wfn.org | Poethig Is Denied Second Term as CMD Director

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

18-November-1997 
97446 
 
    Poethig Is Denied Second Term as CMD Director 
 
    by Julian Shipp 
 
SANTA FE, N.M.--In a move that stunned many and left others clamoring for 
answers, the Congregational Ministries Division (CMD) Committee voted not 
to renew the four-year term of CMD director the Rev. Eunice B. Poethig 
during its Nov. 12-15 meeting here. 
 
    In rejecting a second term for Poethig, the CMD Committee concurred 
with a recommendation from the General Assembly Council's (GAC) End of Term 
Review Committee. However, the CMD committee added a recommendation that 
Poethig's current term, which is due to expire Feb. 28, 1998, be extended 
through Sept. 30, when a new GAC executive director is scheduled to be in 
place. 
 
    The committee asked Poethig to stay on until September so that her 
"leadership, gifts and experience may give stability to the staff and 
program of the division."  Interviewed in Louisville, Ky., after the 
meeting, Poethig told the Presbyterian News Service she has agreed to stay 
on under the condition that she be allowed to reserve the option of a 
standard 30-day separation notice should other options develop. 
 
    The division committee met two times Nov. 14 for a total of more than 
five hours before opening in plenary later that evening and announcing its 
decision. 
 
    The division will surely need leadership as it undergoes several 
significant changes in the near future. For instance, the division will 
soon begin the search for a new associate director for its Stewardship 
Program Area. Vivian Johnson, who is ending her employment in that position 
in January, has agreed to stay on through February. 
 
    Additionally, the division is scheduled to host a major retreat next 
spring to set goals and propose ways its activities can be integrated with 
other denominational programs for the GAC's "Toward 2000" Committee as it 
drafts its plans for the denomination in the next millennium. 
 
    The Curriculum Publishing Program Area, a fledgling CMD organization, 
will also require strong leadership as its competes for its share in the 
curriculum market. 
 
    Poethig, who was confirmed as CMD director by the GAC in 1993 following 
eight years as executive presbyter for Western New York Presbytery, was a 
model of composure during the meeting as she received the news.  She said 
she had no warning of the End of Term Review Committee's recommendation. 
 
    "What was shocking was that there was no discussion by the [End of Term 
Review Committee] and I had no advance indication from staff or others that 
I would [not be recommended for another term]," Poethig said. "The [GAC] 
Manual of Operations calls for a two- to three-hour dialogue session, which 
I understand to be a discernment session. That never took place. ... They 
had already made up their minds that they weren't going to recommend a 
second term and therefore no discussion took place. The whole interview [on 
Nov. 11] took less than 20 minutes." 
 
    The Rev. John Evans of Davidson, N.C.,  a member of the Personnel 
Committee of the GAC Executive Committee and chair of the CMD's  End of 
Term Review Committee, confirmed the brevity of the interview with Poethig 
and told the Presbyterian News Service he apologizes if Poethig feels she 
was not "dealt with in a good way." Evans said he believes Poethig deserves 
applause and thanks for her service to the church, but added many feel it 
is time for new leadership as the denomination enters the new millennium. 
 
    "Poethig has done a really good job and has great character," Evans 
said. "It's not anything like that. The review team simply looked at the 
data and said it's time for a new day for the Congregational Ministries 
Division and we can applaud what [Poethig] has done." 
 
    In accordance with the GAC Manual of Operations, the End of Term Review 
Committee makes its recommendation to the CMD Committee, which then makes 
its recommendation to the GAC. The review process within the division 
committee must be completed 60 days before a director's term ends. 
 
    Also in accordance with the manual, Poethig said, she was asked to give 
the names of approximately 30 people (with an emphasis on Presbyterians 
outside the Presbyterian Center in Louisville) to be sent evaluation 
questionnaires. 
 
    However, in addition to Poethig's list, the End of Term Review 
Committee sent evaluation forms to more than 100 other persons, including 
CMD Committee members who served during 1996-97 and all exempt CMD staff. 
About 90 out of a total of 145 questionnaires were returned to the End of 
Term Review Committee, according to Evans. 
 
    Evans said the Review Committee then looked at the data and came to its 
conclusion unanimously. 
 
    "We had a level playing field on that," Evans said. "[Poethig] picked 
her names and I told her we've added to that the members of the division 
committee not on your list who served from 1996 to 1997. Then we added to 
it the exempt staff from the division not on her list." 
 
    While the decision about renewing Poethig's term had to be made by the 
CMD  Committee before the next GAC meeting, in February, several committee 
members also expressed concern over the review process. Consequently, CMD 
Committee chair the Rev. John McFayden of Woodbridge, Va., said the 
committee will forward its concerns and recommendations regarding the 
review process for division directors to the GAC Executive Committee. 
 
    McFayden said that in making its decision the committee heard "from a 
number of people," including several CMD staff members. He said failing to 
recommend Poethig for a second term as division director was "not an easy 
process to undertake or decision to make." 
 
    "This action came after long hours of prayerful discussion, as we 
struggled with the many implications of such a decision," McFayden said. 
"In the process, we reviewed a great deal of data received from staff, 
committee members and others familiar with [Poethig] and her work. During 
our discussions we were very aware of [Poethig's] accomplishments, not the 
least of which was providing leadership necessary for the successful 
birthing of the division and its support of the ministry of congregations 
of our denomination." 
 
    Poethig said that one of the biggest obstacles she has faced as a 
division director is the expectation that she can control decisions that 
come out of the Staff Leadership Team (the GAC executive director, the 
three division directors and the director of the Technology and Finance 
Office) or that the team is able to make the decisions staff want made. 
 
    Poethig said that in the present church hierarchy it is the Staff 
Leadership Team (SLT) in which there is the most difficulty in getting 
timely decisions made. Poethig said concerns of the SLT are often not the 
same as the concerns of staff who are working in the divisions. 
 
    "This is not a judgment on the members of the Staff Leadership Team," 
Poethig said. "It's a judgment on the current environment in which we are 
trying to do our work and provide leadership to the General Assembly 
Council and the denomination." 
 
    Poethig also avoided passing judgment on the CMD staff, saying she has 
"appreciated the devotion of each of them." In the remaining time she has, 
Poethig said, she will continue to serve the division, but will also pursue 
other opportunities as they arise. 
 
    "Serving the church in this difficult climate is a challenge to every 
person, from pastors of local congregations to moderators of presbyteries, 
synods and General Assemblies to the leadership of the General Assembly 
Council," Poethig said. "Over the past four years we have hired many new 
staff and I have been astounded at the incredible talent of persons who 
have responded to our call and God's call to serve here. And I have never 
believed more strongly in that call than I [do] now." 

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