On June 26th and 27th Martin and I received training from the Public Affairs Department of the Church. We met in the Joseph Smith Building with three other couples who will be serving in Washington D.C., Los Angeles and Tokoyo.
Unlike Utah where the Church is well known, the rest of the world needs Public Affairs Councils whose purpose is to build relationships with opinion leaders who can positively affect the image of and help further the mission of the Church. Public Affairs Councils function on a Stake level under local priesthood direction who can identify local issues that could affect the Church's image or mission.
There are 18 public affairs areas around the world. We will be serving in the Central European Area Office located in Frankfurt, Germany. This area office is responsible for the Public Affairs in 26 European nations. Martin and I are one of 35 couple missionaries worldwide who assist 18 Area Directors who are full-time employees of the Church. We will be assisting Sister Gabriel Sirtl who runs the most organized and efficient Area Public Affairs Office in the Church. We will be replacing the Jaretts. Brother Jarett will be returning to Salt Lake soon to be president of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. We share the responsibility for these 26 countries with another couple, Jim and Carol Brande.
Exciting things are happening in the Public Affairs area of the Church so we will be kept very busy. Of course, with Mitt Romney running for President, the Church is in the public eye more than ever. Upwards of 50 calls from the media a day are fielded by the Public Affairs Department who responds diplomatically, while correcting misperceptions and errors. The Church is seeking to define itself rather than let the world define it. The philosophy of "let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth" has changed to "let your light so shine." They are actively working to get the word out about all the wonderful help the Church offers around the world, honoring public officials who promote family values and motivating members to become involved on a permanent basis in their communities.
We will be training National Public Affairs Directors, answering their questions and assisting them in their country efforts as well as keeping a data base of contacts made with opinion leaders, reading the news to identify issues that could affect the Church and assisting in events that could put the Church in the public eye such as chapel open houses, Helping Hands projects or the opening of a temple. (I'm going to offer to clean toilets at the Rome Temple.) Once a year all 26 National Public Affairs Directors meet for training at a central location. Next year we will be helping with this training in Prague!
Unlike Utah where the Church is well known, the rest of the world needs Public Affairs Councils whose purpose is to build relationships with opinion leaders who can positively affect the image of and help further the mission of the Church. Public Affairs Councils function on a Stake level under local priesthood direction who can identify local issues that could affect the Church's image or mission.
There are 18 public affairs areas around the world. We will be serving in the Central European Area Office located in Frankfurt, Germany. This area office is responsible for the Public Affairs in 26 European nations. Martin and I are one of 35 couple missionaries worldwide who assist 18 Area Directors who are full-time employees of the Church. We will be assisting Sister Gabriel Sirtl who runs the most organized and efficient Area Public Affairs Office in the Church. We will be replacing the Jaretts. Brother Jarett will be returning to Salt Lake soon to be president of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. We share the responsibility for these 26 countries with another couple, Jim and Carol Brande.
Exciting things are happening in the Public Affairs area of the Church so we will be kept very busy. Of course, with Mitt Romney running for President, the Church is in the public eye more than ever. Upwards of 50 calls from the media a day are fielded by the Public Affairs Department who responds diplomatically, while correcting misperceptions and errors. The Church is seeking to define itself rather than let the world define it. The philosophy of "let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth" has changed to "let your light so shine." They are actively working to get the word out about all the wonderful help the Church offers around the world, honoring public officials who promote family values and motivating members to become involved on a permanent basis in their communities.
We will be training National Public Affairs Directors, answering their questions and assisting them in their country efforts as well as keeping a data base of contacts made with opinion leaders, reading the news to identify issues that could affect the Church and assisting in events that could put the Church in the public eye such as chapel open houses, Helping Hands projects or the opening of a temple. (I'm going to offer to clean toilets at the Rome Temple.) Once a year all 26 National Public Affairs Directors meet for training at a central location. Next year we will be helping with this training in Prague!
