Working with Church Office Staff

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Working with Church Office Staff
Guidelines for Committee Chairs and Church Leaders

Newsletter
- Deadline is noon of the 3rd Sunday of the preceding month. Articles are cheerfully accepted prior to deadlines.
- Articles in electronic form, via email or on disk, are especially welcome. Submit to newsletter editor Pam Johnson(PamJnsn@aol.com) or to the church office (liberalfaith@olyuu.org).
- Submit articles in writing. Drop off at the church office or in the folder outside the office labeled Newsletter. Fax is acceptable too (360-352-4594, church or 360-866-1810, editor).
- No articles by phone please.
- Flyers, surveys (enclosures in the newsletter, church sponsored events only)
  - Do your own typing and paste up or bring it on disk to the office by the deadline.
  - The newsletter can accommodate at most one 8-1/2 sheet extra per issue. Call the administrator one week in advance to reserve space for your insert.
Sunday Announcements
- Announcements that are to be printed in the Sunday program are due in the office by noon on Wednesday. The administrator will prioritize announcements and include as many as possible in the space available.
- Announcements that are to be read during Sunday worship should be dropped off at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the service. Limited time is available for announcements. The board greeter will read announcements at his/her discretion.
Photocopying
- Limit photocopying to items that are absolutely necessary. Use a distribution list on one copy of a document to save on paper and toner. Budget over-runs can be traced to heavy copier use.
- The church's photocopier is available for committee copying Monday through Thursday during church office hours and on Sunday mornings. Please do not expect to complete a large copy job on Sunday mornings.
- If you do not know how to use the copy machine please ask the administrator for assistance.
- For jobs requiring special size or special weight paper please use Kinko's, Office Max, or Olympia Print and Copy. Either pay for it yourself and request reimbursement or make arrangements with the administrator at least one week in advance of when job is needed.
Typing ,Mailing, Office Support
- The administrator handles all-church mailings as assigned by the board or minister. Committees should attempt to handle all of their own typing and mailing. The church office can provide the following:
  Postage
  Stationery
  Envelopes
  Labels
  Copier
  Folding machine
  Advice
  Encouragement
- Postcards and thank-you notes are available in the church office.
Consulting
- To consult with the church administrator for longer than a few minutes, please call and make an appointment. The church administrator can adjust work to accommodate you if enough notice is given.
- Please do not call the administrator at home about church business.
Facilities Use
- Reserve meeting space at church in advance. If you have borrowed a key from the church that does not mean you can schedule your own meetings.
- Secure all nine outside doors after each meeting.
- Clean up your own coffee cups, refreshments, spills, etc. Clean up supplies are found in the custodian's closet and in the kitchen.
- Return meeting rooms to the arrangement posted on the wall.
- Saturday night use of the sanctuary and RE classrooms may require special arrangements for Sunday set-up.
- A phone is available in the Susan B. Anthony Room. Long distance calls are not allowed unless you use a phone card.
Calendar
- All meetings and events must be scheduled in advance on the master calendar that is kept in the church office. A calendar posted in the hallway is for information only.
- Committee chairs are encouraged to attend board meetings in January and July where coordinated calendar planning is done for the church year.
Church Office
- The church office is the work space of the church administrator, the Associate Minister for Community Advocacy and the Community Advocacy volunteer.
- Please do not leave anything on the desk. Notes to the administrator can be left in the administrator's mail folder in the hallway or the administrator's mail box in the office by the copier.
- Please do not remove anything from the desk. This includes supplies from the shelves and desk drawers.
Mail Folders
- Mail folders are provided in the hallway by the office for committee chairs. Please empty these folders weekly. They are for communication and not for storage. This mode of communication saves the church money in postage and staff telephoning and email time.
- If you would like a mail folder for a special project or ad-hoc committee, please request one from the administrator.
Check Requests
- Please make check requests for payments from your budget line by completing and Expense Reimbursement Form, available in the folder outside the office. Please attach the original receipt.
- It may take up to two weeks to receive your check.
Requests for Childcare
- Requests for childcare for a meeting or event must be made one week before the event, to allow time for childcare providers to be scheduled. Please call Childcare Coordinator Susan Southwick (786-8092).
- The church has a childcare budget for church events that will cover the cost of this service. Church events must use the childcare staff that has already been screened by the church.
Other Staff
- The Reverend Art Vaeni manages his own calendar. Please call him to make an appointment.
- Interim Religious Education Administrator, Kathleen Arledge, Associate Minister for Community Advocacy, Bill Arensmeyer and Music Director, Troy Fisher manage their own calendars. Please call them to make an appointment.
- The custodian, and wedding coordinator are supervised by the administrator. Please call the administrator if you have requests, suggestions or questions.
- The Community Advocacy Program manages the church food bank and the emergency housing program. Call Bill Arensmeyer or Kay Engel for information.
Volunteers
- Office volunteers are welcome. Please inform the administrator of your interest. Most volunteer opportunities (stuffing envelopes, running copies, etc.) are on an on-call basis.
- See the administrator if you are interested in on-going tasks.
- Volunteer opportunities are available in Religious Education. Talk to the Director of Religious Education.
Reports and Budgeting
- The Annual Report is published in April of each year, to be presented to the congregation at the Annual Meeting in April. A summary of your committee's activities during the last calendar year will be included if you submit the information by the second Sunday in April.
- Budgeting is done during September of each year, and due to the Finance Committee by the first Sunday in October. Copies of previous year's budgets will be in your committee's mail folder, and also available in the church office or from the Treasurer. The congregation approves the budget at the Congregational Meeting in January.
- If a committee's budgeted funds are not spent by the end of the calendar year, the balance becomes available for another church use at the discretion of the board. January 1 starts the new fiscal year and a full budget line, as approved by the congregation.
  
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