Kathleen Davis and Marilyn Van Millon

Kathleen Davis
Administrative Assistant, 
St. Martin de Porres, Poughkeepsie

Marilyn Van Millon
Administrative Assistant, 
St. John the Evangelist, Pawling / St. Charles Borromeo, 
Dover Plains

Usually they are called “parish secretary” or “administrative assistant” – and often the role they fill is more like a chief of staff or the COO of a small corporation (the CEO being the pastor). They are linchpins of pastoral opera-tions, storehouses of knowledge and glue for the parish community. Kathleen Davis and Marilyn Van Millon (who recently announced her retirement) have combined experience in the role of more than half a century.

Kathleen Davis

KD: We have a parish of 2,200 registered families. When I first started – I’m in my 26th year – I did the bookkeeping and the bulletins and Masses and you name it, I did it. Then Fr. McWeeney, the pastor at the time, decided to build a new church, so I was in on managing construction and finances for all that as well. Then we added onto the school, and of course I was in on those meetings. I’m also the administrator of Calvary Cemetery. Now I have a wonderful administrative assistant, Patti Norman, who works alongside me. We actually help to run a multimillion-dollar corporation – that is, the parish.

MVM: Our parish is much smaller. I started out with St. Charles 27 years ago, just answering the phone and doing the bulletin, and it grew over the years. I also did the book-keeping. I took care of St. Charles Cemetery. Recently we merged with St. John the Evangelist in Pawling, so now we’re going through another whole set of changes. Our jobs change with each pastor that comes in.

KD: Every time you answer the phone, you’re wearing a dif-ferent hat. You never know what’s going to happen when you walk through the door. You have to be very flexible.

MVM: I think that we need to look at women’s role in the Church. Women’s contributions need to be more respected. We are religious ed coordinators, teachers, lectors and ex-traordinary ministers, and these are important roles.

KD: I think they should allow women to become deacons. Now we can be Eucharistic ministers, but … I think if we became deacons we could do more for the parishioners.

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