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OVER THE HANDLEBARS.... with Pastor Dana
Wow, we finished August with some great food and fellowship! The congregational potluck on the 21st and the Sunday School Field Day on the 28th were both great celebrations-if you missed 'em, you missed big fun!
Days like those are examples of one of the things I love about Shepherd of the Hills-this community genuinely enjoys having fun, fellowship and worship together. That sense of community was also reflected on the "celebration sheets" of paper we hung on the shed at the outdoor worship. We asked everyone to write something that they valued about SOTH, and many folks wrote about friendship and community. (A big thanks to those who wrote "pastor"-you all have stars on your charts with me!) Our understanding of being a community is a key value for us, and I think that's a very good thing. When we see ourselves as a community, we can work to make sure that everyone matters and that we share together the sorrows and joys of life. Sharing the highs and lows of life with ones who care powerfully enriches a person's life!
How do we continue to nurture that important value? And how do we work to be a community without becoming inward-focused, or cliquey? I am quite sure that this congregation does not want any person among us to feel excluded or ignored. But how do we, as a caring community, make sure that doesn't happen to new folks in our midst?
Part of the answer is to remember that we think of ourselves as disciples, not members. That is we must remind ourselves that we don't approach our life together from a point of view of privilege or entitlement, but from a point of view of service and humility. When we view ourselves as servants who are following Jesus our attitude toward those around us will be one of welcome and openness, of kindness and hospitality.
Is there someone worshipping at SOTH that you don't know? Maybe they've worshipped across the aisle from you for a long time but you've never had a conversation, or maybe they're visiting for the first time. Can you grow in your own discipleship, and help to strengthen our important shared value of community by saying hello and getting to know someone new? Let's continue to build our community by intentionally making new connections.
Thanks for being a caring community of disciples!
A note from Pastor Dana...
Shepherd of the Hills supports the work of HPI, the Homelessness Prevention Initiative through annual donations, and I currently serve on HPI's Board of Directors. Coming up on October 13, HPI is celebrating 10 years of providing emergency rental assistance to families in our community with a Gourmet Soup Supper giving event at the Fort Collins Marriott.
I will be hosting a table or two at the event and I'd love to have you join me. (I'm also one of the MC's for the evening). There is no cost for the Soup Supper but there will be an opportunity to donate to Homelessness Prevention Initiative. Are you interested? Would you like more information? To say "Sign me up, I'm coming!" call the church office and let Amy know you'd like to be at the Shepherd of the Hills table. If you want to know more, please email me at dana@sothftc.org, or call me at 631-2417. Come, have some delicious soup, and help keep families in their homes.
~ PD
TREASURER'S REPORT
special rules in place for 2011 allow for charitable contributions directly from iras
A special provision in the 2010 Tax Act allows for year 2011 charitable contributions to be made directly from your IRA to the charity of your choice. The contribution does not need to be reported as income, thus no tax will be owed on the withdrawal, and it can be used to satisfy your 2011 RMD (required mandatory distribution) for anyone over the age of 70 ½. To take advantage of this law, you must be age 70 ½ or older at the time of the transfer.
Why is this special tax law such a great deal? Because, normally, a person would need to take the withdrawal from their IRA, recognize the withdrawal as income on their tax return, and then deduct the contribution on their tax return, which they can only do if they itemize. Oftentimes, for a lot of seniors without a large amount of income, itemizing is not a good option, because the standard deduction is worth more to them (of course individual circumstances vary; please consult your tax preparer for more details). Thus, in many cases, seniors who make withdrawals from IRAs in order to fund charitable contributions do not get the benefit of the deduction. This special law makes it possible for those seniors to avoid paying the tax if they make the contribution directly from the IRA to the charity.
Our end of July numbers have been calculated and our financial situation is coming along pretty much as planned. Our budget deficit to date is up to $21,167, but this seemingly large deficit is due in large part to the timing of our benevolence giving. In July we made our single largest (excluding payments to the synod) benevolence payout, $5,500 to Lutheran Campus Ministries, and we have now paid out 65% of our planned benevolence giving for the year, which includes all our payments to the synod. If we exclude the payments to the synod, we have already paid over 70% of our planned annual benevolence.
Year to date, we have received $195,547 in offerings, $206,665 in total revenues, and have incurred $227,833 in total expenses (general budget which excludes restricted fund flow through items). Our current unrestricted cash balance is $32,363.
Craig Spawn, Treasurer
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