We don’t Stop, We Pivot | WFC Staff
In mid-March, the nation “shut down.” Churches closed their physical doors, and we all went home.
We know a few of you have been wondering…besides Jason Morris, Randy Frazee, and the worship and social media teams…what has everyone been doing?
The short answer is… A LOT!
So we’re doing a blog series to highlight a few of the departments and staff you don’t always see who help make Westside a special place—on Sunday and beyond! We hope this encourages you!
The Church has left the building…but it’s not empty…
“I think it’s really important for people to understand the important role the facilities team has played during this time. We haven’t slowed down at all with a huge list of things to clean, disinfect, fix, prepare, and learn.”
– Joe Hoffman, Director of Facilities
Logic might lead you to believe that an empty building would effectively put the facilities team of eight people out of a job. On the contrary, this is no time for these hard-working Westsiders to let the grass grow long beneath their feet.
“The team has been busy replacing broken tiles, painting, re-arranging offices, painting picnic tables, cleaning all the fixtures and more,” Hoffman said. “We have about 60 different tasks on our list of ‘to dos.’ It’s actually really similar to what a lot of people are using this time for, as they work on tackling that list of ‘honey-do’ projects they just never seem to have time to get to.”
But that’s not all. Hoffman’s team carries a big responsibility for when in-person Sunday mornings start back up. On days or evenings when Hoffman isn’t at the physical Westside building, he’s home, talking with other church leaders on Zoom calls and researching new supplies, tools and processes to keep the rest of us as safe as possible when we return.
“We’ve switched all our cleaning products and supplies to new ones that are Covid-approved by the EPA,” he said. “When those have come in, we’ve hard worked as a team to train on them and make sure we are using them correctly. I can tell you there are a lot of places that are not cleaning things properly right now. It’s critically important to us at Westside to make sure everyone on our team knows the proper techniques to disinfect and clean the building.”
So when we all come back, if you see a member of the Facilities Team, be sure to say “Thank You!” for all their hard work during this season.
The facilities team isn’t the only presence still in the building these days. The finance team quickly found that while most of their work could be taken off-site, at least one person needed to be at the building to keep things running smoothly!
“I’m still in the office,” said Tina Gray, Operations and Finance Manager.
“I tried taking it all home, but I found I was always coming back in because there was something either I – or one of my team members – needed.”
To limit the number of people coming into the building, Tina decided to stay at the office and be that resource person for the rest of her team who is working from home. She said the scanner has become one of their most valued tools right now!
“There’s always something someone needs, and I’m that go-between person who helps bridge the gap to make sure we continue to run safely, efficiently and not miss a beat,” she said.
We don’t stop…we just pivot.
There are many roles at Westside – most of them, really – which have simply required a change in location and … a “pivot.”
Covid-19 has significantly impacted on the Global Impact team. All of the 2020 global missions trips were canceled, and in the global communities served by the OneLife Child Sponsorship program, children were sent to their home communities where resources were already scarce.
“Our team has been meeting more frequently than ever before via zoom and digital meetings,” Reishus said.
“My workload has certainly not decreased as we’ve been helping advocates in the countries we serve figure out how to address the children’s needs amidst restrictions and lockdowns. The children were sent back to communities where even before Covid, there was intense food and resource insecurity. As a result, we are greatly concerned for their safety and well-being.”
Sherri Reishus works on the Global Impact team as the OneLife Child Sponsorship Administrator.
OneLife currently serves more than 900 children. In many of the communities, the team has been able to drop off some food for them, but there are others where they can’t go in, and the only thing they can do is pray.
Similarly, the Foster and Adoption ministry at Westside has faced some new challenges with the advent of Covid.
Jen Decker, who leads this ministry, says that while her job focus hasn’t really changed, what has changed is having to find new ways to support people. For example, Decker has tagged into the various resource and food drives Westside has hosted since March.
“I called the foster agencies and basically said ‘give me your toughest families to serve right now and we’ll take care of them,’” Decker explained.
“From there we reached out to small groups to help fill the need and leveraged some of the resource drive donations to serve these families who are really struggling.”
Decker said many of these families are single-parent households, or they have multiple children which has made it difficult to get out to shop for necessities. The Foster and Adoption ministry has delivered boxes of food, household items, games, toys and even a bike to grateful homes.
Another solution Decker found to bridge the gap online women’s bible study for foster and adoptive moms.
“It’s been amazing to watch it all come together and the new relationships and support that have emerged from it,” she said. “I had wanted to try this a while ago, but the stay at home situation opened the door wide open for it. We actually have three different groups going now, with about 20 women participating from four different states.”
Speaking of support, some may not be aware of the robust counseling ministry at Westside. Their workload has not decreased – if anything it has increased, with all five counselors maxed out with a full load of clients right now.
“I find I’m busier than ever, in fact the only thing that has changed is my morning commute is now a neighborhood walk, instead of a drive,” said Nina McDaniel who also stepped up to lead a new LifeLines group for selfcare.
“The group has been well-received during this highly stressful season.”
But working from home has definitely presented some challenges. While Lauren Thomas has loved some additional family time, she continues taking her two-year-old daughter to daycare so she can work with her clients in a quiet, private, online environment.
“One of the good things I’ve seen come from all of this, is that it’s really increased my level of gratitude for presence and just being with people,” Thomas said.
“I also feel an increased connectedness and dependence on my work team.”
“Being able to continue this service has been really good,” McDaniel added. “It’s a gift to continue helping people through a crisis like this and find creative ways to work through new challenges.”
More than meets the eye…
Following Christ’s model to serve and love YOU is at the heart of everything the Westside staff. It’s more than a Sunday morning service. It’s more than children’s and youth programming. It’s serving, loving, and glorifying God through ministry to people.
“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. ”