Churches are employers of staff other than clergy. From administrators to custodians, Christian educators to music directors, churches and clergy hire, supervise, and manage staff members. Sometimes these staff members are also church members, sometimes staff members are non-compensated, but are more than periodic volunteers. Human Resources management in churches is unique, but there are some basic competencies every church needs.

Join a UCC lay leader with 30+ years Human Resources experience for this three session series covering those basics. Session 1 covers Section and Onboarding of staff: job openings, searching for and interviewing candidates, job offers, onboarding, early feedback. Session 2 covers Goal Setting and Performance Management: 

local requirements and accountability to supervision, SMART goal format, informal regular feedback, formal performance review, mentoring and support. Session Three covers Position Management: Job descriptions, desk manuals, IT / physical controls (such as keys, building access, web site and system access, records retention), job shadowing, and off-boarding. 

Each session will include a case study for discussion and plenty of time for Q&A. 

Meet the Instructor: LeAnne Moritz

LeAnne Moritz is an HR professional with over 35 years of experience. She spent 30 years at Caterpillar Inc. in various corporate roles and retired in 2019. She went on to work another 2.5 years as Chief HR Officer for a Washington D.C.-based supplier to the Department of Defense and commercial aerospace industry. She now works part-time as owner and managing partner in her own HR consultancy, Heartland HR Consulting Partners, based in Central Illinois and Middle Tennessee.

Key roles at Caterpillar included leading large global HR teams in all aspects of human resources, health and safety, and industrial hygiene. She also led a large compensation and benefits team for North America for several years. In her consulting work, LeAnne has served multiple non-profit organizations and local community colleges with work in HR planning and strategy, talent acquisition and development, and HR policy.

LeAnne is a wife and mother of two adult children. She recently became a grandmother in August 2025. In addition to being active in church life, LeAnne stays busy with travel, the Chicago Cubs, pickleball, weightlifting, hiking, and Mahjong.

LeAnne is a lifelong member of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Minonk, Illinois. She has led the search committee on two separate occasions to fill the pulpit with a new pastor best suited for their small, rural congregation. She has also served on the church council for St. Paul’s, along with being active in church life activities.