[Magdalen] Please pray for Ascension, Chicago

[Lynn Ronkainen]

Often the new rector does give a private "heads up" to allow employees that grace period to seek employment and leave on their owe. Either way the employees in place would have been told by the search committee or more probably the vestry. If they were not I hope it was not done on purpose. Change ISO HARD HARD HARD. Not yelling just sayin'. 
Lynn

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 17, 2015, at 3:41 PM, Roger Stokes <roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com> wrote:

> On 17/01/2015 13:26, Lynn Ronkainen wrote:
> I understand your point more than I did at first David. Were this a cathedral there might be more chance of retaining status quo in some areas. It is always possible that there are other details in the mix unknown by many. Change IS hard. Being able to see the vision of someone new is often difficult especially when it seems incongruent.

I wonder if that particularly applies to the departure of the administrator.  Obviously I have no way of knowing if this applied at Ascension but it is not unknown for administrative staff to seek to thwart the intentions of those who are meant to be leaders.  (In a different context this was an ongoing theme in the BBC TV series "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister". )

The Rector is there to lead the parish and the administrator to provide support in putting his and the vestry's policies into effect.  Any attempt on the part of the administrator to impose their will is /ultra vires/, though they can and should draw attention to any organizational issues the decision-makers need to be aware of.  If the administrator seeks on a number of occasions to overrule the official policy then that relationship needs to be terminated.  At the same time the process behind the termination may well remain confidential.  A frequent method in this country would be a compromise agreement whereby the employee receives a lump sum settlement and, basically, both sides agree not to say anything negative about the other and to keep the detail of the arrangement (the amount paid, etc.) confidential.

Roger