Program and Budget Committee News

Meeting Minutes March 12, 2015

2015-03-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

March 12, 2015

Members Present:

Bob Batchelor, Sunil Chandy, Greg DeGroot, Betsy Fornal, David Lucey, Jim Rezendes (via phone), Ann Rheault.

Meeting was called to order at 5:15 pm.

Budget Review

As of Feb. 28 revenue exceeds expenses. Moving to ACS gives us a month-by-month budget comparison with a more detailed and realistic look at where we stand at any point. Bob reported that he expects a balanced budget in 2015.

With the passing of the March 1 parochial report deadline, 22 of 50 parochial reports have been received, and so far expected apportionment income for 2015 is fairly flat relative to 2014.

The budget hearing May 6 will be at Trinity Scituate from 7-9 p.m. with light refreshments. The May 7 hearing will tentatively take place at Christ Church Westerly (St. Peter’s Narragansett could be a backup if there is a conflict).

We should ask Peter Tierney about the 2015 Task Force’s input for the budget hearings: what we should be doing that we aren’t already doing on a diocesan level, what are future directions and unmet needs. The diocese may be able to support programs and projects that are beyond the ability of individual parishes to support.

In addition to hearing from people who attend the hearings from throughout the diocese, we should invite people to make presentations about the following program areas: ECC (Megan Kelly), Hispanic Ministries (Bill Locke), Jonathan Daniels House (Gillian Barr), Cathedral Reconciliation project (Linda Grenz and David Dobbins), Congregational Development Commission, Future Areas of Need, 2015 Task Force (Peter Tierney).

David will to talk to Linda and Peter and Ben about crafting the invitation to the hearings. The question we want each presenter to answer is, “How is the gospel being proclaimed through this ministry.”

Sunil suggested that the hearings be videotaped and posted to the web – David will talk to Ben about making that happen.

Next Meeting: Thursday, April 9, 2015 @ 5:00 p.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes Feb. 12, 2015

2015-03-13T11:29:00.001-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

February 12, 2015

Members Present:

Bob Batchelor, Sunil Chandy (via Skype), Greg deGroot, Betsy Fornal, Linda Grenz, Bishop Knisely, David Lucey, Ann Rheault, Peter Tierney,

Meeting was called to order at 5:00 pm.

The group welcomed new member Sunil Chandy, rector of Christ Church, Westerly, who joined the meeting via Skype.

Budget Review

All information is now on the ACS Church Accounting Software system. The 6-page Analysis of Revenues & Expenses Summary represents a condensation of all 600 accounts on the ledger, and now the Committee on Finance and other committees have this condensed version.

Budget Worksheet 2015 – All Diocese combines apportioned and non-apportioned (endowment) and now has a 2016 column.

Income (pp. 1-6): total revenue budgeted for 2015 is $3,827,000. Expenses (pp. 6-24)

Theoretical question: Is this the year we go to a zero-based budget?

Answer: No. The 2015 Task Force is wrapping up its five-year process of strategic planning, involving a review of existing resources, missions and structures. It was agreed that we should receive, digest and act on their report and recommendations before overhauling the budget structure. 2017 might be the year to rebuild the budget from the ground up.

The first budget hearings are set for May 6 and 7. We are trying to get input from the committees and entities that receive budget dollars before we actually work on the budget, so we should encourage them to attend. Ask Communications Director Ben Sibielski what we should call these hearings to make them appealing.

Suggestion: in the budget report, boldface line items that we cannot change, and just discuss discretionary items.

Episcopal Conference Center (ECC) represents a big chunk of the diocesan budget (10% ofdiscretionary) but is also a huge goodwill PR positive for the diocese. Strategic planning would be helpful in moving towards sustainability and funding new projects, like the Bishop Wolf Conference Center, which could be rented out for retreats and other meetings.

Budget Big picture: $3.2 million budget, $1.5 million non-apportioned (endowment), $1.5 million apportioned, $300-400K pass-through from Episcopal Charities.

Next Meeting: Thursday, March 12, 2014 @ 5:00 p.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes Jan. 8, 2015

2015-03-13T11:22:00.002-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

January 8, 2015

Members Present:

Bob Batchelor, Betsy Fornal, Linda Grenz, Bishop Knisely, David Lucey, Jim Rezendes (via phone), Ann Rheault, Peter Tierney,

Meeting was called to order at 10:40 am.

In an effort to recruit new members meetings will now be scheduled for the second Thursday of the month at 5:00 pm. We should encourage conference calling and Skyping for members, since it’s difficult to come into the city at 5:00.

Three or four Spring budget meetings should be used to determine what we want our budget to look like. We will go around the diocese and listen to what people are doing, asking the strategic questions: What is working well? What is not happening that should be happening? What are you doing that you’re excited about? How could the diocese help you do it better? Did you know that this other church is doing the same thing? What networks exist? Encourage networking hubs, not command-and-control, top-down approach. The 2015 Task Force is targeting leadership groups – deacons, priests, treasurers, wardens – and will be pulling their work together after June 2015. This should piggyback on their work, and we should get the lay of the land from them, then go diocese-wide for a gut check. We might be able to have fewer Fall budget presentations with this approach.

Spring budget hearings are set for May 7 and May 8 at locations tbd – one in the north and one in the south.

Budget Review

The ACS system is a big improvement over the spreadsheets of the past and their associated errors. You can just push a button and get a report. It will lead to more clarity and more transparency.

Next Meeting: Thursday, February 12, 2015 @ 5:00 p.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes Oct. 9, 2014

2015-03-13T11:17:00.002-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

October 9, 2014

Members Present:

Greg DeGroot, Betsy Fornal, Linda Grenz, Ted Hallenbeck, Bishop Knisely, David Lucey, Jim Rezendes, Ann Rheault, Peter Tierney,

Meeting was called to order at 10:30 am.

Budget Review

ECC: An increase in the number of campers has led to an increase in consumables and the need to bring on additional staff. We need to see how much the diocese is actually subsidizing the running of the camp, call it a camp subsidy report, since expenses outstrip income.

Three budget presentations are needed:

Commission on Finance on Oct. 14 should be a big picture, high-level numbers report.

Diocesan Council on Oct. 22 should present the numbers without the stories.

Diocesan Convention on Nov. 8 should be more about the stories with less emphasis on numbers. Ben and Linda are working on slides. David and Linda will talk by phone.

Program and Budget needs to decide if and how the diocese is going to become involved in the Cathedral project. Ten years ago the estimate to restore the building to historical guidelines was around $14 million, but recently contractors went through the building and reassessed what it would take to get the basics done. Estimated $1.3 million to secure the envelope (roof, windows, trench). Split the project into 5-6 phases: museum and installation, library (bathroom and elevator), sanctuary. Total came in around $6 million. Some revenue sources that are being pursued: RI Foundation planning grant, Champlin Grant for the envelope, Lily, Ford Foundation.

Next Meeting: Thursday, January 8, 2014 @ 10:30 a.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes Sept. 11, 2014

2015-03-13T09:18:00.003-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

September 11, 2014

Members Present:

Greg DeGroot, Betsy Fornal, Linda Grenz, Ted Hallenbeck, Bishop Knisely, David Lucey, Jim Rezendes, Ann Rheault, Peter Tierney

Meeting was called to order at 10:30 am.

Budget Review

Apportionment Funded Budget:

College Ministry and Chaplaincy: has been increased to add support to the University of Rhode Island; more could be added.

Communications: subheadings of Computer Software/Maintenance and New/Replacement Equipment have been increased; it’s mission-critical to offer digital wallets and PayPal capabilities to make it easier to give.

Leadership Training: subhead School for Ministry has increased; this covers licenses for worship leaders, pastoral care, preaching.

Triennial General Convention: we have enough of a surplus reserved for EYE so funding for that was reduced from in 2015.

Convention Scheduling

At the Aquidneck Deanery meeting last night David and some P&B members held a dry-run of the budget presentation, highlighting major shifts. David felt it might be best to give total numbers first, saying we are spending X to do our work. Show slices of the pie in 7 large chunks, then drill down to the details of changes in the big items.

P&B next meets Oct. 9; Commission on Finance meets Oct. 15; Diocesan Council meets Oct. 22.

We are still making up the budget development process and getting feedback from people at the deanery meetings. We can amend the budget after Convention.

The first budget presentation will be at the Narragansett Deanery meeting at St. Augustines, Sept. 15; the next on Oct. 7 when Blackstone Deanery meets at Emmanual Church in Cumberland.

The meeting notice for the Deanery meetings inviting folks to come hear about the budget was emailed to delegates, but not to alternates. Staff will correct this.

Next Meeting: Thursday, October 9, 2014 @ 10:30 a.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes August 14, 2014

2015-03-12T09:58:00.003-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

August 14, 2014

Members Present:

Greg DeGroot, Betsy Fornal, Linda Grenz, Ted Hallenbeck, Bishop Knisely, David Lucey, Jim Rezendes, Ann Rheault, Ron Turnbull

Meeting was called to order at 10:30 am.

Budget Review

Donation to the National Church is down this year, due to lower budget from two years ago.

Rental income from the annex will be needed to make repairs to that structure next year.

Convention Scheduling

Narragansett Deanery meets Sept. 15, which will be the first budget presentation. We hope to get video from Communications Director Ben Sibielski, and will need to write a script to tell the story. Other deanery meetings are: Blackstone on Sept. 16, West Bay on Sept. 23, Central on Sept. 25.

Presentations should highlight Hispanic Ministries, ECC, New Church, JDH, Advent, Church Beyond the Walls, restarts and investment in turnarounds.

Next Meeting: Thursday, September 11, 2014 @ 10:30 a.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes July 17, 2014

2015-03-11T09:06:00.002-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

July 17, 2014

Members Present:

Bob Batchelor, Betsy Fornal, Linda Grenz, Ted Hallenbeck, Bishop Knisely, David Lucey, Jim Rezendes, Ann Rheault, Peter Tierney, Ron Turnbull

Meeting was called to order at 10:37 am.

Thrivent Financial, an arm of the Lutheran brotherhood, has established a credit union for people of faith.

Budget Review

Five parishes have not yet submitted parochial reports, but the current numbers represent 90 percent of units.

Non-Apportioned Diocesan Resource Funds are taking care of missions, including New Church Pascoag, Advent Coventry, Jonathan Daniels House; but these should be moved over to apportioned side of budget.

St. John’s Newport will soon be restored to parish status.

Episcopal Charities is running behind, it’s possible the new database has lost some contacts. They only award money to organizations (in Oct/Nov) when the income is there so they’re not giving away money they don’t have.

Convention Scheduling

Convention is set for Nov. 8, 2014 and we will try a new way of educating people on the budget. Would like to have storyboards for a dedicated video presentation that can be posted on the web and shown at budget hearings in the fall. Also a PowerPoint presentation with graphics and a video narrative of the budgets. We can show the presentation at deanery meetings, where dialog with attendees can help us improve the convention presentation. David will check the canons and look at the 2013 budget-hearing schedule. They’ll probably take place in mid to late Sept.

Next Meeting: Thursday, August 14, 2014 @ 10:30 a.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes June 12, 2014

2015-03-11T08:36:00.001-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

June 12, 2014

Members Present:

Bob Batchelor, Betsy Fornal, Greg deGroot, Linda Grenz, Ted Hallenbeck, Bishop Knisely, David Lucey, Ann Rheault

Meeting was called to order at 10:30 am.

Budget Review

Hispanic Ministry

St. George’s, Central Falls:

Linda Grenz reported that her meeting with the St. George’s bishop’s committee went well. They were grateful for the financial transparency offered by the diocese.

Church of the Ascension, Cranston

The bishop spoke with the vestry at Ascension – Hispanics represent one-third of the at-large membership, while the junior warden position is shared by one Hispanic and one Anglo representative.

Budget Review of 2014/2015 Projected Apportionment Budgets

Changes 2014 vs. 2015:

Administration - Oil expense decreases and gas increases due to the imminent gas conversion process. Title IV costs (legal fees for clergy discipline) could be taken off the budget with Diocesan Council action, we are setting up a reserve fund in case it’s needed.

Annual Diocesan Convention – Meals decrease and program increases due to getting an outside speaker (Bishop Hazelwood).

Bishop Search – money will be added stepwise to to the search fund until it reaches $150K after 10 years, which should be enough to conduct the next search. The diocese also took out a 10-year life insurance policy on the bishop.

College Ministry and Chaplaincy – Plan to step up fundraising efforts for Brown chaplaincy by soliciting Brown and RISD alumni. Support will be given to URI.

City Camp – Food has been awful in the past; perhaps in summer 2015 parishes could take turns providing nice lunches for the kids.

Commission on Ministry – Total discernment expenses will decrease in 2015 as the cost will be shared equally among parishes, candidates and the diocese.

Communications – Printing and postage for Risen is decreasing due to reducing printed copies from four to three annually, and relying more on an electronic version to those who can live without paper copies. We may have to outsource print pre-production.

Episcopal Conference Center – 2014 expenses will likely exceed the budgeted amount, but Linda will talk to Director Meaghan Kelly about increasing development efforts.

Episcopal Church Assessment – Decreases due to a decrease in diocesan revenue.

Triennial General Convention – More was budgeted for delegates in 2013 than was used, so decreasing this in future budgets. EYE youth event happens the summer before convention so we are putting money away for 3 years to save up for what will be needed in 2017.

Next Meeting: Thursday, July 17, 2014 @ 10:30 a.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes May 8, 2014

2015-03-11T08:11:00.004-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

May 8, 2014

Members Present:

Bob Batchelor, Betsy Fornal, Greg deGroot, Linda Grenz, Ted Hallenbeck, David Lucey, Jim Rezendes, Ann Rheault, Peter Tierney, Ron Turnbull

Meeting was called to order at 10:45 am.

Hispanic Ministry

What is the long-term strategy for Hispanic ministry, which constitutes the third largest item in the diocesan budget?

St. George’s, Central Falls:

St. George’s just became a mission (ASA 200-250 with a Friday and Sunday soup kitchen operation); their bookeeping is being done by diocesan staff. St. George’s needs a lot of repairs, and now it’s the responsibility of the diocese.

Church of the Ascension, Cranston/Church of the Transfiguration, Edgewood:

Ascension’s Hispanic service is separate from English services. Although Hispanic pledge/plate amounts are low, the parishioners donate a lot of labor, such as installing sprinklers for the garden and rebuilding the handicap ramp.

The diocese needs to offer support in helping these congregations maximize their three most valuable assests: pledge and plate, building, and people/labor.

Options for getting there:

· Education should be the first order of business, so Linda Grenz will visit and do some education work. The vestry could also use help in setting strategic goals. The diocese could investigate hiring a Spanish-speaking consultant to help train the Hispanic congregations in strategic vision and planning.

· Establish relationships with partner churches to help Hispanic congregations, instead of having all support coming from the bishop’s office.

· Hold fundraisers where all three churches join in to make it happen, but the Hispanic ministries get most of the proceeds. The whole diocese could help them by showing up and contributing to the fundraisers.

· Reconstitute Hispanic Ministries Committee and make it fully accountable to Diocesan Council as a new committee of council.

· CDC, the Committee on Program and Budget, and the Hispanic Ministries Committee should be working together.

New Startup Programs in the Diocese

Linda Grenz reworked the Advent budget with Mary Ann Mello and Dennis Bucco.

Next Meeting: Thursday, June 12, 2014 @ 10:30 a.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes April 10, 2014

2015-03-11T07:56:00.002-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

April 10, 2014

Members Present:

Gillian Barr, Greg deGroot, Linda Grenz, Ted Hallenbeck, Bishop Knisely, David Lucey, Jim Rezendes, Ann Rheault, Peter Tierney, Ron Turnbull

Meeting was called to order at 10:35 am.

Jonathan Daniels House (JDH) Update

JDH Executive Director Gillian Barr presented some background and updated the committee on the progress of this newly-formed diocesan ministry. Partnering with the Episcopal Service Corps (ESC) was seen as the best way to help the diocese witness in South Providence, and JDH gained approval as an ESC site in late September 2013. Gillian moved to RI in mid-January 2014.

JDH will welcome four interns in August 2014 and hopes to grow to six-to-eight interns in subsequent years. Interns will work 35 hours/week for various non-profits, and spend eight-to-ten hours/week with Gillian in spiritual discernment to see where God might be calling them in the future. JDH is still seeking internship sites, which has proved to be challenging, since it costs around $14,700 to host an intern for 10 months, and most of these non-profit agencies are strapped for cash. For example, the Institute for Non-Violence would be a perfect work site, but has no money to pay an intern.

Interns will live a common life in a four-bedroom house, undergoing hands-on formation while working in a variety of ministries. If only two interns are accepted into the program, it would be necessary to increase funding to accommodate the fixed costs. The Providence Planning Dept. might be willing to let JDH use one of the houses in its inventory. If the diocese decides to buy a house, the Property Committee could help with renovations.

New Startup Programs in the Diocese

Church of the Advent in Coventry is a new congregation directed towards people with autism and learning disabilities, offering them and their families appropriate worship and support. The autism community is very excited since there’s not much in the diocese for them now; Mary Ann Mello and Dennis Bucco are the two lead priests. So as not to be overwhelmed by a huge turnout on Day 1, Dennis Bucco will identify three or four families and invite them to attend services so that clergy might gain experience with this type of congregation. Two other experienced churches are serving as mentors.

The house on the property is being renovated and will be rented to a property manager who will act as a community liaison. Autism agencies are interested in doing something there (like play therapy), which could provide modest rental income. There’s also the possibility of a jobs-training site for autistic adults, but they are scrambling for federal dollars. Currently there is no need for a sexton - diocesan maintenance staff can continue to help out periodically. If many groups end up using the property, maintenance staff could be hired. The diocese does not have $30-50K to put into the property, but it’s hoped that rental income from the house and from groups using the facility will subsidize operations costs.

Church Beyond the Walls

Edmund Harris, who was heading up this ministry, is leaving Rhode Island. The 2014 budget shows $20K in income and a net loss of $20K. The original plan was that Epiphany would cover 25 percent of the cost and four or five other churches would step up, but so far no other churches have volunteered as partners. Even if partner churches did come forward, it might be difficult for them to come up with more than $5K each, since many churches are already operating in deficit budgets. In addition, some congregations are not welcoming this ministry.

Looking at the 2015 budget, the clergy compensation expense could be eliminated if supply clergy helped out and donated their time. Some retired clergy are committed to this ministry and might be willing to volunteer. The bishop would like to rethink the needs of this ministry with a steering committee, since Church Beyond the Walls is in a different place now. We might model it on the Boston Cathedral system, which is now a 501c3 independent non-profit.

New Church

This startup church has proven very popular, with typical attendance around 85. It has a camp ethos and doesn’t need much money; supporters don’t want it institutionalized – they want to work and worship, not serve on committees. They will do their own sexton work and will require little support. It’s a place to experiment, like a pop-up church.

Next Meeting: Thursday, May 18, 2014 @ 10:30 a.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes March 13, 2014

2015-03-11T07:48:00.002-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

March 13, 2014

Members Present:

Bob Batchelor, Greg deGroot, Linda Grenz, Ted Hallenbeck, Bishop Knisely, David Lucey, Ann Rheault, Ron Turnbull

Meeting was called to order at 10:40 am.

Budget Review

Calendar of the Year

The 2014 convention is slated for Nov. 7-8. Since the Finance Committee meets Oct. 14 and Diocesan Council meets Oct. 15, the final budget must be completed before the Program and Budget Committee (P&B) meets on Oct. 9.

Deaneries have an interest in being more involved and could host pre-convention budget meetings as they did back in the day. (Last year’s discussion of the budget and convention resolutions held at Church of the Ascension in Wakefield was successful.)

If possible, we hope to prepare a video of the P&B budget presentation (stories and people as well as numbers and graphs) to be shown at all six meetings, and also post it online. As we get feedback at these meetings we should update a list of FAQs and post them online as well..

Action items:

Staff will contact the six deaneries and coordinate scheduling of six budget town-hall meetings in September and early October.

Staff will alert Ruth Meteer to start gathering video content for the presentation.

Strategic Budget Review

We need to step back from the line-item approach to budgeting and think strategically. Every third year or so we should start from a zero budget instead of revisiting existing line items. It doesn’t have to happen all at once - maybe focus on ministry outreach one year and formation the next.

Action Items:

Betsy and Linda will work through the budget line items: some items have monetary support with no activity and those unused dollars could be used to seed new ministries.

Bob will send around the budget snapshot generated on March 4 so we can read it and come to the April meeting with questions for Linda, Betsy and Joan deCelles.

Contacting Budget Responsible Committees

We may need to invite groups in or go to the groups where they are meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 11:35 am.

Next Meeting: Thursday, April 10, 2014 @ 10:30 a.m. in the Higgins Room.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

Meeting Minutes January 9, 2014

2014-04-09T10:19:00.001-07:00

Minutes of the

Committee on Program and Budget

January 9, 2014

Members Present

Bob Batchelor, Linda Grenz, Ted Hallenbeck, Bishop Knisely, David Lucey, Jim Rezendes, Ann Rheault, Peter Tierney, Ron Turnbull

Meeting was called to order at 10:45.

Motion: Jim Rezendes moved to appoint Ann Rheault secretary to the Committee on Program and Budget for the 2015 budget year. Bishop seconded, motion was approved unanimously.

Each month we will circulate working minutes (for the committee’s use) and a more concise summary (actions on resolutions) of public meeting minutes for posting to the web.

1. Budget Review

Chart of Accounts

2014 represents a transition year as the diocese moves from the old accounting software (where all electronic financial history pre-2014 resides) to the newly-installed ACS software (Jan. 2014 on). ACS has better organization and makes it easy to generate customized reports, to display info graphically, and to produce Power Point slides for presentations.

This committee will work with the Finance Office to streamline the reports that are generated each month for its own use and for the Diocesan Council and the Commission on Finance. We will solicit input from each body on how they want reports customized, although the reports should be substantially the same.

This committee will ask the 2015 Task Force to address the possibility of helping smaller churches and missions with mundane business tasks like staff payroll, especially for those employees who work part-time for the diocese and part-time for individual churches.

Calendar of the Year

David Lucey will work with Linda Grenz to publish deadline dates for our next meeting. 2014 Convention is slated for Nov. 8 at a yet-to-be-determined church.

Contacting Budget Responsible Committees

In the coming weeks this committee will set up a schedule for representatives of various committees to attend its monthly meetings and outline their upcoming budget needs.

Random Facts

The diocese reimburses churches if it uses their facilities for a full day, such as Convention or Learn and Lead. It does not pay to use space for just a couple of hours, like a deanery meeting or traveling Diocesan Council monthly meeting – this comes under the heading of participating in the common life of the diocese.

Next Meeting: Thursday, February 13, 2014 @ 10:30 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Ann Kane Rheault

State of the Congregations Follow Up Resources & Letter from Bishop Wolf

2011-05-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

May 6, 2011

Dear Friends,

Thanks to those who were with us at the "State of the Congregations" meeting last Saturday. There were over 115 people there from more than 30 congregations. The presentation made by the Rev. David Lucey on behalf of the Program and Budget Committee was frank and clear; if we are to thrive as a diocese, each church must take an unvarnished look at its current reality, figure how it can best utilize its assets – financial, physical and human – in order to further God’s kingdom.

In addition, we need to talk to our neighboring churches and find effective ways to collaborate in such a way that the Gospel mandates are creatively fulfilled and needs are met in the local communities. This may lead to mergers, partnerships, shared ministry or other ideas that you generate.

We left the meeting committing to three things.

Each church will complete the form from Alban Institute and have conversation with their leaders and congregation about the financial future.
Each Deanery will meet within the next month inviting leaders –both clergy and lay – from each church to discuss what each church is currently doing and begin conversation about how groups of congregations can work together to enhance ministry, share resources and save money
Another meeting will be held in the fall to report back how the work has progressed.

If you were not at Saturday’s meeting, I ask you to view the material we distributed at Saturday’s meeting including Fr. Lucey’s PowerPoint presentation, 2009 Parochial Report Statistics, and the Congregation Budget Self-Test so that you can be part of this important dialogue.

Faithfully Yours,
Geralyn Wolf

Our New Blog

2010-12-17T09:04:00.001-08:00

Welcome!

At our Diocesan Convention in October of 2010, Rhode Island Episcopalians passed a resolution calling for transparency in diocesan leadership and Finances. In keeping with this resolution all elected and appointed diocesan bodies will be maintaining blogs such as this one.

Check back here often for summaries of our meetings and other items of interest which pertain to our work for you, the people and parishes of the Diocese of Rhode Island.

Thank you!