Friday Reflection 12/19/2008
Dear Friends,
We have six days left before the great celebration of the birth of the Savior.
On this last Sunday of Advent we hear once again the story of the Annunciation with the angel Gabriel telling Mary that she will bear a son and name him Jesus. He would be the new David and would reign over Israel and His kingdom would last forever. Most of the Jews of our Lord's day thought that the Messiah would be a mighty warrior/king who would conquer all the kingdom's enemies and establish a powerful nation. The warrior/king would even break the mighty Roman empire.
This new king of Israel was born by the power of the Holy Spirit to a young peasant girl from the town of Nazareth. He was of noble birth, but not of wealth. He was born, not in a castle, but in a stable. Those who knew about his birth were few in number. Luke tells us that in addition to His mother and Joseph, there were only some shepherds nearby who came to see the newborn child.
We hear the story of His birth with the knowledge of His ministry, His death, and His resurrection. Because we know this story, this birth narrative has deep meaning for us. God became human through the flesh of the Virgin Mary. He was one of us. He was truly Emmanuel, "God with us." We celebrate this birth because we believe that He is still with us, not as He was in Israel two thousand years ago, but as the resurrected Christ who lives and moves in each of us.
Peace,
+Jerry
On a very personal note, I ask your prayers for my sister Maridale and her husband Michael who are both undergoing chemotherapy. My sister has a reoccurrence of lymphoma, and Michael has very early stage lung cancer.
+Jerry
From the Diocesan office...
Office Closed: The diocesan office will be closed from noon on Christmas Eve, December 24, until Monday December 29. It will close again on December 31 at noon, remain closed New Year's Day, but open Friday January 2.
Treasurers/Vestries: Please don't forget to pass a housing resolution for clergy on your payroll before December 31, 2008 for next year. You can find an example of this in the Manual for Business Methods in Church Affairs that can be downloaded at: http://episcopalchurch.org/finance_58218_ENG_HTM.htm?menupage=877. The IRS requires that the resolution for the clergy exemption for housing be passed by the vestry or governing body prior to the cleric receiving wages. Under no circumstances can a housing allowance be designated retroactively. For example, it the housing resolution is adopted on February 1, the housing allowance cannot apply to the clergy's compensation for January.
January Assessments: According to the change in Diocesan Canons passed at the Annual Convention in October, the assessments due to the diocese each month are based on the previous month's net disposable income (NDI). That means that January's assessment, due by January 10, 2009, will be based on NDI received in December 2008. The attached treasurer's monthly report (TMR) is a worksheet that should be completed and submitted with the assessment. You may notice that the Excel document has a tab for each month's TMR at the bottom of the page.
Annual Tax Guide for Episcopal Ministers and Churches: The Church Pension Group publishes an annual Tax Guide for clergy and churches. It is an invaluable tool for anyone involved with clergy payroll. Copies of the annual Tax Guide are available from the Church Pension Group's Web site at www.cpg.org.
Our friends in the west, the Diocese of El Camino Real, will be holding a Clergy Taxation Workshop scheduled at St. Paul's in Salinas on Saturday January 24, from 10 a.m. to noon. The Rev. Bob Rible (former IRS agent and priest) will have a formal presentation with slides, handouts and time for questions. This workshop would have benefit for clergy, treasurers, vestry members, administrators, and finance committee members. There will not be a charge for this workshop, but preregistration is required. Call Susan Altig at 831-394-4465 or susan@edecr.org to register.
Parochial Reports for 2008: Parochial report booklets for 2008 vital and financial statistics will be mailed to each congregation directly from the National Church Office. They should be available shortly at the National Church website to download, too. They can be submitted by mail or electronically. When your report is completed, you can submit it directly to the National Church, with a copy to the diocesan office.
Connections to the Diocese of Navajoland: The Diocese of San Joaquin resolved at convention to establish an outreach to the Diocese of Navajoland. We are passing this on from an e-newletter from Sharon Pearson of Church Publishing Company, Living IN Formation. Morehouse Education Resources has partnered with Augsburg Fortress in providing a Vacation Bible School program for Episcopal churches. Discovery Canyon will include a mission project focused on The Navajoland Area Mission of the Episcopal Church. In addition to the VBS program, resources are available to learn more about our brothers and sisters in the canyon lands on the Navajo reservation. Click on the links for more information.
Millennium Development Goals: If you have been reading the Episcopal Life that comes with our diocesan wrap, you have some information about the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Canon Mark Hall recently received a request asking if we had a line item in our budget for MDGs. The standard is 0.7% of our diocesan budget to support the MDGs. This was Mark's response, "We have been in business as the reconstituted Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin since March 29th this year. Our initial budget was funded entirely from the Church Center, and we then we had to supplement our budget with assessments. I am absolutely sure that the previous administration put nothing in the budget for MDGs, and I also know that we overlooked this in our budget process for this year (which is pretty bare bones.) But, now that you bring it to our attention, we will make an appeal to our parishes and missions, and see what we can do. It looks like our target is about $3700." So this is the appeal-please consider a special offering to support the MDGs. 100% of any special offering sent to us will be directed to the MDGs. Check the Web site for more information www.globalgood.org.
Save the Date: The second of Remain Episcopal's Ethos Education Series, Living into Our Baptismal Covenant, will be held at Christ the King Church in Riverbank on Saturday. February 21. 2009. "Proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ."
Clergy Conference in January: Clergy of the Diocese of San Joaquin will be gathering for a conference January 21-23, 2009. The meeting will begin at Wednesday noon and go until Friday noon. Please save the date and make plans to attend. Watch for further details.
The Episcopal Church REALLY wants you! Volunteers are needed at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church July 8-17, 2009 at the Anaheim Convention Center. This is your opportunity to participate in this once-every-three-years event. If you have questions about volunteering at convention, talk to Evelyn Keddie, who has volunteered at several conventions, ejkeddie@comcast.net. You may also find information on the General Convention Web site and register as a volunteer online, http://www.gc2009.org/volunteers.
News and Note's from Congregations: This is a section of the Friday Reflection to post information about special events at your church, especially if the event will be of interest to others in the diocese. Send the information to Juanita at jweber@diosanjoaquin.org.
The Grace Episcopal Church in Bakersfield is planning a listening tour visit to the Diocese of Navajoland from January2-5. Those going will then report back to our parishes and the diocese on how we can help. Right now, four people from Grace have committed. We have room to take four or five more. If anyone is interested, especially people with agricultural experience/expertise, please let me know at tvivian@csub.edu
Save the date for Pub Night at St. Anne's, Stockton. The parishioners at St. Anne's, recognizing their Anglican roots turn the church into an English Pub, The Mitre's Edge, on February 6 and 7. Ticket holders will enjoy a pub meal and receive a glass to sample the ale brewed by the St. Anne's brewer's guild. Call the church office to reserve your tickets. 209-473-2313
