Friends,
Here's my first crack at a time-honored tradition.
First, let me thank you for trusting me to cover some of Joel's duties this summer while he is on sabbatical.
I will take this opportunity to reiterate my responsibilities:
I will help with worship coordination, assist any of the worship participants who need help, convene the 9:30 Sunday morning run-through of the service and convene the announcements at the end of the service.
I will attend the weekly staff meetings on Tuesday morning to see what things may need my attention.
I will meet with Worship Commission, Shepherding Team and Ministry Council.
I will be on-call for pastoral care needs except on Mondays when the staff has suggested that I continue Joel's practice of taking a Sabbath away from any responsibilities.
Office hours: I will most likely be in on Tuesdays consistently, approximately 10a-3p. I probably will spend time in the office on Thursday mornings to be available to troubleshoot any worship service planning issues. Otherwise, I will be in and out of the office as needed.
My goal is to make as few mistakes as possible and even try to help keep things running smoothly.
I already made one bit of a mistake that I would like to clear up. During announcements this past Sunday I was asked if we would be masking at the plant sale on Saturday. While I stated several times that outdoor exposure is unlikely, I did say that the workers would be wearing masks. That was the wrong thing to say. I should have said, " Any worker who wants to wear a mask should do so."
I think that the pandemic has changed us at a deep level and we will always be assessing risk factors. At CMC we want to leave space for everyone to follow what they think is safest practice for themselves and each other. In the case of an outdoor event like the plant sale, it probably would be just as safe to limit the length of conversation with any one person and to always stand back a ways from people. With those simple precautions, which probably are programmed at the cellular level in each of us by now, we will likely be very safe at an outdoor event. But please, anyone who wants to wear a mask should do so.  We will have masks and hand sanitizer available for workers and customers.

With that huge clarification, let me move on, hoping to make as few mistakes as possible!!
Please help me in any way you see fit.

See you at the sale!
Robin