What do the staff do during the pandemic?
Ulla Marie Gunner stated that there is a concern in the congregation about the activities and that there is a need to explain the staff’s situation to the congregation. She reported on the pandemic and how it affects the congregation’s work. Many of the staff work remotely, in accordance with the recommendations from FHM. Some come in a couple of days a week, often in connection with recordings. Some staff work more than full time, others are calmer. Due to this, it has been possible to cover for vacancies and sick leave. Resources have been redirected and staff have sometimes had to go into other tasks. A lot of time has been spent switching the work to digital channels. An activity in change, but an activity that is actually going on, but in a different form. Some employees have had COVID 19, some have been really ill, others have had the disease but without knowing it.
Congregational meeting
An important point in the board meeting was preparation for the congregation meeting, on 24 January. Everything from technology, possible interactivity, voting results with accompanying communication to the way forward, after the end of the congregational meeting. The possibility of an extra board meeting, if such is considered necessary, was also discussed.
An open / open church
Every day there are staff in the church that people can contact if needed. From January 31, the church will be open on Sundays, between 13 – 15, for those who want to come to the church room for personal devotion. Wednesday’s opening hours, 13 – 14.20 continue. A long discussion followed about the possibility of being a church in pandemic times. The board instructed the the senior pastor, together with all staff, to shed light on opportunities for an open / opener church, and to report this back to the board in our February meeting.
Electronic voting
Isaac Wang and Cathrin Sjöström are leading the development work that, hopefully, will lead to electronic voting in real time. Cathrin informed the board, and the plan is that this voting procedure will be able to be tested at the congregational meeting in March and be in full operation until our annual meeting in April.
Revision of constitutional and organizational documents
The Board has commissioned a group (Claes Jonsson, Peter Dobers and Miriam Olsson) to review the congregations constitutional and organizational documents. This is a large and important job that requires high quality and will take time. The idea was that the work would be ready for the annual meeting in 2021. This has proved impossible and the board accepted the delay.
Operations business plan
The congregations current business plan expires and a new one is now being developed. The issue of a new business plan is owned by the three business councils, together with the process leader, the board’s vice chairman Emma Darelid. The annual meeting has to take a position on the new plan.
Staff news
Diaconal work has been heavy during the pandemic year 2020. To meet the needs, the congregations diaconal department has been expanded with a diaconal assistant. Her name is Frida Fritzon and she will work at 75 percent from April 15, 2021.