Did you notice something about Grace Episcopal Alexandria over the past year? While the place has never been a model of openness and transparency, the past year has seen an increase in the number of resignations for “personal reasons.”
Consider: Fanny Belanger resigned for “personal reasons” about the same time as Bob Malm’s abortive effort to drag my mother, dying of COPD, into court. Similarly, Jon Doelp, who I always found to be a person of integrity and who was in line to be the 2019 treasurer, resigned abruptly, again for personal reasons.
Of course, we’ve also seen several “quiet departures,” including Elizabeth Locher, who decided she was better off being a stay-at-home mother and just serving as supply clergy.
No doubt some of this had to do with the parish’s decision to try to shift health care costs to staff. Bob lingers on, living the good life with more than a month at the beach every year, an almost $200K annual income, and next to no accountability. Yet assistant rectors, who don’t earn a living wage, get to pick up the tab for part of their insurance? Not only is that a form of regressive taxation, but it puts the lie to the church’s claims of social justice and compassion.
Meanwhile, spurred on by Dysfunctional Bob and Jeff Sugarland Chiow, the church wastes money on stupid stuff, like Bob’s “single button emergency transmitters,” despite the fact that staff, including the director of music, head of school, and Bob himself, already have panic buttons. (Tellingly, Bob never actually carries his.)
My bet is that we’ll see more departures for “personal reasons” as Grace’s finances and attendance continue to decline. And that should come as no surprise, given Bob Malm’s weird claims of being threatened by “domestic terrorists.”