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Being a Church Secretary
Lesley Wynne has served as Church Secretary at St Mark's Baptist Church, Easton in Bristol for longer than she cares to mention.
"I was incredibly young", she remembers. "I was in awe of the other people who had served before me, who were all in their 60s, 70s, or 80s. When I started I used to stand up and do the notices in the service - my hands were in a hot sweat. I'd still prefer to be out back doing the dishes than standing up and speaking in front of everyone.
"The role of Secretary at St Mark's has changed a lot over the years. We're not such a formal church now so it's not such a formal role. This is a good thing, as long as you do everything you're supposed to".
What exactly does a church secretary do?
Lesley contributed this exhausting - but perhaps not exhaustive list:
- Support the pastor and his or her family, and ensure their needs are fully met
- Enable/facilitate the smooth running of the church, from preparation for worship sessions to implementation of decisions from Church and Deacons' meetings
- Co-ordinate maintenance, policies and procedures, communications, and use of premises
- Organise correspondence, statistics, and the Annual Report
- Liaise with preachers to cover pastor's holidays or sickness
- Liaise with the pastor on agendas for church and deacons' meetings
- Liaise with the treasurer/leadership team on budgets, costings, etc
- During a pastoral vacancy, the secretary provides a link between Regional Ministers, the deacons and the church, and ensures that people are available to lead worship and preach.
If you're considering a calling to serve as a church secretary, click here to read Help! I'm a Church Secretary, one of the BUC Guidelines documents available on the BUGB website.