I received some feedback recently that made me consider the content of my Pastor’s Notes. Since I only see each Mass once-a-month, this note is the primary place where most of our parishioners hear from their Pastor. And these notes focus almost exclusively on the business of the parish, on rules and changes and the like, and very rarely on Jesus or prayer or Christian living. Having thought about it, I am going to continue in this way, because changes and policies do need to be communicated, but if you would like to hear from me on more transcendental things, please remember that I podcast my homilies at https://moorejesus.podbean.com/. Now, on to the business!
Wireless Systems
The first and last time I ever rented an apartment (summer of 2009), I remember very distinctly a choice that I made. I had just walked in, and the place was completely empty. I needed to think through bedding, food, kitchen supplies, utilities, the whole shebang. The choice was what to prioritize first and, as a computer engineering major, there was no question: internet first, everything else later. To the point that as it was getting dark outside, I was sitting on the wood floor of an empty living room, stomach growling, thinking “Huh, I wonder what I am going to do for dinner? But I am so close to getting my e-mails!”
Which is a long introduction to the fact that we are starting to spend significant time trying to figure out how to update the WiFi systems in the Ferndale buildings (all four) and the Assumption office. (Lynden and Sacred Heart seem fine). In Ferndale, the issue is two-fold: (1) the network connection between the office and classrooms is weak, due to the wireless bridge being mounted in the attics of the buildings, rather than outdoors in line-of-sight and (2) each building only really has one access point. At Assumption, the issue is that we are trying to upgrade wiring in a 100+ year-old building, and the fact that we have to run cables to four different stories makes things particularly expensive.
In both cases, we could definitely use a recommendation for a low-voltage electrician or someone who can professionally run cables. Electrical is a specialized service, so we understand that their hourly rates are very high. But it is hard for us to justify paying the super-high electrician’s rate (which seems appropriate for voltage that can kill you), just to run ethernet cables (which are far less dangerous).
Staffing
Another chunk of my time is currently being occupied by continuing the plan for our staff reorganization. We now have two regional employees (Regional Director of Facilities – Bert Bertschinger, Regional Director of Finance – Elizabeth Ames) and are in negotiations with two more (Regional Director of HR and Executive Assistant for Clergy). After that, I have one final regional employee I would like to hire – a Regional Director of Operations – and then I need to redo all the job descriptions for local employees to reflect the fact that so much will now be done regionally. With the exception of Bert, all of these changes are merely internal adjustments of current employees. I promise I will provide a very long, detailed, and chart-filled post on whatcomcatholic.org when things are more certain.
Some of you may be curious why staffing, of all things, has been my highest priority for two months. Some parish families, for example, have prioritized socials and gatherings, or even retreats and listening sessions. And Lord knows our poor liturgical ministers are at their wits’ end will all of these different priests rotating through. The reason to focus on staff is twofold: (1) I know that neither myself, nor even our team of priests, can be present to every need in Whatcom County – the staff ends up fielding the great majority of needs and questions. If I can take care of our staff, and get them working well as a unified system, then I will be significantly more confident that our people are going to be taken care of even as our priests are stretched thin. (2) To use an industrial analogy, if you have to choose between making something by hand, or buying a machine that can make something 10 times faster (and also while you sleep), you want to purchase that machine as quickly as possible. If I can get the staff in place, well-trained, feeling supported, then they can do 10 times the work on these other projects than I could do if I jumped into them now. After the staff are in place, my next priority is to get the Partners in the Gospel process going, starting with a series of meetings with our Pastoral and Finance Councils. Hopefully we will be in a place to focus on that in October. Once that process is going, I think a liturgical manual is in order, for our poor, patient liturgical ministers and priests.
Fr. Moore 