Change is good

by Women of the ELCA

by Linda Post Bushkofsky

If you’ve never been to the Lutheran Center in Chicago or encountered churchwide staff at a triennial convention or gathering, you might think that our organization is supported by a large staff. We do accomplish quite a bit, but truth is, there are just 13 of us. That’s right, just 13! Because we are small in number, there are times when it’s necessary for us to hire others.

We don’t have a full-time designer on staff, for example, so we often work with freelance designers to produce various printed projects. When staff created welcatg.org in 2013 we hired a local web design and development firm that did the design and technical work while staff wrote the content.

Magazine subscription fulfillment is another area that has been outsourced, and that’s what I’d like to address.

Over the course of the past year, the customer service offered to you, our subscribers, has not been what you or what staff has come to expect. We’re thankful that many of you took the time to let us know of your frustrating experiences. The phone calls and emails made the problems come alive for staff. We’ve heard your complaints. We apologize.

We’ve made changes. Women of the ELCA and Gather magazine have hired a full service subscription fulfillment company to handle your subscriptions. We are confident that our new subscription fulfillment service will provide top-notch customer service to you, our readers—the kind of service you deserve. As staff, we will experience improved database management with real time interactive Internet-based programs to help us better serve you.

We’re confident, too, that our new subscription fulfillment service will help us grow our subscription base. And who wouldn’t want to have more Christian women supported on their faith journey through the articles, theological reflections, devotions and stories of comfort and challenge that appear in every issue?

Now’s a good time to give a gift of a subscription or start a group subscription in your congregation.

The conversion to our new subscription fulfillment service was completed in late January. You should have already received a “Change is good” postcard that provides new contact information you will use regarding your subscription: a toll-free number, a mailing address and an email address. You’ll find that same information on the inside back cover of every issue and also at gathermagazine.org.

Yes, change is good.

Linda Post Bushkofsky is executive director of Women of the ELCA.