Clergy Availability

People sometimes ask about what clergy “work hours” are. The truth is that even in a parish like St. Martin’s, with a relatively small staff, there isn’t a simple answer to that!

Technically, our congregation is served by one full-time priest and one half-time priest (the rector and the curate, respectively). Of course, we are also blessed with an associate and a deacon who give very generously of their time and expertise, without financial compensation. And we have other priest associates connected to St. Martin’s who sometimes step in for special events or services.

When it comes to seeing a member of our clergy staff one-on-one, the best thing to do is to make an appointment. Email works best for this for most of us, or you can call the parish office and if we’re not available our staff will let us know to give you a call back.

In terms of office hours, all of our clergy have different practices. Pamela’s work week is now Sunday-Thursday. To be more specific, Thursday is a study day and Friday is her day off. Because of the number of times when work is necessary on Friday and/or Saturday, she will sometimes “flex” on Mondays. Much of her work is done offsite during the day, due to various meetings and a desire to be active in the community, so it’s best to make appointments if you
want to be sure to meet with her at a given time.

Alex is generally available on Thursdays and Fridays between 8:30 am – 12:30 pm, and while he is available for drop-ins, he always appreciates a heads up if you’d like to meet with him. All of
our clergy are at church on Tuesday mornings, when we have a weekly staff meeting and clergy check-in time. Both Ernie and Margaret suggest that you arrange times for meetings rather
than dropping by, when possible.

In this time of “social distancing” and the cancellation of so many events and activities, we know that it is more important than ever to stay connected. We hope that this information makes it easier for you to do that. Our clergy will make every effort to respond in a timely manner whenever you reach out to us.