Managing Staff During the Interim Time
10 min 58 s
Rev. Erica Avena
- Going in with an open agenda
- Knowing which problems can be fixed and which can only be managed
- Letting the congregation know up front what you’re willing to do and not willing to do
- Dealing with a staff problem the lay leadership has been avoiding
- Process tips for terminating an employee
The Reverend Erica Wimber Avena has been working as an Interim Ministry Specialist since 2007. In 30+ years of ministry she has served numerous churches primarily in Connecticut most recently as Interim Senior Minister at First Church, West Hartford, and as Transitional Associate Minister at Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford. Erica has dual standing in the United Church of Christ (UCC) and the American Baptist Churches, USA (ABC).
She is a Past-President of the American Baptist Churches of Connecticut, a former General Board Member of the American Baptist Churches, USA, and former Chair of the Committee on Christian Unity. She served as a Commissioner for the National Council of Churches for 12 years, and on numerous other church boards in ecumenical and interfaith leadership. Her M.Div. (Masters of Divinity) and her S.T.M. (Masters in Sacred Theology) are from Yale University Divinity School. She is married to Attorney Robert Avena, who practices law in Stonington; they have three children and make their home in East Lyme, Connecticut.
- Recorded in April of 2021
- Listen to more from Rev. Erica Avena
