I don't know how I missed it but I've just found this thread, and I feel thaat I must comment on the exchange Crazyheart started with her remarks about church secretaries (admin ass) and Pinga's response. I worked for a few years as church secretary (title changed to administrative assistant, after I quit/was fired. I worked part-time, eight hours (two 4 hour shifts officially, but I was flexible to the minister's needs). I was paid minimum wage - about half what I had earned at my previous job with a trust company. I considered it something like 'paid volunteering'. I didn't have a written job description but my job entailed everything from preparing the bulletin ffor Sunday to answering the phone, greeting visitors, keeping the photocopy machine running (slated for the dump before it was donated to the church), typing as needed for the minister, the church board, the Sunday School, or whoever needed it, picking up registered letters or parcels at the post office, ordering supplies, and 'such other duties as might be called for from time to time' .
So -
in addition to her other duties, the secretary gathers the info needed, types the bulletin, runs off two copies. She gives one to the minister for his pursual and takes the other home to proofread on her own time. The next day, along with her other duties, she corrects a typo that she found and checks with the minister who says to 'go ahead and print it'. So she runs off 150 copies. Later in the day the minister tells her that one of the hymns is wrong. We don't know if she made a mistake typing, if he made a mistake in the notes he provided, or if he or the music director changed the hymn. 'Do it over.' He goes home to dinner - she works an hour unpaid overtime.
My reaction - what a waste of time and paper (and money). And - exploiting the secretary. A simple announcement of 'we changed the hymn tto -----' would have been sufficient.
typing sermons - yes, that is most likely part of her job description - written or understood
[FONT=Open Sans, sans-serif]typing personal items - no, could be done as a favour but not part of the job unless she is his personal secretary ratheer than church secretary.
For me the straw that broke the camel's back -
It was early in the new year and the Annual Meeting was coming up. I kept expecting to be busy typing up the reports from the various people and committees but almost nothing was coming in. She told me that I'd better get right on it. 'But I don't have the info.' I don't remember the entire conversation but she ended it by shouting at me 'That's your job.' and stamping out of the office.
I wrote a letter to the M&P saying that in years past if hadn't been my job, that if it was my job I should have been informed in a timely manner, and I should have access to the info that I needed (names of committee chairs, phone numbers, etc.), and regardless I shouldn't have been shouted at.
I later heard - my letter was taken to the church board. The Chair (new since the previous AGM) fumed about 'if it isn't her job, whose is it?' And the previous chair said quietly 'Yours'.
Anyway, after that I found the atmosphere at the office and between the minister and me so difficult that by mutual agreement I left my job - and the next 'office administrator' had a written job description.
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