Even though I've pretty much been out of the loop this past month, this is where I see us right now.
• Leadership Team. The biggest challenges facing the Governing Board at the moment are simply finding the right officers to fill out next years vacancies, and pulling together a workable Finance Council in order to address our on-going budget challenge. At the moment these tasks probably seem a lot more daunting than they really are. We have the talent, and we have the resources too; we simply need to find the time, the commitment, and the shared sense of purpose to pull them all together. We have all these things as well, of course -- and when they DO come together, we're all going to feel a lot more relaxed.
• Worship Team. The way that our short-handed Worship Committee has come together to fill out the remainder of the program year, and to segue seamlessly into our summer service schedule is admirable. I know that behind the scenes not all has always gone smoothly, but the impression of people in the pews on Sunday morning is that we haven't missed a beat.
• Pastoral Care Team. The team of caregivers that has come together around helping me and my family during my illness is truly impressive. And one of my greatest concerns about being ill is the way it has effectively prevented me from meeting my own responsibilities as a pastoral caregiver. So my great hope is that we can in some way utilize some of the momentum that has been generated around my illness in order to offer these same services to other members of the congregation who require them.
I envision our "Pastoral Care-Ring" as a set of concentric circles, or perhaps a pyramid with a solid foundation (or outer circle) of volunteers willing to offer specific services (like providing transportation or preparing a meal), a smaller group of Care-Ring Coordinators who match these services to the people who need them, and finally a more highly-trained group of Pastoral Visitors who work with me and our chaplain(s) to provide the kind of one-to-one Pastoral ministry that even the members of a very large congregation should be able to count on from their faith community.
• Staff Support. One very obvious problem that has emerged during my illness has to do with communications. Because I routinely attend meetings of the Governing Board, the Trustees, and various other key committees, I am also typically in the position of being able to answer questions Barbara or other staff members may have about those activities. But once I became ill, not only was I not around in the office to answer those questions, I no longer had the information either!
There's no quick and easy fix to this problem, but something I think might help would implementing the practice of sending "Quick Minutes" by e-mail immediately following key church committee meetings. These Group e-mails should be clearly identified as such, follow a standard format, and contain the following information: 1) decisions on any "Action" items. 2) the name of the Contact Person responsible for carrying out that particular activity 3) any building use implications (i.e. date/time/room). They should be sent to every member of the Committee itself, along with ccs to office@firstparishportland.org and minister@firstparishportland.org. I don't think this will solve the problem entirely, but it may mitigate it somewhat.
I likewise want to commend Barbara, Rebecca, Charlie and Moe for all going the extra mile during my illness. We are a small staff as it is, with way more to do than time to do it. Seeing how they have all continued to do their own jobs well, while at the same time pitching in to cover for me, is both gratifying and a cause of concern. I'm certain whatever additional assistance we can provide for them would be very appreciated.
• Music Director Search. This is something that has basically come to a standstill while I've been out of commission. My hope is that once I am released from Rehab and have begun my Chemotherapy, that the Search Committee will convene and put together a process to have a permanent Music Director in place to begin in the Fall.
• My Timetable. Clearly, this is proving to be a little unpredictable. But given my current understanding, I expect to be in Rehab for another week or two following Sunday's Installation, and then to be discharged into some form of Assisted/Independent living situation, most likely at Seventy Five State Street, where I will be able to receive prepared meals and transportation to my medical appointments as well as enjoying accessible living quarters. Depending upon how much mobility I recover, at some point I may be moving to my study at the Eastland Park Hotel, or to an accessible guest room in a private home. Likewise, in July I will have to make up my mind about whether or not to give up my apartment on Carleton Street at the end of my lease and find more accessible permanent living quarters.
The chemotherapy itself is scheduled to last for approximately 12-18 weeks, and consists of 4 to 6 three-week cycles of two weeks treatment and a week of rest. At the end of that period, there is very little statistical advantage in continuing the same treatment, so another assessment is conducted and a decision made about whether to: a) wait, watch, and do nothing until the cancer recurs; b) begin an alternate form of follow-up treatment; c) begin palliative care. Obviously, nobody can predict what kind of outcome I will receive as a result of my treatment, but my hope is that I will be at the high end of the bell curve, and feeling healthy enough to return to work full time in September.
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