Helping Catholics by Teaching Priests How to Be the Boss

[rug]

JAN. 17, 2014
By MARK OPPENHEIMER

ST. JOHNS, Fla. — They came for prayer and fellowship, naturally. They gave confession to other priests, too. But mostly they came for lectures. Lectures on employment law. And on best practices in hiring and firing. And accounting and auditing. It was five days with hardly any theology.

Beginning Jan. 5, during the cold spell whose icy fingers reached even to northern Florida, 37 priests gathered at the Marywood retreat center here — most having ditched their collars — for the eighth installment of the Toolbox for Pastoral Management, a retreat for priests in charge, or soon to be in charge, of their own parishes.

Catholic pastors, as such head priests are called, spend more time managing staff than giving Communion. But seminaries are spotty at teaching how to be the boss. So priests come here to learn.

“Overtime!” proclaimed Carol Fowler, former director of personnel for the Archdiocese of Chicago, that Tuesday morning. “Some people are exempt from overtime pay,” she said, as the priests took notes at their tables. “This may come as a shock to you, but as pastors of your parishes, you are exempt. During Holy Week, you will not be getting overtime pay.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/18/us/helping-catholics-by-teaching-priests-how-to-be-the-boss.html?_r=0

http://www.theleadershiproundtable.org/TLR/aboutus/programs/toolbox.html

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. I have told a seminary head that at least elementary business classes

Should be mandatory for his students. Introduction to accounting, business law, money management and so on are necessary for someone running what is, in effect, a small business.

[47of74]

2. Depends

Don't get me wrong, I think that is an excellent idea to prepare candidates for ordination to what lies ahead for them following ordination. Regardless of denomination. If they're going to be in charge of a church then they need to know the stuff listed because it is much like a small business. Especially in smaller worshiping communities.

I think the courses would be good for people who don't have experience in business and/or didn't have business as a course of study at the undergrad level.

On the other hand if a person is doing this as a later in life after a career in the business world or is coming out of undergrad with a degree in business it might not be needed for them.