Executive Team meeting prior to congregational Budget/Election meeting
I met with Executive on Tuesday morning, and part of their agenda has been discussion of how the congregation will be handling the Ruth George bequest. Based on the input from the four input meetings from the congregation, Shaun had prepared a possible pie chart for how to allocate the almo##st million dollars St. John's has received or is in the process of receiving. We know that St. John's preschool will receive a significant amount, as will a capital improvement fund, and the largest share would be placed in a permanent Endowment Fund. I have started to work on a resolution that would put some of these details in writing for the congregation at the November 18 meeting. Exec will tweak the resolution, and bring it to council Thursday night.
Clergy Housing Allowance Update
One of the tax benefits that pastors receive is a housing allowance that is free of Federal (and State and Local) income taxes to the extent that it is used for housing expenses. This amounts to a significant savings, but is offset by the fact that pastors pay Social Security, or SE Tax at the self employment rate, which is double that which employeees pay, as the employer pays the other half. Strange but true, for income tax purposes, pastors are considered common law employees, and for Social Security purposes are considered self-employed.
The tax free clergy housing allowance has come under attack many times in the courts, but so far has survived on appeal. It looks like this tax benefit could be lost, as the "legal battle rages." You can read more about it here. I would not be financially devastated by losing this benefit, but there are likely thousands of pastors who would be, along with the congregations they serve. It should be noted that pastors who live in church-owned parsonages are not affected by the ruling, only those who receive a cash allowance to rent or purchase their own homes.
Pastoral Care happens in many ways
One of the important things that your pastor does is care of the congregation. There are many ways that this happens; hospital and nursing home visits, visits to members who are homebound, more frequent visits of the dying, visits before and after the death of loved ones, conversations and sometimes prayers with people before and after worship or in the hallways, and responding to special requests are just some of the many ways that pastors care for God's people. One member expressed concern about a close family member who was having difficulties, so together we paid a visit to the family member. On Wednesday, I visited Denise S., who is spending some time at inpatient Stein Hospice in Sandusky. She is hoping to return home again soon. She loves her church family and is appreciative of all the prayers directed her way.
Ernie and Dianne B.'s plans
You may remember that I reported that Ernie B. was married recently to Dianne, who is a resident at Bellevue Care Center. Ernie is in the process of moving Dianne home with him to his apartment. Dianne has expressed an interest in becoming a member of St. John's. I will be working with them to make this happen.
Stewardship Campaign Commitment cards ready for distribution
Our 2018 Stewardship campaign, with the theme "Make it Simple," officially began on October 28 with the first of four weekly bulletin inserts, highlighting the following themes: "Follow Jesus," "Face the Truth," "Act Together," and "Share Enough." The last two weekends of the campaign will focus on the distribution of commitment cards this Saturday and Sunday, and the return of the completed cards the following weekend. Following worship next Sunday, November 18, we we come together for a "simple lunch," which will then be followed by the annual budget and election meeting of the congregation.
On Thursday afternoon, members of the Stewardship Team, Linda, Emma K. and Aleta, assembled the Stewardship packets for distribution this weekend. Terri ran year-to-date giving statements, and inserted them into 6x9 envelopes, and the Stewardship Team added a cover letter, the commitment cards, and an envelope to return the cards, either by bringing them on Sunday morning, or dropping them in the mail. You can read a copy of the cover letter here.
Passive Agressive arguers
Have you ever gotten into an argument with someone who has no interest in dialogue, but instead only in advancing his or her own opinion, with no respect for honest debate? This can happen live, and it likely happens more often on social media. If you'd like some advice on how to deal with these people, check out this article.
Confirmation class this week
Cindy (aka Mrs. Mira) took the night off from leading Confirmation on Wednesday because of parent/teacher conferences at school, so I led the group this week. We have been studying the Lord's Prayer in recent weeks, and had come to the end of that unit, so I spent a major part of our time together on Wednesday reviewing what the Small Catechism says about the Lord's Prayer ("What does this mean?" Remember when you had to memorize it for your pastor?) I "exploded" the Lord's Prayer section of the catechism, and gave the kids the task of putting it back together. You can see a picture of the working on it here. Kaden was absent because he was sick -- otherwise, attendance has been 100%. This is a good group of kids. St. John's should be proud.
Searching the Blog
Some of you have expressed appreciation for the Interim Update blog. It is one way that I have found effective in reporting and reflecting on what happens each week, and to keep everyone as up-to-date as possible. If there's ever a time when you want to look back and find something that I had written about in a previous update, I'd suggest at two-step approach:
- Use the search window in the upper left hand corner of the blog page. For example, type "stewardship" and then click the search button (magnifying glass icon). This will display all blog posts in which the word "stewardship" appears in a single web page.
- Then use the search function of your browser (keyboard shortcut is Ctrl F) and again, type in the word "stewardship." This will highlight all the occurrences of the word on this page.
Messages from Bishop Daniel
You can read Bishop Daniel's weekly message here. Bp. Daniel also linked to a video on the Facebook NW Ohio Rostered Leaders page of Bishop Guy Erwin of the Southwest California Synod speaking about the tragic shootings in Thousand Oaks, California. You can view the video here The shootings happened just a short distance from ELCA associated California Lutheran University. A 2018 graduate of that school is among the dead: Justin Meek. You can read more about CLU's response here. Keep the families in your prayers. Why can't we do more than pray? Until we do something, the deaths will continue. Most tragic is the young man who escaped the carnage in Las Vegas last fall, only to lose his life in Thousand Oaks.
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