: Dave Brown, Sandee Gamet, Jane Gardner, Mike Hoffman, Louie Jorgensen, Bob Kyser, Bruce Lindgren, Cathy Loving, Diane Martin, Gregg McDonald, John Pinkerton, Shelley Ruhlman, Sue Sloan (team leader), Art Smith, Larry Tyree, Jane Watkins, and Dave Wheaton.

Redesign Updates

The details below are a revision of the severance offerings that were detailed in a memo from the First Presidency dated 11/9/2005. The changes are an enhancement of the earlier guidelines and are particularly reflected in an increased notification period for separations. Please read this carefully. If you have questions, feel free to contact Kathy Marek in Human Resource Ministries at ext. 2356.

Early Retirement
Announcement letters were sent on January 20, 2006, to all staff meeting the criteria for this offer. If you think you qualify and have not received a letter, please contact Human Resource Ministries immediately.

Voluntary Separation
(This offer is for staff choosing to leave church employment for personal reasons.)
Staff accepting voluntary separation may do so beginning January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006. Voluntary separation is available to all staff. Actual dates of notification and separation will be mutually agreed on by the staff member and Human Resource Ministries. Staff will be relieved of their work assignments on the notification date but will continue to receive full pay and benefits at the regular pay intervals for two months beyond the notification date. Example: Notification date is July 1, 2006; salary and benefits would continue through August 31, 2006. Actual separation date would be August 31, 2006. In addition, in the final paycheck, staff will receive four weeks of severance pay plus an additional one week’s pay for every year of service after five years. Example: Years of service are 10. Staff member would receive four weeks’ pay plus an additional five weeks’ pay.

Involuntary Separation
(This is for staff whose position has been eliminated due to the redesign process.)
Staff members who are involuntarily separated will be released at various times from July 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006. Actual notification and separation dates will vary depending on the implementation of the redesign. Staff will be relieved of their work assignments on the notification date but will continue to receive full pay and benefits at the regular pay intervals for two months beyond the notification date. Example: Notification date is July 1, 2006; salary and benefits would continue through August 31, 2006. Actual separation date would be August 31, 2006. In addition, in the final paycheck, staff will receive four weeks’ severance pay plus an additional one week’s pay for every year of service after five years. Example: Years of service are 10. Staff member would receive four weeks’ pay plus an additional five weeks’ pay.

Vacation
Staff members who accrue vacation will receive payment for any accrued, unused vacation time. That amount will be added to the final check. Staff members who do not accrue vacation will receive vacation pay equal to one year’s vacation allocation based on their years of service per church policy. That amount will be added to the final check.

Benefits
At the completion of the month following the date of separation (e.g., separation date is August 4, the completion of the month is August 31), the benefits no longer available to separated staff include, but are not limited to, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance, and long-term disability insurance.

Oblation Funds
Oblation assistance is available to staff with additional needs. Staff members may contact Rich Kohlman directly as an alternative to approaching congregational or mission center financial officers to have needs assessed.

Pastoral Support Groups/Counseling
Pastoral support groups and counseling are provided as needed and requested. For this assistance, contact Rich Kohlman, ext. 3060.

Outplacement Services
Outplacement counseling will be available. Specifics of this plan will be announced in a future communication and will be available only to involuntarily separated staff members.

News from Records & Information Management Systems (RIMS)

As you are aware, we have two vacant positions in Network Administration. In light of Mission Support Ministries redesign, we have engaged Tallgrass Technologies (“Tallgrass”), a local Information Technology (“IT”) provider, to help bridge this staffing gap until we can make the determination whether to continue pursuing hiring a staff member or outsourcing our network and server support.

James Costello, Tallgrass, will be onsite for the next four weeks to provided much-needed support for our network, GroupWise, and Netware administration. In conjunction, Tallgrass will be testing our network as part of a “health check.” Additionally, Tallgrass will be performing a study on the benefits and costs of adopting an outsourcing model for our network and server.

Many of you may be concerned how this affects Tracy Cahill and Ken Fann. Tracy and Ken's positions are not included in the outsourcing study, only the two open positions. Tracy and Ken will continue to report to me until such time as the Mission Support Ministry redesign takes place.

Please help me welcome our newest, albeit temporary, member of the RIMS team.

Peace and Light,
John Pinkerton

Volunteer Opportunities

Families are wanted for volunteer opportunities at the Temple and Auditorium to serve four times during 2006.Volunteer either on the fifth Saturdays of April, July, September, and December, or the or fifth Sundays of April, July, October, and December. History buffs, hospitality experts, and priesthood members are encouraged to apply. This is a great ministry to be shared by grandparents and grandchildren, aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews, or young adult groups looking for a challenge. Develop the volunteers your congregation will need in the years to come. As the volunteers will be blessed, so will the congregations in which they participate as they learn to greet visitors, share the Temple and Auditorium, practice phone skills, and help with special events.  Please contact Vicki Hosier Cash at 1-800-825-2806, ext. 2105, or vcash@CofChrist.org. Tom Sherman, Human Resources, is available to help those interested in other volunteer opportunities.

Recently Heard

Quite a few people have asked the question, “Are we shutting down the Auditorium?” and the answer is no. The Auditorium will continue to be used and events are being scheduled into the future.

New Resource Available

The start of the new year brings an excellent new study resource. Let the Spirit. . . , written by Donna Sperry, is also this year’s suggested reunion text. Let the Spirit… explores the many ways the Spirit leads us into a deeper and closer relationship with God.

Sperry writes, “Let the Spirit… has lived in me as a reality during the writing of this text, not just as a conceptual framework for a reunion text. The ‘…’ has been a lived experience. What is the Spirit doing in our lives and what is required for us to allow the Spirit’s movement in and around us? These are the questions of spirituality and they are the questions that will be addressed in this text, though they will likely not come close to being fully answered. For God continues to move in us and reveal new understandings as we engage more fully in our life with the Spirit.”

Available as a reunion text or for adult study, this new publication challenges readers to acknowledge the Spirit, which is fully present and leading them forward as the concepts presented here are explored.

Together we will “let the Spirit…” move through these limited words to take us all to deeper and more authentic places of Christian discipleship.   ISBN# 0830912126 $ 14.00

Thought You’d Like to Know

There’s still time to sign up for the Theology and Ministry Forum focusing on religion and public life February 10–11, 2006, at the Graceland University Independence Campus. Community of Christ president Stephen Veazey, Kansas City Star columnist and religion-ethics reporter William D. Tammeus, and theologian and Notre Dame sister Mary Ann Zimmer will share during the forum. For additional information and registration forms: www.graceland.edu/seminary.

Helpful Hints and Tips to Make Your Life Easier

Need help with phone or computer problems? Contact the Help Desk.  Help Desk staff are constantly monitoring the Help Desk between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, for e-mail and voice message requests. Requests (such as connectivity to the network, printer problems, access to applications, etc.) are given a work order number, prioritized, and then assigned to the person who can best address your request for help.

If you would like to check on the status of your Help Desk request, contact the Help Desk, and one of our staff will update you on the status of your request.

To contact the Help Desk by e-mail, use infosys@CofChrist.org as the e-mail address. To contact the Help Desk by phone, call extension 1234. You will then be prompted to select one of the following options:

1 – For membership records questions
2 – For accounting/contribution questions
3 – For technical help in the field
4 – For technical help at headquarters

If you call the Help Desk and don’t get a “live” person, please leave your name, extension number, and nature of your problem. We will respond to your call in a timely manner, usually within fifteen minutes.

How will you know if the Help Desk has received your request? You will receive an e-mail from our tracking system. This e-mail will give you the work order number, the priority, and when to expect a technician to contact you. If you have not heard from the technician in the timeframe, please feel free to contact the Help Desk by phone or e-mail to inquire about the delay or ask that the call be escalated, and we will keep you on the line while we locate a supervisor or another technician.

Below is a sample message created by Track-IT (our work-order tracking application).

In the example above, a technician will call John within two business hours to further evaluate the situation or schedule an appointment. Please note that the two-hour reference above is not when the problem will be fixed but when you can expect someone to contact you to begin addressing the issue. The message also shows the problem text under the heading “Description.” If John needs a quicker response or is calling for an update, the last line is a reminder to call the Help Desk at extension 1234.

Community News

Many folks around headquarters have supported the annual Salvation Army Crossroads Chili for Charity. This year’s 19th celebration lunch of community support is Tuesday, January 31, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m. The cost is $6 at the door for chili or vegetable soup, veggies, and homemade pie.

Ever wondered what that interesting knick-knack you purchased at last summer’s garage sale is actually worth? Come to the National Frontier Trails Museum on Saturday, January 28, from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. at 318 W. Pacific in Independence for the Antiques “Trail” Show Winter Appraisal. Cost is $5 per appraisal (limit two items). Treasures appraised by a professional dealer.

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