Sexton for Major Church Events

St. Paul's Old Logo
St. Paul's Campus
from Virginia Beck

Job Description
with
Church Campus Set-Ups

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events'(SMCE) primarily provided direct custodial support to major 'church' internally controlled events usually involving the priest and/or a large number of general parishioners and the use of multiple church campus rooms usually including the kitchen from September of 2005 until November of 2018.

These Major Church Events included...

• Sunday Events -
• Worship Services,
• Christian Education (Sunday School),
• Coffee Hour Fellowship,
• Parish Annual Meetings,
• Bishop Visits,
• Ministry Fairs,
• Picnics,
• Brunches,
• Dinners,
• Recitals,
• Talent Shows,
• Christmas Auctions;
• Teas;
• Memorials;
• Funerals;
• Memorial Garden Interment of Ashes;
• All Saints Days (panels of the deceased);
• Wedding Rehearsals;
• Weddings;
• Wednesday evening fellowship and education with initial common meal
• Wonderful Wednesdays,
• Lenten Education Series;
• Vestry Meetings;
• Shrove Tuesday Suppers;
• Maunday Thursday Meals and Stripping of the Altar;
• Good Friday;
• Easter Vigils;
• Rummage Sales;
• Preschool events highly attended and not occurring in the preschool area -
• Parents' Orientation,
• Valentine Dances,
• Book Sales,
• Grandparents Days,
• Art Show,
• Graduations;
• Vacation Bible Schools;
• Music Camps;
• Angel Tree Gift Assemblies;
• Gifts to the Christ Child Assemblies;
• Christmas decorating;
• Hanging of the Greens;
• Christmas Eve Worship Services.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events'(SMCE) usually did NOT provide direct custodial support for...

• Small church committee meetings and classes because of their size, only a few specific parishioners were involved, and only one room was used. However, smaller events that required major church campus set-ups or provided unusual hospitality to strangers were custodially supported.
• Minimally attended worship services such as the Wednesday Healing and Christmas Day services. However, the sanctuary was left ready for such services after the previous worship service.
• Externally controlled private events not involving general parishioners. These events were controlled by an agreement between the church and those using the church. The agreement included how the church may be used and that the church is to be left generally as it was found before the event. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings were examples of such events.
• Routine preschool daily activity generally occurring in specific preschool areas. This activity was custodially supported by the 'Sexton for Preschool and Housekeeping' or Housekeeper. However, the SMCE did support highly attended major preschool events occurring in the church area and not preschool areas such as parents' meetings and graduations involving significant furniture set-up.

The direct custodial support of major church events included:

• EVENT SET-UP - Prepared the church campus, making it safe and attractive! Primary function of the SMCE.
  Required starting 2 to 6 hours before the event.
  Started earlier, if church campus is in poor condition. May have required doing certain tasks the day before when set-up is extensive or noise is involved.
• Provided access to rooms.
• Unlocked all doors to needed rooms.
• Kept doors locked for rooms not to be used.
• Turned on all necessary lights.
• Set environmental controls.
• Removed inappropriate items.
• Put items in their proper place.
• Arranged furniture as required.
• Closed dumpster lids and gates.
• Checked and serviced handicapped door opener switches as necessary.
• Cleaned outside furniture.
• Removed debris accumulated since the last scheduled housekeeping, grounds, and snow removal services.
• Cleared exterior and interior entry ways, entry walks, and memorial garden.
• If necessary tried to use the leaf blower the day before the event but only after 9 AM.
• If necessary just before the event, still did not use the leaf blower in the vicinity of the parking lot before 9 AM, and as briefly as possible elsewhere on the church campus.
• Stopped all use of the leaf blower, shop vacuum, and vacuum cleaner 15 minutes prior to event.
• Set up tables and chairs as required and/or according to previous...

• Church Campus Set-Ups

• Located TV Tower as required.
• Located Projector Cart, Screen, and Sound hook-up as required.
• Adjusted sanctuary sound as required.
• Turned on the audio in the sacristy audio closet.
• Checked and adjusted the volume for the lectern, pulpit, piano, and organ.
• Directed the sound from the sanctuary to the speakers in the gym, business hall, guild room, and upstairs chapel.
• Turned on the lower unit in the sacristy audio closet and adjust its volume.
• Turned on the audio in the gym audio closet, plugged in chrome plug into jack #6, and adjusted the volume.
• Visited business hall, guild room, and upstairs chapel speakers and adjusted their volume.
• Had 2 new 9 volt batteries and 4 new AA batteries for lapel microphones in a basket, visible inside the sacristy audio closet.
• Placed outside blinds over sanctuary windows as required.
• Provided cough drops in the narthax entry of the sanctuary.
• Kept out of the reach of children, high in the window enclosure.
• Placed in a bowl but keep in original container.
• Extra bags kept in the narthax wall desk.
• Replenished hand soap dispensers as needed.
• Replenished paper products.
• Stocked paper towel dispensers as needed.
• Stocked toilet paper dispensers as needed.
• One paper towel roll in the kitchen and each restroom.
• One box of facial tissues in each room.
• Displayed flags in front of church.
• Stars and Stripes were on left side as facing the flags and never alone.
• Flew during day with no persipitation.
• Flew during all worship services except Good Friday.
• Swept, vacuumed, mopped floors as necessary.
• Removed any trash and recycles.
• Cleaned rest rooms as necessary.
• Readied kitchen as necessary.
• Activated dishwasher.
• Turned on dishwasher.
• Set cycles to 2.
• Turned on auxiliary heater.
• Closed lid to fill.
• Checked detergent dispenser level.
• Replenished coffee making and serving products.
• ON-GOING EVENT SUPPORT - Responded to parishioner and volunteer requests. Kept things in order. Did not draw attention or distract from the event.
  Only did as SMCE hours limit permits. Volunteers expected to fully support on-going event.
• Initially allowed for parishioner volunteering.
• Adjusted seating as actual attendance occurs.
• Resupplied items as needed and requested.
• Re-inspected and maintained restrooms.
• Did immediate clean-ups and fixes.
• Quietly prepared accumulating dishes for washing,
  kept kitchen doors shut, and
  washed unless dishwasher noise was not desired.
• Removed accumulated excess trash and recycles.
• EVENT RECOVERY - Cleaned up, put everything away, and had the church campus ready for the next event! Made the church campus look as though the event never happened. Volunteers expected to do much of the event recovery. SMCE would always finish recovery before next event.
• Initially allowed for parishioner volunteering.
• Laundered as necessary and put away table cloths.
• Cleared, washed, and put away all remaining dishes.
• Wiped down kitchen counters and sinks.
• Drained and turned off dishwasher and auxiliary heater.
• Made sure stove, oven, and coffee maker were turned off.
• Made sure refrigerator and freezer were shut.
• Cleaned marker boards.
• Took photos of anything left on board and saved for a week.
• Erased markings with eraser or rag.
• Wet cleaned with solvent designed for board.
• Put all items in their proper place or ready for next event:
• Furniture returned to usual location:
• Folding tables to gym table closet or choir room table rack;
• Folding chairs to chair closet or sanctuary flag entrance (12);
• TV cart to guild room Elizabeth St./fireplace corner;
• Projector cart to financial office;
• Projector screen to library closet;
• Computers to respective locked office;
• Microphones with boom mounts and cable clips to lidded box in sacristy audio closet;
• Wrapped microphones cables to sacristy audio closet;
• Microphone booms and music stands to under steps in upstairs vesting area;
• Turned-off lapel microphones to basket in sacristy audio closet;
• Any left vestments hung on hangers behind sacristy door.
• Pews
• Removed left items to business hallway lost-and-found,
• Removed used or old papers,
• Aligned prayer cushions,
• Arranged books,
• Red prayer book outer,
• Blue hymnal first inner,
• Black bible and Gray special hymnal second inner or Gray hymnal in front of black bible center,
• Blue hymnal and Gray special hymnal in back of choir chairs,
• Red prayer books in choir partition rack,
• Black bibles in lectern base in choir,
• Sharpened pencils in all holes and not in pockets,
• Papers
• Three full three page Welcome cards in front pocket,
• Three Contribution envelopes (seasonal as appropriate) in back pocket,
• Scratch paper at very back
• Replenished paper products.
• Cleaned rest rooms as necessary.
• Swept, vacuumed, and mopped floors as necessary.
• Removed all trash.
• Reset environmental controls.
• Raised temperature setting of any air conditioner lowered because of high occupation.
• Turned-off any air conditioners in areas not being used.
• Removed flags from front of church.
• Turned off lights no longer needed.
• Closed and locked doors when access is no longer required.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' attended all staff meetings; and reviewed church staff e-mail, text messages, phone calls, and church website calendars, on a daily basis to maintain knowledge of the schedule of church events and their requirements for SMCE custodial support.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' was not to work more than 8 hours in a day.

• If a major church event's set-up, execution, and recovery were estimated to take over 8 hours, but must be done on the same day, the set-up would be done in no more than 4 hours, the SMCE would split the work shift and leave, returned after the execution of the event, and recovered from the event in no more than 4 hours. If on-going event support was required, any recovery putting the total hours above 8, would be done on the following day.
• If two major events were scheduled for the same day, most all of the first event's set-up would be done on the previous day. The shortest possible first event set-up, for parishioner safety (snow removal) and dining preparation (initial coffee brewing), would be done at the beginning of the day of the events. The SMCE would then leave as soon as possible. The work day would be split with no on-going first event support. The SMCE would return later for first event recovery and second event set-up. The SMCE would then leave for the day, providing no on-going second event support. SMCE second event recovery would be done on the following day.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' was to work no more than 25 hours in a week unless pre-authorized by the parish manager. This would be done by the parish manager's approval of a tentative weekly schedule issued on Tuesday for the week. Once 25 work hours were attained only required event set-up and event recovery would be performed. An attempt would be made to counter excess weekly hours by shorter future work weeks when major church events would lessen.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' maintained a list of encountered Church Campus Discrepancies which were updated monthly.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' prepared for the interment of ashes in the memorial garden by placing an aluminum cylinder with cap, found in the north furnace room, in the sacristy. Just before the interment, the memorial garden was cleared of debris, and the niche was prepared using the interment tools kept in the main office, according to the oral and written instructions from the parish administrator. After the interment and departure of all participants, the niche was capped using a cap, also found in the north furnace room, and closed using the same tools from the main office.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' purchased or ordered church cleaning, restroom, and kitchen supplies. These were stored in the metal lockers found in the north furnace room, the north basement mop closet, the first floor corner closet for the housekeeper, the business restroom wall cabinets, upstairs in the utility room for the preschool, the mop closet behind the kitchen, below the kitchen garbage disposal, below the kitchen coffee maker, up high in the gym tablecloth and table closets, and next to the washer and dryer in the south basement.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' removed trash and recycles, vacuumed and scraped carpets, swept hard floors, cleaned apparent hand sink and restroom soil-age, but only as necessary in the preschool area, when the 'Sexton for Preschool and Housekeeping' or Housekeeper was unable to work after one preschool day and before the next preschool day.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' moved items to and from deep storage.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' cleared and cleaned window wells especially around the preschool basement, outside basement steps, roof drains (not eave troughs), and air conditioning enclosures. This was done to prevent basement flooding and roof leaking. The need for this would be checked whenever it rained.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' purchased and replaced water filters during the months of February and August. Turned off water feed and bled air from line before removing filter canisters. Followed the instructions of on filters for pre-flushing of filters and flushing of units after installation. Bled air from water line after filter installation. Marked the date of replacement on the outside of the filter unit. Filter locations:

• Upstairs Preschool water fountain,
• Basement Preschool water fountain,
• Business Hall water fountain,
• Kitchen coffee maker (inside cabinet above garbage disposal).

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' purchased and replaced air condition filters during the month of February. Marked the date of replacement on the exposed end of the filter. Filter locations:

• 16X25X1 - 4 - Preschool upstairs closet, single unit, side by side (remove north end panel),
• 16X20X1 - 1 - Music Director's office closet, unit 1,
• 16X20X1 - 1 - Music Director's office closet, unit 2,
• 16X20X1 - 2 - Main office, single unit, side by side,
• 16X20X1 - 2 - Elizabeth St. attic, gym wall, single unit, side by side,
• 16X25X1 - 1 - Elizabeth St. attic, street wall,
• 24X30X1 - 1 - Vesting area closet, single unit, side by side,
• 20X30X1 - 1 - Vesting area closet, single unit, side by side.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' was to be telephoned by the first preschool staff person arriving at the church in the morning, if there was a severe build-up of ice melter on the gym floor, and the preschool was to use the gym that very morning. The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' would then proceed to the church to clean the gym floor. The travel and task would require 1 1/2 hours to complete. If the preschool was not to be in session that day, then any preschool staff person observing the gym's poor condition should report this to the parish manager, so the 'Sexton for Preschool and Housekeeping' or the Housekeeper may be specifically instructed to clean the gym floor during the day.

The 'Sexton for Major Church Events' also performed special custodial projects as time permitted. These included clearing and cleaning church campus areas such as entry windows and the dumpster area. They included electric lamp replacement, minor vacuum cleaner repairs, and plant watering. The projects were initiated by the SMCE's repeated observations of such custodial needs or upon the requests of other parish staff. However, the support of major church events and already listed tasks would take priority over any special projects.