Church Secretary Parish Secretary Duties of a Church Secretary
Many people think that working in a church office would be about the same as working in any other kind of an office. They would be wrong. Whether you're called a church secretary, a parish secretary, or a parish administrative assistant, it's pretty much all the same kind of work, but it requires a certain kind of personality to work in or manage a church office. Depending on the religious denomination, these positions are demanding and require the utmost in confidentiality, patience, a great deal of tact and respect for others, compassion, and generosity of spirit. Of course, the ordinary knowledge of office work is also necessary, so keeping up with the latest in office etiquette, communications, machinery, and technology is important.
Church office work also requires a great deal of knowledge of the workings of the Church. If you're working for a mainstream denomination, there may be upper hierarchy offices with which you must communicate. You must know the appropriate titles of the clergy - pastors, bishops, and assistants to each, especially if you are working for a Catholic parish. There are many details that take time to learn and get comfortable with, and a sort of protocol that must be adhered to. The parish secretary is responsible for keeping the church running smoothly from behind the scenes, and above all, for backing up the pastor. Records must be meticulously kept so that even years later, information can be found.
There are some liturgical churches that change schedules, bulletins, parament and vestment colors, and liturgies for the particular church year season, or for holy days and other special observances. Christmas and Easter seasons (and the lead-up weeks of Advent and Lent, respectively) require special liturgies, and often, the service or Mass schedule changes to fit the needs of the season. There must be people scheduled to fill specific roles in the liturgy - along with ushers, greeters, lectors, organists, choir availability, additional musicians, etc. It is sometimes up to the church secretary to make sure all the bases are covered in these areas, and that service schedules are communicated clearly to the congregation and community well in advance.
Besides the special seasonal details of this work, there are the routine jobs that come with the position - office managing (in the church and possibly from home), ordering of equipment and supplies and maintenance of office machinery, hours of availability if you are part-time, time to speak with parishioners or community members regarding programs offered and general questions, special needs, problems with children, concerns for aging parents, and consolation in times of bereavement. Along with that, there are often special bulletins to produce for weddings, baptisms, and funerals as well as coordination of deliveries of flowers or other items to the church. There are acknowledgments to be written and mailed out when donations or other gifts are given to the church in memory of loved ones.
There are also bulletins to do weekly or even more often if programs are required for events during the week, newsletters to design, create, and publish, the mailings that are never-ending, communications between the office and church groups and chairpersons, plus the endless copying for the office and for all the groups. There is mail to collect from the post office, mail to send, and packages to be picked up and distributed to the proper departments - choir, church treasurer, council president, pastor, and a current address database to manage. Church office workers are often required to handle spreadsheets for giving, spending, budgets, and to communicate with parishioners about their statements of giving that are sent out periodically, and especially around tax time.
When this work cannot be handled in its entirety at the church office, the only other way is by doing it at home. It is fortunate to be provided with a very good home-use copier. One can type, fax, copy from the home office, and if the secretary could not get into the church office because of inclement weather, he or she can make up the work at home.
The work is busy and there are, of course, daily, weekly, and monthly deadlines. This is the practical part of being a church secretary. The more intangible part is making the pastor look good. No matter what, you are there to back him or her up and make sure he or she is fully aware of what's going on behind the scenes. A new pastor needs your insights and information about everything having to do with the church and its people. You may be making travel arrangements for the pastor, securing tickets and accommodations for conferences or conventions, or taking time out to discuss a particular problem in the church, all the while remembering you are backing up the pastor's views and standpoints. As some pastors are notoriously forgetful or are procrastinators, it is up to you to nudge him or her for cooperation on deadlines, visiting shut-ins or prospective members, or simply to return calls.
Some churches have food pantries or other outreach programs. One church with just such a program had the secretary running it it along with all the other duties; there were always people coming to pick up bags of non-perishable food. This is a ministry in itself, and an eye-opener and great learning opportunity. The after-school tutoring program that was run there was another area where the secretary's office could help with the school year's start-up, and office support for the teachers was always available.
Church secretarial work can pay well enough depending on the size and wealth of the congregation, the degree of affluence of the community, and of course, the church budget - how much the council or board can allot to pay staff members. Normally, the church secretary is the second-highest paid person on the staff. It is not an area where you will grow wealthy, but your wealth and riches will come in the form of how you feel at the end of a busy day when your last newsletter is addressed and in the mail. If handled well, it can be a truly fulfilling kind of work.
