Board+Liaisons

=2011 Board Liaisons to Committees= (return to Board home page)

The Board Liaison is a Board member who communicate ideas between the Board and all the various committees or ministries within the church. Basically, the liaison does three things: - carries Board business or requests to the committee when necessary

- is a go-to person for the committee in case the committee needs something from the Board

- is generally aware of what the committee is doing, without meddling or micromanaging.

There is no requirement for Board Liaisons to attend committee meetings or participate in activities or discussions unless the liaison is a regular member of the committee anyway. In many cases liaisons never attend committee meetings, though they are encouraged to attend at least one a year in an effort to make the Board more visible and available in the congregation as a whole. The existence of the liaison is in no way an attempt on the part of the Board to control or meddle in the activities of committees. Furthermore, Board members need to recognize that when they attend committee meetings their very presence can influence the atmosphere of the meeting. Particularly in the case of committees such as Endowment and the Committee on Ministry, which are designed to act in a somewhat autonomous fashion, the liaison needs to be careful about the extent to which he/she engages with the activities of the committee. At the same time each committee, no matter how autonomous, remains accountable to the congregation as a whole; and the Board is the only elected body within the church that can mediate that accountability. For Board’s internal reasons, it is important for each committee or ministry to have a liaison, but the extent of involvement in committee business is strictly up to each committee and liaison.

Committees should ask the Board Liaison for assistance in instances when that is advantageous, and let the liaison know when her/his input is not desired. The liaison position is supposed to be a good thing that facilitates the mission of the church. As soon as it interferes we will need to make adjustments. Following is the list of current liaisons:

*** This list needs updating ***
 * > **COMMITTEE** ||> | ||< **BOARD LIAISON** ||
 * > Building & Grounds || | ||  ||
 * > Human Resources (HR) || | || Bob Weston ||
 * > Information Technology Services (ITS) || | ||  ||
 * > Finance || | || Bob Weston ||
 * > Stewardship || | ||  ||
 * > Endowment || | ||  ||
 * > Pre-School || | ||  ||
 * > Religious Education || | || Steve Marshall ||
 * > CAP || | || Bob Weston ||
 * > Membership || | || George Thompson ||
 * > Nominating || | ||  ||
 * > Social Concerns || | || Mariana Fiorentino ||
 * > Caring || | ||  ||
 * > Peace & Justice || | ||  ||
 * > Denominational Connections || | ||  ||
 * > Music || | ||  ||
 * > Worship & Arts || | ||  ||
 * > Coffee House/Concert Series || | ||  ||
 * > 20s & 30s || | ||  ||
 * > Manse || | || Mariana Fiorentino ||
 * > Committee on Ministry || | ||  ||
 * Kitchen || | ||  ||
 * Church Council || | || George Thompson ||