Fashions have changed, office equipment has become sophisticated and job responsibilities diversified, but one thing remains constant in church administration — the undying dedication of the church secretary.
These unsung heroes have fulfilled many roles never mentioned in their job descriptions. From mopping up spills to rescuing a child locked in the bathroom, hundreds of Alabama Baptist secretaries have played a significant role in the lives of their churches.
Although staff requirements may have increased, the days of a one-woman show are still vivid in the minds of many long-term secretaries.
Ellen Syx who recently retired after 44 years as secretary at Pleasant Ridge Baptist in Hueytown (Bessemer Association), fondly recalls a career she says was fulfilling, rewarding and one she wouldn’t have traded for any other. This veteran of church administration remembers the days when she was the sole office support for the church staff. She has worked for four different pastors since starting her job in 1957. The changes she has seen in office equipment alone are impressive.
“When I started to work I used a manual typewriter, carbon paper, a mimeograph machine with an ink drum and a hand-cranked adding machine,” she said with a laugh. Her good friend Edwina Cummings, who is in her 40th year as church secretary at North Highlands Baptist in Hueytown, well remembers the days when “we did everything.” Revealing a method that she used in the 1960s for rescuing young children who had inadvertently locked themselves in the bathroom she said, “Those old fashioned message holders with the long, thin pointed end were the perfect tool for getting those doors unlocked quickly,” she said as Syx nodded in agreement. Both women agree the role of church secretary in the past was hard to define because they handled whatever situation emerged each day.
“I even performed a funeral once,” Cummings said in mock seriousness, explaining that the deceased was a cat found in the church parking lot. “We found a very sick cat on the church property and we took him to the vet. They said he was beyond help and that all they could do was put him to sleep. We brought him back and had a funeral service complete with flowers,” she said of her temporary job as burial coordinator.
The longtime friends find that today’s technology is a welcomed improvement from days gone by.
During the 1970s they decided to take courses at a technical college to learn how to operate an offset press to be able to do all of their church’s printing including stationery.
They also learned how to develop photographs and Syx said her church had a darkroom for photo development. As much as the two diverse secretaries enjoyed learning the printing side of church work, they both agree they were not sorry to see technology replace their skills. “Thank goodness those days are gone,” Cummings said.
“Amen,” chimed in Syx, adding, “We just send our church information over to The Alabama Baptist and they print it for us,” she explained.
Although both women are now comfortable with working on computers, that was not always the case. “Computers started off being very intimidating,” said Syx, adding that Pleasant Ridge Baptist got its first computer in 1988.
“When we first got computers I sat and looked at mine for almost a year before I finally decided I would have to learn how to use it. I figured if other people could do it then I could do it,” Cummings stated.
As far as computer skills go in regard to being the pastor’s secretary, both women agree that computers have cut down a lot of the one-on-one involvement with the pastor. “Today’s pastors are choosing to take care of more of their own business and correspondence through e-mail,” Syx said.
“It also depends on the individual pastor. One may want his secretary to type his sermon notes and another may choose to do it himself,” Cummings pointed out from experience having worked for eight different pastors during her tenure at North Highlands. “It’s amazing what we can do now with computers,” she said, explaining that her church is in the process of downloading its pictorial membership directory on their Web site which will be categorized by families. “Today’s ministers are all computer savvy,” she added.
The two longtime friends met through their affiliation with the Alabama Association of Baptist Secretaries, an organization that boasts a membership of 692 secretaries from across the state.
Syx was a charter member when the group organized in 1963 under the guidance of Clara McCartt, who served as president of the group for the first two years. McCartt — secretary for then president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, Ky.) Duke McCall — had moved to Macon, Ga., where she worked as a church secretary and was active in Georgia’s Baptist Secretaries Association. She was asked to help Alabama secretaries establish their own association which she willingly did. Her experience allowed for the establishment of the Alabama Association of Baptist Secretaries. Their first statewide meeting was on the campus of Judson College in the spring of 1963 with 50 attendees. Since that time 39 annual meetings have been conducted, drawing around 250 secretaries each year to the Baptist college.
Boots Hilderbrand, retired secretary from Brewster Road Baptist Church, Birmingham, has attended every conference except one and continues to attend even though she retired in 1991 after 30 years of service. She recalls one conference leader urging the ladies to let it be known if there was something they didn’t like about their jobs. “I went back and told my pastor I didn’t like the hand-cranked mimeograph machine. Within two weeks he had gotten me a new electric one,” she recalled.
I wouldn’t take anything for the experiences I had at these conferences,” said Syx. “We learn so much about so many different topics,” she said, pointing out that “session topics are as diversified as staff relationships to Internet skills.” Syx served as president of the association in 1975, Cummings in 1977 and Hilderbrand in 1979. Each president, along with her board, chooses a different theme for the year and plans seminar topics around the theme. Syx laughs about one year’s theme when she taught sessions such as “The Many Hats of the Church Secretary” and “The Keeper of the Keys.” Hilderbrand’s favorite was, “Bloom Where You’re Planted.”
And what advice do these veterans offer to today’s church secretaries? “Pray, have patience and keep your sense of humor.”
Secretaries annual meeting set
The Alabama Association of Baptist Secretaries will hold its 39th annual conference April 29–May 2 at Judson College in Marion with registration beginning on Sunday afternoon of the 29th.
According to the association’s president, Wynette Cox, Autauga Association secretary, “This year’s theme is ‘Let Your Light Shine.’ The main thing we try and do at our annual meeting is present a program that revives our members both spiritually as well as in the work- place,” she said. “We want the secretaries to realize that their position is more than just a job — it’s a ministry. We want them to get out of this conference the same kind of rejuvenation that evangelists get from their conferences,” she explained.
Speakers for the conference are: general conference leader – Debbie Childers, author and Bible teacher from Austell, Ga.; devotional leader – Bill Morgan, Autauga Association director of missions; praise and worship leader – Charlie Martin, Roebuck Park Baptist Church, Birmingham, and accompanist Brett Dollar, also from Roebuck Park Baptist.
Breakout sessions will include topics ranging from conflict management to creating unity among churches. There will also be classes on fundamentals of the Internet and Web site building. According to Cox the purpose of the organization is to promote a spirit of fellowship among secretaries in churches, associations and other Baptist organizations. Membership is open to all secretaries in Baptist churches, denominational agencies and institutions including retirees, volunteer workers and church members who may be considering becoming church secretaries. Around 250 secretaries are expected to attend. For more information, call Wynette Cox at 334-365-7802. (TAB)
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