Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Small things matter. This is something that I am occasionally reminded of during the busy times of the year. Many church staff and vestry members are busy in the fall as new programs start up, and it can be easy to forget how important it is to spell someone’s name correctly or to make sure a congregational meeting gets into the Sunday bulletin.

Church and emotions are inextricable. At work we can pretend that nothing is personal, but in the church separating our emotions and the administrative details can be difficult. It’s easy to misplace a letter or forget a name when you’re working in a small office on a particularly busy day. Unfortunately, the amount of attention you might pay to the spelling of someone’s name may be connected to how they perceive their importance in the community. If your name is spelled wrong, it can feel as if the staff of the church don’t know or care who you are.

These mistakes are inevitable, but it is worth occasionally reminding ourselves that these things, which may seem unimportant in the grand scheme of things (or in light of some approaching deadline), matter to someone. They may matter a great deal. We may be busy, but we have to make time to check the details.

Ideally, parishioners will feel like they are being cared for, that someone cares enough to think about the details, to run a spell check, and think carefully about each step in the life of the church, similar to the way the liturgies in the Book of Common Prayer are planned very carefully with plenty of instruction in the rubrics. Those little mistakes can make people feel like no one has their interests in mind, that no one is really minding the shop. If you know that someone is paying attention, and has your best interests in mind, you can relax into the community.

This means being conscious of how important these things are, and identifying those with a gift for proofreading or logistics and organization. Don’t depend on the busiest person in the office to proofread the bulletin and make sure that someone is responsible for thinking carefully about what should go on the calendar.

Still, we all know that mistakes are inevitable. Ultimately, community requires communication and forgiveness. If we know that we have the common goal to serve God and each other, that all are truly welcome and loved, then we can discuss mistakes, forgive each other, and continue to live in community.