Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Musings After Monday

Congratulations to Ron Kesicki who finished the Dutchess County Classic Half Marathon in 1:52:13. That's just over 8 1/2 minutes per mile--a VERY respectable pace!

This week we're replacing incandescent bulbs at church and manse with compact fluorescent fixtures. It will cut our lighting costs dramatically, with payback in less than a year. Yesterday, while the lighting guys were at the manse, we had a plumber there as well--replacing the rusted-out flange and re-seating the toilet in the master bathroom. Thanks to Dave Dobson who did the messy investigatory work removing the toilet and calling the plumber.

Good meeting last night with Personnel Committee--Roe Gift (chair), Andy Bacon, Chris Dalrymple, Nancy Schmehl and Barbara Zinke. (Bert Fuqua was excused.) We made plans to bring the church personnel policies and procedures manual to completion, discussed a preliminary Interim Pastor Position Description and Work Objectives, and several other items. A reminder: If any church member has a concern about my work, please let me know with some direct feedback. If it seems like you're not getting through, the personnel committee will be there to listen. As I said to them, my goal is to make it easy for us to engage one another on personnel matters. And the first step is direct communication. (If you have issues with other staff members, please DON'T take it up with them. We can't have hundreds of supervisors. Instead, speak to me or one of the personnel committee members.) 

At the invitation of Manton Martin, I've attended two Monday lunch meetings of the Chappaqua Rotary Club (learning how wide-spread is the Town of New Castle, and the significance of different mailing addresses). Joining a service club was a requirement in my previous interim in Middletown, NY, and I found that I enjoyed the weekly connection with a friendly group of community-minded persons (most of whom were non-church members). It gave me a chance to learn what the rest of the community was hearing and thinking about our church, and it added some very useful resources to my panoply of options. If they'll have me, I expect to be joining the Rotary. But I'll also be happy to join you at your club if you'll invite me. Like most Presbyterians, I dearly love to eat with others.

--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor

PS: I'm missing Pastor Jim Poinsett already!

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