Letter to Parish

I believe that it is important to be transparent concerning issues of the parish. I also believe it important to clear up any rumors which might manifest themselves. It has been brought to my attention that a letter has circulated throughout our parish, maybe some of you have even received it. Nevertheless, I find this letter to be divisive to the good of the parish. I say this not because I am afraid of the truth, but rather because it comes without context, represents a time in the parish which is not recent, and boils down to the level of harassment/bullying of parish staff. If we are to “love our neighbor” bullying to get what we want should not be our motive, but rather to use proper channels to bring about proper results.

To put this letter into proper context it is written from the perspective of roughly 2015-2019, before my arrival. This letter claims that we use in the words of the author a “NEW EMPLOYEE HAND BOOK.” The Diocese of Knoxville has a lay employee handbook as well as a handbook concerning accounting administration. Our parish uses and follows these guidelines which have been given to us. We do not follow a “NEW EMPLOYEE HAND BOOK” which we have devised under our own authority.

I continue to strive to work within the bounds of diocesan policy and have oversight of parish spending. As with all things it is possible that mistakes will be made. Thankfully we have the Parish Finance Council who serve as a second set of eyes on our quarterly finance statements. If any parish staff makes serious mistakes or acts out of line I will take care of them accordingly making use of the Diocese of Knoxville HR department. I cannot go back in time and evaluate how issues were resolved five years ago, but I can take care of issues as they arise in the future.

I take financial matters of our parish seriously. If you have any concerns in this area or any area of parish life please contact me. I am always available to the needs of our parish community. It is not proper to harass/bully our parish staff nor to stir up division among our parish. We must allow ourself to come together as the Body of Christ for the good of this parish community.

In Christ,

Fr. Dustin Collins