administrative bugaboos

Tuesday morning is a day I both love and hate,; hence my love-hate relationship with administrative work...and Tuesdays in general.

For me Tuesdays "invite" a summary of Sunday concerns, a response to congregational communications (e-mails, notes, verbal messages, bulletin "tear-offs", etc.), a setting of weekly appointments, an agenda for weekly staff meeting (and the meeting itself) and a general pulling together of all thh things necessary to get caught up and on top of things...so that I can move ahead with the challenges of a new week. m As I conclude that work today, I will have spent about twelve hours keeping my secretary doing deep-breathing exercises(fortunately--for her--she went home three hours ago)and cooling off my computer which by day's end feels hot to the touch!

What is it I "hate" about administrative work? Sometimes it seems intensely impersonal. There are no faces in front of me and I am writing down messages and communicating with people I cannot see. Another ongoing frustration is that though my intentions are usually well- motivated, my communciation is not always well-received (why can't they "get it?"). The painful result is that there is the creation of additional communciation responsibility that is time-consuming, and sometimes, equally non-productive.

But is is not all bad! There are some things I really love about administrative work. There is the elixir (while I am doing it) that I am getting things done, and all will be better now (hah!) There is also the overwhelming sense of the importance of communication and response which affirms the value of the individual and extends the opportunity for dialogue for things that cannot simply be reduced to a program overhaul or a handshale and a promise to do better.

It's Tuesday and today, though I am tired, has been more about the "love" side of the work. The bugaboos were present, to be sure, but the administrative birthday lunch for a staff member, the prayer time with a husband seeking counsel for a critical decision and the early morning coffee with a friend who is getting married, made the day meaningful for me.