May 17, 2010 issue
Franconia drops plan to lay off staff
Consultant recommends recomposing board without current moderators, other changes
By Celeste Kennel-Shank Mennonite Weekly ReviewPage:
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The board of Franconia Conference of Mennonite Church USA has dropped its plan to lay off nearly all of its staff.
In taking that action and others, it was following the recommendations of a consultant who reviewed the conference.
The board met May 4 with the conference’s review steering committee and said it would accept the resignations of the moderator, Blaine Detwiler, and assistant moderator, Randy Heacock, this summer after the board recomposes itself, according to a conference news release.
Nominations for those two open board positions, as well as that of finance committee chair and others, will be received by a nominating committee made up of members of the review steering committee who are not currently on the board, the release said.
The board appointed Noel Santiago, executive minister, and Ertell Whigham, director of congregational resourcing and equipping, to lead the conference staff during an interim period potentially lasting until July 2011.
The board’s actions fulfilled recommendations from LaVern Yutzy, a consulting associate with Mennonite Health Services Alliance, who released his report May 5 reviewing the conference’s board, executive minister, staff and congregations. The full text of the report is available as a PDF.
The conference had announced in late February that it would lay off most of its 17-member staff.
The board then put the plan on hold March 15 and hired Yutzy.
Changes for the board
Yutzy gave his recommendations after considering responses from throughout the 6,500-member conference, interviewing delegates, pastors and others. Additionally, more than 100 people sent comments.
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Comments
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I recommend reading the full report. It is very well put together and succinct.
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