Hello friends,

Our Director of Administration and Finance, Christina Rivera, has been with us for a year now. She accepted my invitation to sit down for an interview. A video version of this interview will be available on the TJMC website in the near future.

Christina, our search committee thought your resume held just the kind of experience we needed.  Remind us of your work before you joined us?

Most recently I was Director of Religious Education at our Waynesboro UU congregation as well as had my own IT and Bookkeeping consulting service focused mainly on small businesses and nonprofits. I am also currently serving on the UUA Board of Trustees which has given me a lens into many UU governance structures and models. For several years, I served on the UU SouthEast District Chalice Lighters Committee where I learned what innovative growth programs our sister congregations were implementing.

Previous to my UU work, I was the Marketing and Admin Director at an architecture firm. When I moved to Virginia from Los Angles in 2004, I spent time working for the Wildlife Center of Virginia as well as teaching Spanish at North Branch School. My career in Los Angeles focused on marketing for the entertainment industry where I was on the sets of movies like Harry Potter, Star Wars, the Matrix, Lord of the Rings and many more!

What was it like to be the new DAF over the past 12 months? 

It has been AWESOME! In many ways this past 12 months will look nothing like the next 12 months since I jumped into responsibilities that were one-time projects. Many people might remember that little Lower Hall project we completed, but some forget that from about the 3rd week I started here I was also supervising the Summit renovation as well as planning for the Lower Hall. There was also that website overhaul which the Communications Task Force made look so easy and to whom I am so grateful! Additionally, I was learning all the accounting procedures unique to TJMC as well as trying to learn all of your names/faces! All of this while I was also assessing where, exactly, I could best bring my skills to use for TJMC.

Is there a theology or philosophy that guides your work? 

I grew up straddling two cultures and we did not have a lot of the things that our society says are important. But my grandparents always showed me that if we looked at what we did have (family, faith, love, hard work) then we had everything we needed. That expectation of abundance and generosity has always been at the center of my work and my life. I came to TJMC and met a congregation of great generosity and abundance but that, at times, has told itself a story of scarcity. I hope to help the congregation see that there are different lenses through which to view our community. Our Universalist theology tells us there is already all we need here on Earth — it is up to us to realize it.

We have been experimenting with a deeply collaborative senior staff mode.  What has that meant to you? 

As I was looking for my next step in working for Unitarian Universalism, the shared ministry model is a huge part of what drew me to the DAF position at TJMC! I knew about it a bit from Wik and Leia discussing it at collegial gatherings and I knew it was something I wanted to experience. I cannot overemphasize that, as a person of color, religious professionals and congregations working together in ways that embrace anti-racist, anti-oppressive, multi-cultural leadership and governance is extremely appealing and inspiring. And that was before I had even experienced it! After a year of working in this shared ministry model and seeing how it can enhance every aspect of our ministries and governance, I’m excited to explore how we can better communicate what it means to the congregation.

Tell us a little about the day-to-day responsibilities, please, and your highest priorities for the DAF.

Sometimes it’s good to remember (for me and the congregation!) that this is a part-time position at 30 hours per week. I am in the office three days a week and frequently here for meetings at least one other day or evenings. Day-to-day I am tracking revenues and expenses to assure we are fiscally secure and making good choices with our resources; which usually requires researching and balancing often-conflicting needs. I also manage the church buildings and grounds as well as TJMC’s calendar, including requests from congregants or renters for meeting/event space. This scheduling work also requires a balancing of needs and priorities in our lively and involved congregation. I also find I need to be ready for whatever may take my attention away from my planned to do-list on any given day– a leaking pipe, someone dropping by to tour/contract with the church for an event, a smoke alarm battery that needs changing, or a congregant in need of pastoral care. I also work with  Wendy Steeves, who serves as TJMC’s  half-time (20 hours per week) Office Assisant; and I supervise the work of that position. A couple of the DAF priorities for the coming year include assessing TJMC’s systems and IT needs both in the office and the church buildings. And, most importantly, as directed by the Board, I’ll be focusing as much time as possible on revenue generation and work with the Revenue Task Force.

Is there anything else the congregation should know about you? 

I LOVE Unitarian Universalism–it gives me hope for racial justice and change in the world. Our faith speaks to both the mysteries of the universe and the work that needs to be done here on Earth. I am deeply grateful to be on this journey with you all. Beginning in the Fall, I hope to adjust my schedule a bit to enable me to be with you all on some Sundays. I have become familiar with many of you who are on governance teams or who volunteer in the office, but I know there are many more I have not yet met and I’d love to get to know you all even better!