|
All Saints' Episcopal Church All Saints' Episcopal School Holy Child Filipino Ministries Iglesia de Todos los Santos 4201 West Washington Avenue - Las Vegas, NV 89107 (between Decatur and Valley View) 702 878-2373 - Fax: 702 878-1829 - Email the Parish Office Some pages on our site require "Adobe Reader�" or equivalent software - get "Adobe Reader�" through this link |
|
|
Southern Mission District News Southern Mission District Meeting May 10, 2008 � St. Christopher�s Church
30 leaders, Including Bishop Dan, of 9 of the congregations of the Southern Mission District met at St. Christopher�s Church to discuss some common ministry concerns and ideas. An opening prayer was offered and attendees introduced themselves. Bishop Dan made some opening comments, talking about Youth ministry and an offer from Karen Johanns, Youth Missioner in Reno, to meet with us to discuss youth ministry and the approach they are using in the Reno areas. 1. Youth Ministry: a. Following Bishop Dan�s remarks, the group agreed for Ed Lovelady to contact Karen to see when she is available later in the summer and to schedule a special meeting for everyone in our mission district who is involved in or interested in Youth ministry. NOTE: This special meeting is scheduled for September 13th at 10:00 am at All Saints' b. Six youth and one adult from our mission district will be part of the Diocesan delegation to attend The Episcopal Youth Event in San Antonio, TX in July. 2. United Thank Offering: We discussed the UTO and the semi-annual ingathering and encouraged all congregations to participate. 3. Easter Advertising: Five congregations shared a joint ad for Holy Week and Easter services at a cost of $151 per congregation for a � page ad that ran twice. We will continue to work on this kind of advertising. 3. Fair Share (Asking) Committee: Ed Lovelady reminded the group of the 2006 resolution that established a committee to review the diocesan asking methods. That committee is about ready to release information on their proposal to be presented to diocesan convention. The next step is for the committee to present their proposal to Bishop Dan and then to make the information available at all Mission District Meetings before convention. A �talking paper� is attached. 4. Chartered Bus to Diocesan Convention in Elko: Thelma Northrup has arranged for a charter bus for transportation to diocesan convention. The cost is $100 per person for round-trip transportation. The pick-up point is Arizona Charlie�s Casino on Decatur. The bus will depart Arizona Charlie�s parking lot at 6:45 am on Thursday, Oct 23. Parking is a secure lot is available at the lot on Evergreen Street. Contact Thelma, 889-3929 or [email protected] for more information or to �book� your seats on the bus. Make checks out to St. Matthew�s church and mark for �Convention Bus� and mail to Thelma at St. Matthew�s, 4709 South Nellis Blvd, Las Vegas, 89121 5. Karl Gustafson made a short report on the work of Diocesan Council and the Communications Commission. He reminded the attendees that at diocesan convention this year, there will be two positions for clergy and two for lay to serve on diocesan council. It is important to have candidates from our mission district in order to have appropriate representation on council. Meeting minutes for the Diocesan Council are posted to the diocesan web site when they are approved. The communications commission is working on video conferencing and encouraging congregation to purchase a �web cam� for use to video conference as a way to have �face to face� meetings without the travel expense. See �skype.com� for more information. If you want to check out video conferencing � go to www.skype.com and enter �lvmachead� as the username for Karl Gustafson. Also, there is a new format for diocesan news that is distributed. If you receive a �news� note, there is a subscription link at the bottom to subscribe to get these each time they are sent out. 6. Bill Leonard gave a short report on the work of the Standing Committee. Responding to a question about the �mood� of the committee, he said that the committee is working well together without any serious issue among the members. He also talked about the efforts of Epiphany parish to expand their worship space and the committee�s work to support that growth. Meeting minutes for the Standing Committee are posted to the diocesan web site when they are approved. 7. Announcements from Congregations: A reminder about the joint outreach through the food pantry at Christ church and the need for personal-size toiletries, toilet paper, tampons, and other personal hygiene items. Helen McPeak talked about the growth of Epiphany parish and their plans to obtain a larger worship space. They are working with the Standing Committee to secure funding and support for their growth. We rejoice with Epiphany with having the problem of running out of space for worship. Ed Lovelady gave a short report on Iglesia de Todos los Santos, the new Hispanic ministry at All Saints�. It is going well with an average Sunday attendance of 85 last month. There were 21 candidates for confirmation at the Regional confirmation service in April and a new First Communion class of about 40. Grace in the Desert is sponsoring a Senior Information Day on September 20th, contact them for more information. Ed Lovelady thanked those who participated in the fundraiser for All Saints� School sponsored by BJ�s restaurant. The proceeds from the evening was $303. All Saints� School is thankful for all the prayers and support from everyone during the financial crisis last year that almost led to the school closing. FYI, All Saints� School is the only Episcopal School in Nevada. The next meeting of the Southern Mission District is August 9th at 10 am at St. Matthew�s Faithfully Submitted, The Rev. Ed Lovelady, Convener of the Southern Mission District. ---------------------------------------------- Work of the Asking Committee
At the 2005 Diocesan convention a resolution was passed to establish a committee to evaluate the current �asking� criteria and calculations. The committee began its work and delayed a report to convention because of the bishop election process. This year the committee was re-established and is preparing a resolution for convention proposing a change in the �Fair Share� method for supporting the mission of our diocese. The proposal is to use the average NOI for the most recent three-year Parochial Reports, each congregation�s percentage of the total NOI of all congregations would be calculated. That percentage would determine the congregation�s fair share of the diocesan budget for income from congregations. Since parochial reports are prepared in January of each year and our budget is approved by convention in October, previous years NOI would be used. (i.e. for 2008 the average of 2006, 2005, 2004 NOI) For example: If the NOI of all diocesan congregations for the previous three years was $3,034,625 A parish with an NOI of $99,203 �fair share� would represent 3.3% of that total A diocesan budget of $606,500 would mean that congregation�s �fair share� of the diocesan budget would be $19,841. Why should we change? 1) The new method ties each congregation�s financial support of the diocese directly to the diocesan budget approved by diocesan convention. This means that when delegates approve the diocesan budget they are �signing on� to their congregation�s �fair share� of that budget. 2) The new method gives each congregation a real figure they can take home from convention on which to calculate their own budget, eliminating the �up�s and down�s� of different months in the life of the parish in which the monthly asking amount can change by thousands of dollars. 3) The three-year rolling average also levels the calculation and provides for a buffer for growing congregations to use funds for support developing ministries and programs. The current method takes �new money� out of the congregation finances immediately. 4) The new policy eliminates the monthly financial calculations and report from the congregation treasurer and the need for a diocesan staff person to compile and track the monthly reports. 5) Our theology of stewardship is based on percentage giving (the Tithe as the standard for individual stewardship) and connecting congregation contributions for financial support of our bishop and diocese to a percentage of the diocesan budget strengthens our participation in the work and ministry of the diocese and makes us better partners in this collective work. The primary concern the asking committee has encountered is the policies around exceptions to the asking policy and the ability of congregations to negotiate reductions to the asking amount for specific circumstances that impact parish finances. Some of the special circumstances are due to a serious decline in parish income or resources to develop new ministries or support facility maintenance or construction. The proposed change would not eliminate the prerogative of the Diocesan Council and Standing Committee to change the asking for a particular congregation. The new policy would also allow for and encourage congregations to increase their stewardship beyond their fair share, nor would it preclude special project funding by a congregation or congregations to support new ministry development. Ed Lovelady � May 10, 2008 Members of the �Fair Share� committee are: The Rev Ed Lovelady Ms Patricia Seay, Mr. Dick Stufflebeam, Mr. Mack Wieland Mr. Robert Pepin Ms Sylvia Speed
Southern Mission District Meeting � Feb 2, 2008 � All Saints� Church
Welcome, Opening Prayer, Introductions
1. New diocesan convention delegates and vestry/wardens as members of SMD council. Send the list to me (preferably by email with email addresses)
2. Mission District Confirmation - April 6th at 2:00 pm at All Saints�. The time has been announced differently � the �firm� time is 2:00 pm. If you have candidates, I need their names and whether they are being confirmed or received at least one week before the service, so we can put the names in the service bulletin
3. Clergy Conference May 1-3 at Life Giving Springs in Boulder City.
4. Province VIII Stewardship conference June 24 - 26 in Portland, OR. It will be worth your investment to send some of your parish leaders to this conference. Some folks from All Saints� went last year and our pledge campaign produced the greatest results in the history of the parish.
5. Youth Ministry update. The Diocesan Youth Council met at All Saints� two weeks ago and I understand the HAPPENING program is �on hold� for lack of adult leadership and youth interest.
6. Joint Advertising. Seven congregations had a joint ad for Christmas and the cost for each congregation was $144 � about half the cost for the same size ad if done alone. Do we want to do a joint ad for Holy Week and/or Easter? We�ll need to decide my mid-February. - See the flyer below for more information about Easter Advertising - Ed Lovelady will coordinate this ad - send your information/ad copy to him at rector@allsaintslv.com by March 10th.
7. Events coming up soon: - All Saints� � Wednesday evenings in Lent � Soup Supper and study program, beginning at 6:00 pm for supper and 7:00 pm for the program. Topics are: An Instructed Eucharist, A History of the Anglican/Episcopal Church, and Women in the Bible.
- Christ Church - An Anti-Racism Seminar " on March 29, 2008, 8:30 am -1:00pm
- Christ Church � March 1st - Lent Quiet Day in Mid-Lent � led by Mary Bredlau. She suggests resources listed on the Episcopal Life online web pages - http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81827_94257_ENG_HTM.htm
- St. Martin's, Pahrump - Lent Quiet Day - Feb 23rd (See flyer below)
8. Here's an update on eMinistry and our upcoming
classes (www.eministrynetwork.org)
We would so appreciate your help in getting this information to your
congregations.
One Size Doesn't Fit All: How to Select
Curriculum for your Congregation (with Sharon Pearson) An Introduction to Icons and Visual Meditation web-seminar! The Spirituality of the Labyrinth (with Lauren Artress) web-seminar! Forgiveness: What It Is and What It Isn't (with Barbara Crafton) Writing the Almost Daily eMos: The Craft of Devotional Prose (with Barbara Crafton) Designing a Confirmation Program that Speaks to Youth and Invites Ministry
9. Other business for the Mission District?
10. Karl Gustafson did a demonstration of video conferencing after the meeting for those who were interested in this inexpensive method of communications.
11. Mike Link and Helen McPeak made a presentation on a "Fresh start module" on mutual ministry review. Mike is available to take this presentation "on the road" if your congregation is interested in learning more.
12. Next Mission District Meeting on May 10th (due to Clergy Conference on May 3rd) � St. Christopher's, Boulder City - 10:00 am
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JOURNEY OF THE HEART: THE LIFE OF HENRI NOUWEN A LENTEN QUIET DAY Program
Henri Nouwen was one of the
most complex and compassionate men of the twentieth century. A Roman
Catholic Priest, prolific author, and faculty member at both Yale and
Harvard Divinity Schools, he made a radical shift at mid-life and began what
he called a "pilgrimage of downward mobility" which took him to L'Arche, a
community of people with developmental disabilities, near Toronto Canada
where he lived as their Chaplain for the rest of his life. He wrote about
the complexity of the human condition and addressed the major spiritual
issues of today in simple but profound ways. "Three Movements of the Spiritual Life" during our time together. Saturday February 23, 2008 9:00am-2:00pm Program, Lunch, Eucharist St. Martin�s in the Desert Episcopal Church 631 W. Irene St Pahrump, NV Please RSVP To Rev. Julie Platson @ peacelj2004@yahoo.com or (775) 727-4985 Patricia Washburn: Program Leader Patricia Washburn is the lay pastoral associate at St. Bartholomew�s Parish in Estes Park, Colorado, and an adjunct faculty member of ILiff Seminary in Denver. Her recent ministry of teaching and spiritual direction has been focused on older women and the challenges they face.
Meeting of the Southern Mission District Saturday - Nov 10th - 10:00 am, at St. Thomas', 5383 East Owens, Las Vegas Below is a summary of the meeting held on Nov 10th at St. Thomas� parish.
Twenty-three people representing 7 mission district congregations attended the meeting.
Fr. Ed Lovelady opened the meeting with a prayer for the Mission of The Church.
Topics of Discussion: 1. Diocesan offices: - we need to be prepared to offer candidates for the various diocesan offices at 2008 convention � clergy and lay. Nominations need to be prepared and submitted in time to be included in the convention journal. - If we expect to have appropriate representation in the life and decisions in our diocese, lay people who are communicants in good standing and clergy in our congregations must to be available to serve. Diocesan Council � clergy and lay Diocesan Standing Committee � clergy and lay Commission on Ministry Diocesan Review Committee Ecclesiastical court Youth Council � adult, young adult, youth
2. Speaking of Youth - Copies of applications to serve on Diocesan Youth Council were distributed to take back to parishes to find an adult, a young adult (19-30), and a youth (8 � 12 grade) to represent our mission district in matters regarding youth ministries. - HAPPENING � a program for high school age youth is coming to Nevada. Three young people and one adult from our mission district are attending a HAPPENING event in Texas later this month and will become the leaders for this program in our diocese. The TEC program has been �retired� in favor of HAPPENING, which is an Episcopal Church program.
3. Christmas Advertising - Flyers about Christmas advertising were distributed, if you want to go in together as we did for Easter ads Ed Lovelady is willing to coordinate this effort � Copy deadline is Dec 10th
4. Special Events � What�s happening in your parish?
- All Saints� : Hispanic Ministry � Spanish language Holy Eucharist on Sunday at 1:00 pm � Spanish language Bible study on Monday at 6:30 pm - Dec 9th � 2:00 pm. Bishop Lamb will receive The Rev Jim Lyons as a priest in the Episcopal Church at All Saints� � clergy are invited to vest � red stoles. - Jan 19th � an all day retreat �Desert Spirituality� led by Phyllis Strupp, using her book �The Richest of Fare, Seeking Spiritual Security in the Sonoran Desert� The retreat is sponsored by the Daughters of the King � The cost is $15.00. RSVP to All Saints� parish, 878-2373
- Christ Church: Advent Quiet Day �Mary as a Pilgrim� � Saturday, Dec 1st from 9 am to Noon. RSVP to Mary Bredlau at 464-8309 or [email protected] by 11/29.
- 100th Anniversary Celebration on Nov 25th, with The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori as Celebrant.
- Other congregations mentioned events and activities and will forward that information to Ed Lovelady for placement on the mission district web site (www.allsaintslv.com - �Southern Mission District� link)
5. Other Events: Mission District Confirmation � Sunday - April 6th 2008 � 2:00 pm � tentatively scheduled for All Saints� � open to another parish to host � contact Ed Lovelady.
Ordination of the 10th Bishop of Nevada: Jan 5, 2008 � 2:00 pm at the Henderson Convention Center. The Transition committee is asking for help with transportation for invited guests and with parking. Contact Pam Radke, [email protected] or 564-5106 if you�re able to help with either of these needs.
Clergy Conference � May 1 � 3, 2008 � location to be announced by Standing Committee.
2008 Stewardship Conference � June 26 � 28 in Portland, OR. This is a Province VIII conference and well worth attending by clergy and lay leaders. Several people from our diocese attended the conference earlier this year. The �testimony� from All Saints� is that their stewardship campaign produced 102% of their goal, and part of the credit goes to the fact that three people from the parish attended the stewardship conference this year.
Diocesan Convention October 2008 in Elko, NV. St. Matthew�s parish is working on getting a charter bus for delegates from our part of the state to travel together and reduce our �carbon footprint� for the trip to Elko. More information will be coming out and will be posted on the mission district web site.
6. Helen McPeak � presentation about �Fresh Start� Helen suggested that the information available in the �Fresh Start� program might be useful for lay leaders as well as clergy and offered to lead portions of the program in conjunction with quarterly mission district meetings. The group seemed to think this was a good idea. Ed Lovelady & Helen will work together to coordinate this for future meetings. Contact Helen at [email protected] for more information.
7. Karl Gustafson � presentation about Video conferencing and electronic communications. Karl is proposing the use of video conferencing from our office and home computers as a practical way to have meetings and discussions. He is working on a way to make this available easily to everyone with a computer. He also suggested use of an Internet Forum to exchange information and ideas and is building an on-line Bible Study. Contact Karl at [email protected] for more information.
8. Karen Wilkes � presentation about Planned Giving. Karen gave a short presentation and distributed some information about Planned Giving and the newly formed diocesan Planned Giving committee. They are working to develop for the diocese, and to assist congregations to develop Planned Giving programs and will be scheduling workshops and providing information and assistance. Contact Karen at [email protected] for more information.
9. Advertising: �The Catholic Christian Yellow Pages� is a new directory coming out soon and will have a section for The Episcopal Church in southern Nevada, with a listing for each of our congregations. This advertising is free.
Other free advertising is available in �The Christian Yellow Pages�. For contact information on either of these directories, contact Ed Lovelady
10. NEW CONVENTION DELEGATES � as congregations elect or appoint delegates to diocesan convention for 2008 � get that information to Ed Lovelady so the new delegates can be added to the mission district mailing list for information and to attend quarterly mission district meetings.
11. Next Southern Mission District Meeting � Saturday, Feb 2, 2008, Holy Spirit parish, Bullhead City, AZ � let�s get organized and car pool � and remember there�s a one-hour time difference � one hour later than Nevada.
That�s my recollection and notes from the meeting � if I missed something, let me know and I�ll put the info out.
Yours in Christ,
Ed Lovelady, Convener, Southern Mission District All Saints� Church www.allsaintslv.com 878-2373 Southern Mission District Web Site is located on All Saints� Parish site www.allsaintslv.com - through the link button �Southern Mission District�
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 10, 2007 � News and Announcements
Next Mission District Meeting: Saturday, Aug 4th, 10:00 am at St. Matthew's, 4709 South Nellis Blvd, LV. This meeting is for a clergy and lay leaders (vestry) and delegates to diocesan convention. If you have agenda items - please let me know.
Delegates to Diocesan Convention: All clergy and lay delegates to Convention should have received the Announcement of Convention and the registration information for convention and for the hotel. If your delegates have not received this information - you should contact Barbara Lewis at the diocesan office. The information is also posted to the diocesan web site at www.nvdiocese.org
Registration at the "early bird" price deadline is August 24th
Nomination Forms: Included in the mailed and web package for registration is nomination forms for elections to diocesan offices - It is important that our part of the diocese be appropriately represented in diocesan business - I encourage you or anyone you know with the qualifications to be a candidate for these important offices.
Youth Delegates: Diocesan Canons allow Two (2) youth delegates (age 13 - 19) from each congregation to have seat, voice, and vote at Convention. If you have not elected/appointed your youth delegates, I recommend you do so. These delegates will also be part of the electing convention for our new bishop and the participation of our youth is very important for this election process.
Delegates presence for the Friday Electing Convention - it is important that ALL delegates be present all day on Friday, Oct 12th for the Bishop Election.
Vacation Bible School at All Saints': All Saints' - 4201 W. Washington Ave, LV is having a Vacation Bible School for preschool through middle school children and youth - High School age youth are invited to help with the program with the younger kids. The program is FREE - Monday, Aug 6 thru Friday, Aug 10; 9 am to Noon. PRE REGISTRATION is required and can be done by calling All Saints' office at 878-2373 or through All Saints' web site at www.allsaintslv.com
Southern Mission District Web Site: There is a SMD web site at www.allsaintslv.com/smd - or through the "Mission District" link on the diocesan web site at www.nvdiocese.org
The Rev Ed Lovelady, Convener of the Southern Mission District
Southern Mission District Meeting May 5, 2007
Prayers � Opening Collect � Collect for Election of a Bishop
- Youth Ministry: -- Report of youth council organizational meetings (see Youth pages on diocesan web site � www.nvdiocese.org)
We have $12,000 we need to spend, so it will be given in grants. These are going to be available to all parishes for youth related training and resources in the Diocese. Each parish will have to fill out a grant application (being prepared by Lisa Young) which will be posted on the website very soon. The Desert Spirit will also have an announcement, thanks to Hallie Murphy. Our fluid group that has been meeting will be the ones to approve these grants. They are more for the small and rural parishes.
-- Camp Galilee summer Programs (see Galilee pages on the diocesan web site � www.nvdiocese.org)
-- Province VIII Youth Event (see Youth pages on diocesan web site � www.nvdiocese.org
Free Advertising: - Catholic Christian Yellow Pages (use these links � for more information www.allsaintslv.com/smd/christian-yellowpages1.pdf www.allsaintslv.com/smd/christian-yellowpages2.pdf www.allsaintslv.com/smd/christian-yellowpages3.pdf - They offered an �Episcopal� section that will begin with a page about the Episcopal Church and the congregations in our mission district.
- Deadline for the next edition of the publication is early August.
Stewardship - Stewardship conference in Sacramento in March � summary from those who attended? -- my focus was on hospitality and being a welcoming church & Endowment and Planned Giving -- Welcoming Church i.e. -- Clergy / greeters greet worshipers before the service at the front door on in the parking lot. -- Signs to find your church -- Does your church look like a deserted building (hidden by bushes or trees, not kept up) -- Make worship guests �members� quickly � ask them to join and give them a pledge card the 3rd Sunday they come. -- What system do you have in place to welcome and incorporate worship guests and make them into active members? -- Can people find you? Web site presence � linked to a mapquest map? --- Your logo, address, and service times at the top of your home page? --- Is the information up to date? Do you still Easter�s worship schedule on your page? -- Endowment & Planned Giving: -- In the next few years � millions of dollars will be given to libraries, schools, colleges, medical foundations by people who die and leave all or part of their estates. Unless we get our act together � we (the Church) won�t get but a small fraction of that. How may elderly people do you have in your congregation who don�t have family � or have children and grandchildren who are more wealthy than they? Who will they leave their estates to?
-- Each congregation needs to have financial policies in place to receive and manage gifts from our members who die � or those who are very generous. It is a way of insuring the continued ministries of our parishes for the next generations It is a way for our faithful members and stewards during their lives � to show that some faithfulness in how they dispose of their worldly goods when they die.
BCP � Pg 445: �The Minister of the Congregation is directed to instruct the people, from time to time, about the duty of Christian parents to make prudent provision for the well-being of their families, and of all persons to make wills, while they are in health, arranging for the disposal of their temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses.
The Episcopal Church Foundation has all the resources you need to develop financial management policies and to develop a planned giving program in any size congregation. Our diocese is also working on a planned giving program and if we become a �member diocese� of the ECF, many of their services are provided for us free.
Classes and Studies: - Do you have a Bible Study, �Safe Church� or Diversity class scheduled at your parish? - What special programs are you having in the next 4 months that you�d like to invite the rest of us to?
[All Saints� � A discussion of the Draft Anglican Covenant using the study guide recently put out by the Episcopal Church � on Sunday, May 27, at 9:15 am.]
Free Web Site Hosting by �Episcopal Church Web Hosting� find more information at www.ecwh.org
Our next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 4th, at 10:00 am at St. Matthew�s
If you have events you would like to advertise to our congregations � send the details to me and I�ll put it on the Mission District web site and send an email to our congregations.
Ed Lovelady, Mission District Convener |
|
Send mail to
[email protected] with
questions or comments about this web site.
|