"I'm Staying (!)" by Rev. Barbara Merritt

Thu Jan 4 08:42:49 CST 2007

M I N I S T E R ‘ S   M E M O

“I’m Staying (!)”

I have proposed to the Prudential Committee that starting February 1, 2007,
I will work half time, at half salary. My reasons for asking for a new work
schedule are both simple (and immediate) and complicated (and long-term.)
The simple reason for this adjustment is that I need to be able to spend
more time and some weekends with my husband. His recent illness has taught
me that I must have greater flexibility in my schedule. I want to be able to
enjoy his current good health with him. I still love being one of your
ministers. Just because I can’t do all the work that a full time position
requires doesn’t mean that I can’t continue to make a significant
contribution. The long-term issues were brought home to me in a recent
article in the Boston Globe about “extreme jobs.” Any job that regularly
requires 60+ hours a week, plus being on call 24/7 is defined as an “extreme
job.” I’ve enjoyed the intensity of this work for 32 years. But after
working 21 straight days last October without a day off, it became clear to
me that I needed a change.

I have not resigned. I have no plans to resign. I’m staying. So, I was
amazed to learn that one member of our parish heard, on good authority from
her Roman Catholic neighbor, that I had resigned as minister of our church!
Rumors don’t have to be true (anymore than does the vast amounts of
information found on the internet.) Rumors simply need to be interesting.
Some sociologists claim that gossip is a sign of a healthy, well-connected
community where people actually talk to one another and share opinions,
judgments and useful information. Only in the case of rumors, the
information is usually wrong.

As far as I’ve been able to determine, the source of this rumor was either:
1) The assumption that Tom being promoted from associate minister to a full
minister of this church meant that I had already resigned, or 2) my
intention in 2007 to reduce my hours.

A New Yorker cartoon depicts a grandfather on a park bench, instructing his
young grandson. His advice? “Learn to exaggerate. It’s the only thing that
makes life interesting.” This may explain why when I see a weather forecast
of “possible snow showers” I hear “a good chance for a blizzard.”
Advertisements for cars, plasma TVs and diet products usually promise a
great deal more happiness than they actually deliver. And rumors? Rumors
that circulate through churches and communities can take the smallest
fragment of something true, and then embellish, enlarge and /or manufacture
astonishing stories, fantasies and projections.

In contrast to exciting rumors, changing my ministerial hours may turn out
to be rather straightforward and uneventful. In each month I will work two
weeks (and two Sundays) and then take two weeks off. How will this affect
the congregation? Since this is an experiment, we will have to see how it
actually works in practice. But many good questions have been asked by your
elected leadership. Here are some of my expectations.

Will your preaching and memo schedule change? No. For the last two years Tom
and I have equally shared these tasks and will continue to do so. I will
continue to preach and conduct worship twice a month and write two Minister’
s Memos. I will not be in church on the other two Sundays.

Is Tom willing to work with this new arrangement? Yes. When I proposed this
to him, he offered his full support. This would not be possible without it.
Because I have seniority, I will continue as Senior Minister. Tom will
continue to work full-time.

Will you be available for funerals when you are on your two weeks off? Yes,
as long as I’m in town. I will be traveling with my new schedule, but I will
be more than willing to conduct a memorial service upon my return.

What are the church budgetary consequences? The church has been struggling
to maintain two full-time ministers. This should provide some relief to our
ongoing tight finances.

Has this been tried before? The first minister of this church, Aaron
Bancroft cut back on his hours after a long ministry. William Ellery
Channing in 1850 did the same. But this is new, and Tom and I are hopeful it
will be good for all of us.

What will change? Tom will take over all personnel and administrative
duties. I will be available for counseling, meetings and church activities
only for the two weeks each month when I am on “active duty.” The church
will no longer have two full-time ministers. This will mean less
minister-led activities in the 9:00 a.m. slot on Sunday morning, and more
opportunities for lay leadership and lay ministry.

In the weeks ahead, especially after church on Sunday, the Prudential
Committee and Tom and I will be available to answer questions, and to listen
to your hopes and concerns.

This church has a 222-year history of taking risks and trying out new ideas
and possibilities. One of the reasons I’ve stayed here for 24 years is the
willingness of this free church to not be bound by old models and rigid
forms. As we go forward together into a new year to explore a new way of
sharing the ministry, we may find that our best years are ahead of us. And
that might not be an exaggeration or a poetic turn of phrase. It might be
true!

                                    Barbara

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