Copyright © 2004 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee

Bishop Charles vonRosenberg noted in his address to the 2003 diocesan convention that staff had changed in the previous year and that efforts would increase to inform the diocese of who staff were and of their individual responsibilities.

In the year just completed, more change has ensued: Staff members for lay ministry (Rick Govan), youth ministry (Alex Haralson) and the Chapter & Verse Bookshop (Beth Anderson) have come on board, and Bookshop Manager Amy Morehous and Bishop's Deputy for Program Carolyn Dicer have taken their leave. In addition, Alice Clayton, Canon to the Ordinary and diocesan deployment officer, has decided to reduce her hours in order to address personal goals.

Recognizing that future change is inevitable, the Episcopalian has frozen a moment in time to introduce the diocesan staff in its current configuration.

Charles G. vonRosenberg
III Bishop of East Tennessee

"I have always said that my top priority is pastoral care for the clergy and their families," the bishop said, "That's primary for me, and it ties into the diocesan goals that I'm getting clearer about.

"My second priority is to empower congregations for their ministries and encourage individual Christians on their spiritual journeys," he said. "That involves a great deal of what I do in terms of weekly visits I make to congregations." The bishop also visits parishes during the week as he takes appointments, meets with vestries and celebrates new ministries and ordinations, among other duties.

He noted that with annual visitations to each of the nearly 50 worshiping communities in the diocese, he would be happier if the calendar year contained more than 52 Sundays. "It's frustrating for me," the bishop said. "I enjoy worshiping with congregations, I enjoy being present with them, [but] I don't have any vacant Sundays" to go to services around the diocese more often.

When asked how many miles he puts on his vehicle, the bishop said, "I've done 25,000 miles a year pretty consistently."

During weeks that he is in town, "I usually spend parts of three or four days at the office. Those times involve returning calls and answering mail, meeting with diocesan groups such as Bishop and Council, Commission on Ministry, Standing Committee and other committees of the diocese.

"Then another piece is my responsibilities beyond the diocese, because I'm a bishop of the church, not just of East Tennessee," he said, though that piece is less than 10 percent.

"Pastoral care for clergy would be 10-15 percent; visitations and direct involvement with congregations is about the same; staff work is 10 percent; and meeting with committees of the diocese is another 15 percent.

"If you put all those together, that's two-thirds of my time. Another piece is responding to crisis — direct involvement with parishes or priests," he said. "That percentage has been greater in the past six months than before."

Most of his preparation for talks and sermons is done at home. "I do some work in the morning before I come in, when I need to think without distraction; that's the best time and the best place to do it. I do some at night.

"In the Episcopalian after I was consecrated I said, 'I've been consecrated to do an impossible job' because a big part of my job is making decisions about which of my responsibilities I can fulfill and which I cannot — because there's more than any one person can possibly do," the bishop said. "That's an important reality, but it's not something I like to admit."

He said he does try to take "one day off a week fairly faithfully — I need to say my wife, Annie, is extremely supportive. We're a team."

And his class of bishops — those who were consecrated the same year, in 1999 — "is a very significant group for me, and I'm thankful for them," he said. "Over the course of the years, that group has become very close. We've come to depend on each other for counsel, just to be friends with each other."

If he should somehow find additional time, the bishop said he would reserve it for personal use. "My self-care and my tending to family responsibilities are things that have suffered. I'm very much aware of my aging parents and that I'm not with them as much as I'd like to be."

In responding to a question about regrets he said, "Two areas I would like to have emphasized more intentionally would be the relationship between the diocese and St. John's Cathedral and helping the diocese at large better grasp the potential of Grace Point."

Looking ahead, he said ministry activities will enable more quality time with people of the diocese over time. "It is true that the times I get to know people best is when we're doing ministry together," he said. "The times I have to spend with people at a more intense level have to do with sharing in ministry with them in things like lay ministry and in social outreach."

Tami Dyke
Bishop's executive secretary

Tami Dyke says fully half of her job at Diocesan House is devoted to responding to requests from staff, parishioners, clergy and others.

"The other half is split into thirds," she said. "One third is the bishop's correspondence, one third is keeping his calendar, appointments and arranging his travel; and the last third is planning for clergy days, conferences and the diocesan convention."

What aspect of her work does she enjoy most? "Interaction with people," she said without pause. "But 90 percent of that is through telephone calls and e-mail messages, and I'd like more opportunities to work with people 'in-person.' "

The job certainly can be difficult, but she says it could never become boring because "it changes every day."

Alice Clayton
Canon to the Ordinary and diocesan deployment officer

Alice Clayton smiles more these days. She's made a personal decision, with the bishop's support, to limit her work to Tuesdays through Thursdays, and she will focus that time on deployment. This frees creative time to make and market jewelry.

"This is new, this part-time thing, and I'm just going to have to see how it works," she says. "Deployment is either feast or famine. If I have two parishes that come open within a month of each other, then I spend a lot of time on the road, meeting with vestries and getting the search committee and its consultant launched. After that's done — most of what I do is from here.

"Deployment is the search process from absolute start to finish," she says. "For us, the finish comes at the end of the new rector's first year when the mutual ministry review is conducted by the parish's search consultant."

Clayton also acts as one of the three search consultants in the Middle East area of the diocese — there are two in the Upper East area and three in South East — and she also helps rectors to call assistants and guides senior wardens in calling interim rectors.

Over the four years Clayton has been diocesan deployment officer, she says she's completed approximately 15 searches for rectors and that at any given time there are usually four to five parishes involved in the process.

A new assignment comes her way with Carolyn Dicer's retirement: working with the Fresh Start program for clergy and parishes in transition. And late last year, she accepted a six-year appointment to the national church deployment board. In addition, "I'll continue to be the liaison with the Commission on Ministry, working with seminarians; the Standing Committee; and the Constitution and Canons Committee," she said.

She's uncertain how one previous role will play out. "We'll likely have somebody else who will be Secretary to Convention," she said. "In the past, it's been a layperson or a clergyperson who basically prepared the minutes. Staff took responsibilities for planning, coordinating and sending out mailings. We could go back to that model; we'll just have to see what evolves."

If she had extra time, she'd like to work with Mary Berl on a standard clergy compensation chart. "I'd also love to have more time to read and study and do continuing education. Also, it looks like [the search process] is a good time to help congregations in a deeper way come to know who they are. Rick Govan and I have talked about that."

Rosemary Davenport
Staff executive assistant and insurance administrator

Diocesan convention has been Rosemary Davenport's biggest concern of late. She said about a quarter of her job is handling duties for diocesan convention. "I maintain the database for convention delegates and registration. Right now, we have more than 325 people; 145 of those are delegates and 80 clergy. Others register ex officio — lay leadership, seminarians, clergy spouses, others.

"I help compile the delegates' book that has the rules of order, the nominations, resolutions, a list of all the clergy and delegates, the directory. The budget's in there, reports from committees," and other material.

During the two-day event, she divides her time between registration and sessions, where she serves as assistant secretary to convention. Afterward, she'll generate necessary letters and help produce the official record, the Convention Journal.

She says 40 percent of her job is as insurance administrator. That involves contract renewals, enrollments, terminations, Cobra, billing and changes in insurance for all those covered.

"We've got about 120 on the medical insurance — about 80 lay and 40 clergy. I handle life insurance, dental insurance and supplemental Medicare insurance" for covered clergy and lay church employees, she said. In addition, "I'm convener of the insurance committee, and I answer general phone calls about coverage and some questions about claims."

Another 5 percent of Davenport's job is keeping the camp reservation calendar for Grace Point. Camp Vicar Bo Lewis talks to interested visitors about the camp facilities, and those who want to make reservations call Davenport. "I've been doing that 'temporarily' for about two years," she says with a smile.

The final 30 percent of her work is "miscellaneous, mostly mailings," such as photocopying profiles and other deployment work for Alice Clayton; photocopying and mailing "Koinonia," the newsletter to clergy, each month for Sharon Rasmussen; distributing parish information reports; keeping reservations for the video equipment, checking messages when Lynn Lazlo is out, "and other things as they come up."

Mary Berl
Diocesan administrator

When asked about her job duties, Mary Berl's short answer is, "anything to do with money."

The longer answer starts with an explanation. "All of the money that goes to the office comes to me. A lot of it may not be part of our operating budget, but it flows through here — for example, UTO, ERD and Opportunity Fund grants."

She channels data to the treasurer of the diocese and to committees. "The treasurer is an officer of the corporation. I do all the day-to-day work and present to him the details to make decisions." She provides information on voluntary commitments to the Budget and Finance Committee and Bishop and Council, and she works with the property committee. "They're doing a fantastic job," she said.

Her job overlaps with other staff members, too. "Rosemary [Davenport] is responsible for much of the insurance, which is huge, but I'm responsible for getting all the money in and paying for it." She backs up the bookshop, logging the daily report and handling tax and sales tax returns and paying the bills, and she handles the diocesan payroll and staff benefits.

She's also available as a resource to parishes. "I work with churches to help them with their finances and to provide information for search committees — comparable church budgets or what they're paying clergy."

The past few years have included financial dealings in the realm of construction — "the new Diocesan House this year, and the previous year we built the vicar's house at Grace Point," she said.

And too, "the capital campaign took a lot of time for me."

A new duty is facility management of Diocesan House. "I handle phone needs and computer hardware; work with a computer consultant and maintenance people; and arrange the outdoor stuff — mowing and landscaping."

Recently, she tacked some office cleaning onto a finance-related job: "The year has ended, and I have to set all my 2003 receipts apart for the audit, then set up all my files for the new year. December and January tend to be for me the busiest months, because of the year-end things: getting a budget together ... preparing for convention," she said.

"I enjoy my work," she said. "I enjoy working on team projects — like convention — being part of a team effort."

Rick Govan
Lay ministry development director

Rick Govan joined the staff on April 1 of last year in a new position. He estimates 35 percent of his time thus far has been devoted to meetings and discussions with individuals and groups — both clergy and lay — "to explore strategies for shared ministry opportunities within the local parish and diocese."

A chunk of that exploration — about 20 percent of his time — has been in reading and researching, and in "discovering various methods and processes of ministry formation and alternative models of ministry."

About the same amount of work has gone into preparing for meetings and presentations, and another similar amount has been in "planning and committee meetings, travel within the diocese, conferences and workshops."

Govan said the remainder has been preparation for the March 27 diocesan Ministry Conference, though that likely will intensify as the date draws closer.

If he had more time, Govan said, "Initially, I would increase reading and researching by 25 percent." He most enjoys "experiencing excitement and enthusiasm among the laity when we discuss the responsibility and authority of the ministry of all the baptized."

"I have never experienced an 8-5 job and would probably be bored with that kind of routine," he said. "Fortunately, this job is nothing like that; it oftentimes involves work at night, on weekends and overnight stays in Knoxville or elsewhere. Because of that, I don't feel guilty if I 'sneak away' on a Tuesday afternoon to mow the lawn or go fly fishing!"

Lynn Lazlo
Staff administrative assistant and receptionist

"My biggest priority — about 40 percent of my time — is answering the phones, and when visitors come in, making them feel welcome," said Lynn Lazlo.

"Carolyn [Dicer] has had planned giving, stewardship, Christian formation, Appalachian Ministries and the Jubilee Commission. With her retirement, I will be available to heads of those committees to do their mailings, help with their brochures, help plan meetings and catering — to be their administrative person here in the diocese. That's 25 percent or so.

"Twenty percent is maintaining databases: the circulation list for the East Tennessee Episcopalian — making changes we get from post office returns or from people who move and inputting membership changes the churches send twice a year; the diocesan directory; the parish and clergy listings on the diocesan Web site; and the Legacy Society."

Lazlo said she sorts and distributes mail to the staff, acts as registrar for some diocesan events and is available to staff for computer work or mailing needs.

Beth Anderson
Chapter & Verse Bookshop manager

Beth Anderson began Feb. 1 as bookshop manager upon Amy Morehous' resignation. Anderson knows a lot of her time will go into ordering stock: "looking at the catalogs and figuring out what things will be good for our store." The bookshop accepts special orders as well. Other duties she ticks off: "Receiving and logging stock, taking Web orders, arranging the store."

She urges parishes to include the bookshop in newsletter mailings and to let her know when material is needed for a new study or program series.

She'd also like to increase work on advertising and volunteers. "We haven't done much promotion — I'd like to put bits in parish newsletters.

"I need volunteers badly; they get 10 percent off purchases, and every 75 hours they work, they get a shopping day at 25 percent off," she said. "Church libraries get 15 percent."

Periodically, the bookshop goes on the road: "We did a satellite store at Grace Point for Diocesan Day last year and one at convention. You have to know who's going to be there, what they'd be interested in, what to pull and what will need to be ordered ahead."

Then there are the gifts. "People want recommendations for confirmation gifts and for infant and adult baptism gifts. We get jewelry, pottery, music, cards and can order other things.

"The hours go really fast — you get behind, you stay behind, and it's hard to catch up," she says. "My favorite thing is meeting the people and getting to know them a little. The big thing is keeping the customers happy."

Sharon Rasmussen
Communication director

"I found in the minutes of a Bishop and Council meeting when the diocese was looking for a communications person that the primary responsibilities were to be the East Tennessee Episcopalian, the diocesan Web site and Koinonia, the newsletter for clergy.

"The Episcopalian probably takes 40 percent of my time. As editor, I plan the issues, work with people who submit material, edit the material, lay out the pages and send the issue to the printer. I also cover amd photograph some events and write some feature stories. There's always much more material than I can possibly get in.

"Another 35-40 percent of my job is as Web editor: I develop 'pages' about upcoming events — the diocesan convention and the Quiet Days at Grace Point, for example — and do updates as needed. I post diocesan publications on the site, including the Episcopalian, each year's convention journal, the constitution and canons and diocesan policies and procedures. I update the calendar and post new lectionary readings weekly, and most weeks the bishop will have a new sermon he preached at a parish visitation.

"As administrator of www.etdiocese.net, I set up parish Web-site directories, e-mail accounts and manage the majordomo e-mail lists that serve various groups. It amazes me not only how often people change their e-mail addresses but also how often something will quit working that worked fine yesterday. That's the part of the job that really has me gritting my teeth: trying to figure out why the software's doing something strange and how to fix it.

"One especially pleasant piece of the job is the Koinonia newsletter that goes to clergy once each month. It contains a letter from the bishop, prayer requests, clergy birthdays, deployment news and bits on workshops, events and news. I seek content from staff members and various church organizations, and I keep a file of mail and other notes that may interest the clergy. That's probably 10 percent.

"Another 5 percent or so is fielding media queries and contacting them to arrange coverage of diocesan news.

"As time allows, I assist staff in developing event promotion materials, read parish newsletters, attend parish events, scan newspapers from other dioceses and church organizations and respond to mail, e-mail, and calls.

"I lose track of time when I'm writing or developing a new Web page, but the most positive energy comes from attending events where I meet people and learn about their ministries. If I had more time, I'd go to more events."

Alex Haralson
Youth coordinator

The diocesan youth coordinator, Alex Haralson, has been at work less than a year. A pie chart of his current duties would be divided among retreats, the diocesan youth Web pages, networking and miscellany. "Right now I'd say the bulk of my time is keeping in touch with youth for the retreats — planning the events, coming up with forms, PR materials, getting them mailed out," he said.

"I classify the Youth Action Council meetings that we have once a month as that," he said, in addition to the start-and-end-of-school-year YAC overnights at Grace Point.

The diocesan calendar traditionally has included the Diocesan Youth Event, through which YAC gains new members; the Patterson Junior High Retreat; Happening, a nationally administered cloistered faith experience; the Senior High Retreat; and summer service projects. Every summer there also is a major provincial or national youth event as part of a three-year rotation. "This year is the Province IV youth event, which is mission-based, in Berea, Ky.," he said.

Haralson is about to take over the design for the youth Web pages, too. "I'm knee-deep in 'Adobe Classroom in a Book,' learning how to use the software," he said. "I think that piece is going to grow considerably over the next few months. [I want] to increase the use of the site by youth leaders ... to connect with the diocese, to look up resources, to keep information flowing between the parishes."

"I'd like to know what the youth leaders out there would like me to do for them," he said. "I'll be happy to come and program an evening of youth group, and I've got music resources. ... If a parish wants to complete a youth survey, I'll mail it out on request.

"Anybody who thinks this job is part-time is sadly mistaken," he says wryly. "If I were to keep myself to 20 hours a week, I'd never get anything done. If we have a three-day event, for example, that's 48 hours right there. And after it's done, there's always paperwork. ... Paperwork is my absolute least-favorite thing, and one thing I procrastinate on big-time."

He's set up an office at Tyson House on the UT-Knoxville campus, in order to connect youth ministry with campus and young adult ministries. "We're really good at losing track of parishioners when they graduate from high school and go to college," he said. "I think it's a gross misstatement to say that youth are the future of the church. ... that discounts what they're capable of right now."

The Rev. A.D. "Bo" Lewis
Vicar, Grace Point Camp and Retreat Center

"I just got back from the Episcopal Camp and Conference Centers' annual conference," said the Rev. Bo Lewis, vicar of Grace Point. "There are about 80 centers, and it's interesting to see how they operate. The bind some get into, if they're self-supporting, is that diocesan meetings have to be scheduled way in advance. They're so popular that they're booked up.

"I try to give hospitality to the people who come out to Grace Point; see what their needs are and help them whenever they need help. If they want a fire in the fireplace, I've split the wood and it's there, ready for them. If they use it up, I split some more.

"The workday usually starts about 6; the end depends on whether somebody's out here or not — usually about 5:30. I spend most of my days keeping the buildings in good repair, cleaning them and ... such things as mowing grass and fixing roads. It's almost entirely physical upkeep."

In answer to a question about whether some duties bring out a tendency to procrastinate, he said it's more that he has trouble finishing things: "I start something and then something else intervenes, and I have to go take care of that. For example, I was rebuilding a cattle gap across the road and the clergy were coming, so I needed to have the van running to shuttle them up — all those cars can't park at the house — but the van's battery was dead, so I had to charge the battery, and one thing and another, I haven't gotten back to the cattle gap yet. I've got about five projects going like that.

"The only things I'm not responsible for now are the reservations and the bookkeeping. I do everything around there that I can do, and if I can't do it, I call somebody who knows about electricity or plumbing or machines.

"I enjoy the hospitality most: seeing that people are having a good time. Some have remarkable experiences here. I hear from parents that children at summer camp have a wonderful time and say they feel the presence of God.

"If I had extra time, I would try more to raise funds. It would be great to be able to put more time into that. We need to figure out how to get the word out.

"If I had extra time, I'd also try to take some time off. I can't go very far because I can't be gone long and I need to be here when the place is reserved.

People should call me if they want to know about the facility. And if somebody just wants to come out, call me on the cell phone — (865)567-1159 — I'm never at the house."

The Rev. Chris Chase
Canon for Higher Education and chaplain, Tyson House

The Rev. Chris Chase accepted the bishop's invitation to lead campus ministries at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, about 1 1/2 years ago.

These days, he says half the job is management of Tyson House: "smoothing residents' egos, making sure light bulbs work, money, bills, maintenance."

He classifies another quarter as networking — calling people and requesting assistance: "Hey, could you cook for us this Wednesday?" — and building support for ministry and program.

The remaining quarter is what he defines as actual campus ministry: "counseling students, worship and liturgy, Bible studies."

When asked how he might use a gift of more time, he says he'd like to increase his level of contact with the students.

His favorite thing? "Doing the liturgy, worship."

And the biggest headache? "Filling out forms."

Barbara Reed
"Protecting God's Children" administrator

Barbara Reed says she works two hours a week on average with the diocesan sexual misconduct-prevention training program.

She has had responsibility for developing the curriculum, though the national church is soon to provide a standardized program for use in all dioceses.

She and other trainers lead the sessions that are required for hired and volunteer staff who work in certain capacities.

"I do several sessions a year for specific parishes, schools or camps," Reed said. "I do the training almost every year for Camp Billy Johnson, Camp Gailor-Maxon and Grace Point."

Reed also watches court cases for decisions that have impact on laws, and she says she collects materials on issues — including rape, date-rape, stalking, elder abuse and other nursing-home issues, child-support laws and sexual exploitation through the Internet — that is then distributed through the training sessions.

"Volunteering to do sessions is part of my ministry," she said. "I do enjoy doing this kind of work."