For the past two days, Cal-Pac Center has been shut down with Conference Staff coming into the office in jeans and t-shirts to get to a different kind of business: cleaning house.
Cubicles have been dismantled to create new space. Walls have been painted to brighten up the room. Boxes have been moved into storage. Furniture has been rearranged to feel comfortable. Equipment has been catalogued. And, dust has been, well, dusted.
Wanda Bethea, Pensions Coordinator, remarked that, “It has been fun to be able to do things we have always wanted to do. I can feel the positive energy amongst all of us working together and bonding through it.”
She is one of many who can feel the fresh air. The environment of a workspace not only holds aesthetic characteristics to note, but also the ability to affect how people feel.
Rev. Joel Hortiales, the Associate Director of Hispanic/Latino Ministries, enjoyed the teamwork. “I feel relieved at how different things look since the first time I stepped into my own office. We are cleaning up to make things more functional and ordered,” he said.
One of the big ticket items removed was what is called, “e-waste” or “electronic waste.” Lined and stacked along one of the hallways were unusable electronic devices, sometimes two or three items on top of each other. The process of collecting these items yielded equipment from many decades ago that is, besides being broken, no longer in regular use, and, in fact, no longer compatible with contemporary media technology.
All of this is a result of the conviction of our Conference Staff leadership that we must be faithful stewards of what God has provided.
After a long day and a half of work, Executive Director of Connectional Ministries, Rev. Steve Hundley, commented, “I am tired. But, I feel good because I have seen so many good people working together to pay careful attention to the quality of our work.”
“Oh my gosh,” exclaimed Executive Director of Finance and Facilities, Archana Carey, when reflecting on the results. “We can actually see it, I mean the amount of things that are gone and how much space we really have.”
All in all, Cal-Pac Center is gearing up for another era of God’s work that will positively impact Southern California, Hawaii and beyond. People are ready to do things that have been waiting to get done.
It is indeed a good feeling.
