Do you ever wish there was less?
Fewer papers to read? Fewer forms to fill in? Fewer files to organise?
Despite our desire to move to a paperless society, we sometimes seem to be drowning in paperwork and it's not always easy to discern what is essential and what is superfluous.
And what do you keep? I know of homes filled with every bill that's ever been received...plus the envelope it came in.
The smooth functioning of our Presbytery does rely on us being able to keep a handle on the paperwork but also working out how best to share papers and to try and keep to a minimum bureaucracy, which unfortunately can sneak up on us.
This week, the Presbytery Planning and Deployment Convener, Tony Stephen, and I, met with our new facilitators from within the Presbytery Mission Plan Implementation Group (PMPIG) - Barbara Finlayson and Dan Gunn. It was an opportunity to (re)introduce ourselves and to share a little about our approach and progress with regards to Presbytery Planning. The numbers are quite staggering. Over the last 22 months, PPDC has worked with 84 Kirk Sessions and we've moved from around 130 congregations to 86. And there's more in the pipeline.
It was encouraging to hear positive feedback from both Barbara and Dan in terms of how our Presbytery is perceived when it comes to planning and to talk about a desire to work well together, prioritising open communication.
But it was also good to share some of the issues we've encountered and to emphasise the importance of not being given more tasks to do that are unnecessary or involve lots of paperwork. Tony also reiterated how essential it is that PIMPIG respond efficiently to our requests, so that the processes run as smoothly as possible.
Planning and vacancies involve lots of paperwork - from electoral registers, to basis of adjustment, to edicts, to voting papers, to communication with OSCR, to Section 2 notices and so on, and so on.
Safeguarding is another area of the life of our churches that requires diligence when it comes to paperwork. I appreciate that the data cleanse project is asking a lot of everyone in a short space of time and not everyone's situation fits neatly into the boxes that we seem to have created. We will feedback the concerns raised about the duplication of work and it is something I will raise at the Clerks' Forum next week. However, my hope is that once this exercise is complete, we should be able to manage the information much better going forward.
Finally, Presbytery Papers. There are a lot, even when the agenda is shorter than usual. And it is perhaps tempting to turn up to the meeting without anything more than a cursory glance at them. I appreciate that making time to read the papers and understand them is a challenge. However, when we work on the basis that consent is assumed unless someone raises their virtual hand, it is really important that you come to meetings knowing what is being agreed. At the last Presbytery meeting we set deadlines in terms of circulating papers and it is hoped that this will help you in your preparations. This month we have the budget coming up, as well as decisions on vacancies. Can I ask that you allow yourself enough time to read through the papers in advance and if there is something you wish to be taken out of 'fast track' business remember to contact me in advance of the meeting?
We will do our best to be as efficient as possible with paperwork and hopefully that enables everyone to their best with responding to requests and reading what is sent out.
Now...where's my holepunch?
Rev Stella
