Included: Stewardship & Finance, Worship & Music, Parish Life, Christian Formation
STEWARDSHIP/FINANCE REPORT
January 2012 Vestry
The Commission on Stewardship & Fanance met January 9 and completed the Annual Budget for St. David’s Episcopal Church for 2012.
The Proposed Budget is submitted to the January meeting of the Vestry for approval.
For budgetary purposes, the anticipated income from pledges and other giving for 2012 is estimated to be $144,420.
The Budget of anticipated expenses totals $153,318.
The difference of $8,898 is to come from funds transfer from undesignated reserves as required.
A detailed budget will be submitted at the Vestry meeting.
Charles M. Hill, Chair for Stewardship & Finance
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Worship and Music Commission Report – Yvonne
• Rotation of choir directors has begun. I am new at this so mostly just sat and listened unless they made me sing as hymns for Epiphany were chosen. Whitney has a handy little book that she lists the hymns scheduled for services. We can see the history of our hymns throughout the year.
• Ed Fleming is preparing the list of servers and readers for the upcoming year. It should be completed by this Sunday for the Annual Meeting.
• I sincerely appreciate all that Sandy Richardson does to make sure our worship books and materials are ready each Sunday.
• Not sure if this is Ralph’s commission or this one but what is the status of the Altar rails?
Submitted by Yvonne Oliger – January 2012
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Parish Life Commission Report
for 1-18-12 vestry meeting
1. We had refreshments and carols after the Christmas Eve service. Hopefully all went well as I was not there.
2. I have worked a little on the signage part of the unfinished building projects. I got some information from Gene Niednagel from the magnetic church conference and talked to him about the project from the standpoint of evangelism. I also took some pictures of our current signage and the two buildings and e-mailed them to Bloomington Designs (who may have done the sign out by the road). I did not get a response from this so will need to get on the phone. This is turning out to be a little more complex than it seems at first! Since I am finally recovered from the holidays I will be putting more effort into this.
3. Upcoming:
a. The traditional pitch-in at the annual parish meeting on Sunday, January 22, 2012.
b. Pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, February 21, 2012.
c. Tentatively planning a Lenten Lunch program starting on February 26, 2012.
Somewhat respectfully submitted,
Jane S. Herr
Parish Life coordinator
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Thinking about mental illness, a special Christian Formation Report – January 2012
Saint David’s Episcopal Church, Bean Blossom, Indiana
These last few months I’ve been talking with a few people at Saint David’s and thinking and reading about mental illness, and I have some thoughts to share with you and with the 2012 Vestry. I think we all understand that mental illness isn’t an area of mission where we can jump off the end of the dock and trust that we’ll learn how to swim when we hit the water. We need to know more from the get-go.
➢ How we talk about it…
Much of the language that people use about mental illness comes from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association. The book is constantly being updated and revised and is meant to provide language and criteria for diagnosing mental illnesses and for communicating with other medical professionals. DSM – as it’s universally called – is an important tool in guiding treatment. Nevertheless, its language falls harshly on the ear. Here’s a sample:
…depression, anxiety disorders, ADHD, bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorders, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, schizophrenia, paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder ,dependent personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder…
Just reading this list can make people feel overwhelmed. Using this kind of language about members of our parish has brought us to tears at Vestry meetings. People we love are described on that list. Perhaps we ourselves are described there, too. I’ve come to believe that it’s a blessing for us to be able to start with compassionate tears. I offer you these words from Jane Beers: “It is wiser to do ministry out of our weakness, not out of what we think are our strengths.”
At the same time, we need to respect the utter hugeness of mental illness as an area for mission. How could the people of Saint David’s become more able to think about / discern / discover the ability to act, in this mission field? My hope is that the 2012 Vestry will consider inviting a steering committee to give some continuity to this process and to fit it into the life of the parish.
➢ First we need to deal with what God dropped in our lap.
To respect the suffering of members of this congregation, Sandy Ridenour and I think that the people of Saint David’s need an opportunity to talk about bipolar disorder. Sandy has arranged for a speaker from the Bloomington chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill to speak about her family’s experiences with bipolar disorder after church on Sunday, January 15. It is Sandy’s sense, Jane’s, and mine that there’s a conversation that needs to begin. This event is intended as a first step, not a resolution, of the situation.
Here are some further resources that could help the people of Saint David’s reflect together and become more familiar with the lived realities of mental illness:
1. Radical Welcome: Embracing God, the Other, and the Spirit of Transformation – this material from Church Publishing is geared for Episcopal churches and includes a book, instructor guides, study guides, and other materials about the program.
2. Defining terms. I think it would be helpful to have a basic, down-to-earth session outlining and clarifying the different conditions and experiences that people mean by “mental illness” – an impossibly large category – and what kinds of things help people who have these conditions and experiences.
➢ Some possible next steps
If the steering committee decides that they want to take another step, here are more areas to explore.
4. Beyond Accessibility: Towards Full Inclusion of People With Disabilities in Faith Communities (Brett Webb-Mitchell) gives both a theology and a praxis for becoming more welcoming – this is a thoughtful, beautifully-written book.
5. The pathways2promise.org website has material on becoming a compassionate congregation and on articulating a spirituality for compassionate companionship. The pathways2promise compassionate congregations model runs: education / commitment / welcoming individual people / spiritual support and practical service / advocacy. There is some powerful material on understanding our limits as helpers and letting go of the expectation that we are going to “fix” people.
6. As a way of building our confidence and understanding, Jane Beers strongly recommends the Mental Health First Aid program [mentalhealthfirstaid.org].
➢ A big step – carrying out a needs assessment project about community mental health
If our discernment journey with this area of ministry truly leads us to think about, not just Saint David’s, but Brown County as a whole, we’re talking about community mental health. This is an umbrella term used to cover a wide range of issues, services, and opportunities like clinics, hotlines, 12-step groups, and all kinds of support groups. “Community” emphasizes that we are reflecting about people who are part of our community, not isolated sufferers needing to be rescued.
In Brown County, what do people struggle with, and what might help them? Sandy’s notes from the Ohio conference emphasize the importance of beginning with needs assessment. What’s already here? What needs are unmet? Conducting a needs assessment of Brown County would be a big job. (Maybe somebody’s already done it?) There are people at Saint David’s and in the Diocese who could help us get our feet on the ground here with respect to needs assessment; Saint David’s would need to look for partnerships with other churches and organizations.
That’s really as far as I can imagine. What’s needed? How could we respond? That discernment rests in the future and depends on whatever we do next in the here and now.
Thanks for reading – Pamela Smith
