STAFF
Rev. Dr. Jacob W. Juncker, Pastor
Deidre Bassignani, Administrator
Paul Seaver, Custodian
Deklan Morin, Accompanist
COMMITTEE/TEAM CHAIRS
Linda Zardeskas, Church Council Chair
Allen Smith, Lay Leader
Dawn Pokorny, Lay Member to Annual Conference
John Milot, Resource Committee Chair
TBD, Personnel Committee Chair
George Remus, Treasurer
Cynthia Croteau, Safe Sanctuaries Coordinator
Graydon Smith, Capital Campaign Reach Team Rep.
John Zardeskas, Building Team Chair
Inger Anderson, Fellowship & Membership Team Chair
Tricia Prewitt, Community Outreach Team Chair
TBD, Discipleship Team Chair
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
The Franklin United Methodist Church is a local congregation of the The United Methodist Church and is part of the Commonwealth East District of the New England Annual Conference.
In 2018, the Franklin United Methodist Church adopted a streamlined administrative structure to simplify decision making, reduce the number of people needed to lead the church, and reduce the number of regular meetings from seven (Charge/Church Conference, Administrative Board, Nominations, Staff-Pastor Parish Relations, Finance, Trustees, and Nurture and Outreach) to four (Charge/Church Conference, Church Council, Personnel Committee, and Resource Committee) so that a greater focus could be put on the mission and ministry of the church instead of administrative meetings.
The Church Council is the primary gathering of church leaders. The Church Council ensures that the church is living into its vision and accomplishing its mission. It sets policy, budget, and strategic vision and goals for the Church. The organizational chart below shows the membership of the Church Council and how those members relate to various other committees, teams, and entities beyond the local church.
In 2022, the Franklin UMC adopted model agendas and regular discussion questions and business items to ensure that the work of the administrative committees is done in a timely, proactive manner. Descriptions of each administrative committee along with model agendas and discussion questions can be found in the Leadership Handbook.
In 2023, the Church Council voted to move forward with a capital campaign. The Capital Campaign Reach Team continues to follow up and communicate to the congregation about the Campaign; and, the Building Team is managing projects. These task-oriented committees fall under the supervision of the Church Council and are not subject to the typical nomination and leadership policies of the church.
In 2024, ministry teams were created, replacing the former Committee on Ministry (established in 2022), to plan and implement the ministries of the church. These teams are facilitated by chairpersons who report directly to the Church Council. All members of the church are encouraged to participate in at least one ministry team. There is no limit to the number of individuals who can be on each team; and, there is no limit to the length of time one can serve. Each ministry team is asked to meet at least once per quarter. A model agenda for ministry team meetings can be found in the Leadership Handbook.
