For the past two weeks I (John Deckenback) have been honored to join a delegation from across the United Church of Christ which has been exploring the situation in the Middle East and visiting partner organizations in Lebanon and Israel. 

It has been a very meaningful trip.  In the coming weeks we are bound to hear much more about realities in this region as the United Nations considers a request for statehood recognition from the Palestinian Authority.  The debate on this is presently scheduled for September 20.

A "blog" on our trip has been maintained by Wider Church Ministries staff who are accompanying us on this trip--one of several trips to the initial mission regions to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM).  ABCFM is one of Wider Church Ministry's predecessor bodies.

Here is the blog address:  http://globalministries.org/news/mee/2011-me-trip-blog.html

In the next few days I will post my journal on the CAC website.

Rev. Barbara Kerschner Daniel from Evangelical Reformed UCC in Frederick, MD, began her sabbatical by accompanying us on this trip.  Evangelical Reformed's Facebook page includes her comments and pictures from our trip.

Stewardship Thoughts

Bob Ziegler

Internal Controls

Note: This is the first in a series of Stewardship Thoughts, with the focus being on both "traditional" and "non-traditional" stewardship topics.

Seeing the topic "Internal Controls," you may be saying to yourself, "What does this have to do with stewardship in my congregation?" Or, you may be saying to yourself, "Fred (or Judy or Sam or Mary) has been our Treasurer for ten years - we don't need any internal controls - we trust them. They will be insulted if we do anything that might show that they aren't loved and trusted."

Studies show that roughly 15% of congregations will face an embezzlement of church funds. United Church Insurance calls this "one of the biggest current problems." While embezzlements can occur in churches of any size, it may be a bit easier to take funds from a smaller congregation. The fewer people involved in the financial activities of the church, the easier it is for someone to take funds belonging to it. There are congregations in the Central Atlantic Conference, for instance, where the Treasurer receives and deposits the Sunday offering, prepares, signs, and mails checks written on the church's bank account, transfers funds between accounts, reconciles the bank statement, and prepares the financial reports to the congregation. I doubt members agree to become the church's Treasurer with the thought, "I will do this to become rich," but what may be viewed as a "temporary loan," especially in difficult economic times, can be the start of a slippery slope towards full-scale embezzlement.

The good news is that it does not take a lot of people to separate duties and improve controls. One of the cardinal rules is that the person that handles receipts should not also handle bill payments; a related rule is that the person who reconciles the bank statements should not pay bills.

The three areas of internal controls that I want to address are: controls over receipts; control over payments; and bank reconciliation. For illustrative purposes, let's call the person that writes and mails the checks the "Treasurer" and the person that handles the receipts and creates the members' giving records the "Financial Secretary."

1. Controls over receipts

Best practice dictates that the offering should be counted immediately after the service by two unrelated people, appropriate forms should be completed, and the deposit delivered immediately to the bank night depository by the two counters. One of the counters can be the Financial Secretary. A copy of the report prepared by the counters goes to the Treasurer and becomes the basis for the deposit entry into the checkbook. Another copy of the report and the giving records are provided to the Financial Secretary for the purpose of posting the members' giving records. If funds that are received between Sundays are kept in a lock box and counted as part of the offering, this simplifies a subsequent review of the deposits.

    2.   Control over payments

The Treasurer should not be in a position to decide what should or should not be paid (or another way to say this is, "The Treasurer should not be in the position to determine what are legitimate church expenses"). Best practices would be as follows:

• The congregation's governing body indicates the persons authorized to request payment and the types of payment that are pre-authorized. For example, the Chair of the Outreach and Missions Committee is authorized to request that the Treasurer write checks for outreach. An example of a pre-authorized payment is the monthly electric bill.
• Authorized requesters complete and sign a form that provides: the payee and his or her address, the amount being requested, and the line item where the item should be posted. This puts the accountability on the person responsible for managing the line item's budget. Any documents that should be sent with the check should be attached to the authorization voucher. The voucher is given to the Treasurer, and a check is created, signed, and mailed. Expenditures identified by the governing body as requiring no separate authorization can be paid when due.
• A related best practice is that a second signature be required on all checks, at least for the larger checks.

      3.   Bank reconciliation

The bank statement should be sent to someone other than the Treasurer or Financial Secretary for at least a review. The best scenario would be to have this third person (and it could be the Pastor) actually do the bank reconciliation. The third person should at least review the checks written to make certain that they appear to be church-related expenditures.

The implementation of internal controls should be viewed as a way to protect the persons assigned fiduciary financial roles. In this case, the persons being protected are the Treasurer and the Financial Secretary. Persons in these roles will feel more comfortable when they understand that these controls are not punitive and do not show a lack of trust but rather are simply good business practices. When I managed projects as a consultant, one of my goals was to seek win-win solutions This goal is achieved when proper internal controls are in place, thereby increasing the comfort and security levels of those involved in the day-to-day financial operations of the congregation and the congregation itself.

Next issue - Financial Reviews

About the writer

For forty years, Robert (Bob) Ziegler has provided leadership to congregations, associations, conferences, and The Pennsylvania Council of Churches on subjects including stewardship, budgeting, financial controls, and fund raising for annual operating and capital campaigns. Bob can be reached at 301-514-6277 or robertziegler@comcast.net.

Central Atlantic Conference Resolution on Banking is Unanimously Approved by General Synod 28

Bob Ziegler

Background

Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ in Frederick, MD, submitted a resolution to the 2010 Central Atlantic Conference Annual Meeting - "Putting Our Money Where Our Values Are." The resolution was approved by the delegates to the annual meeting and was submitted to General Synod 28. The resolution calls for congregations, associations, conferences, and all settings of the church to examine their banking relationships and determine whether and, if so, how change(s) to those relationships should be made. Some of the reasons for changing banking relationships might include determining that the financial institution:

• has unfair lending practices (a justice issue)
• charges higher rates than other institutions (a stewardship issue)
• promotes practices that adversely affect the poor, such as payday lending, where the annual interest rate on a $100 loan for two weeks can be 391% (another justice issue)

The General Synod Committee wrestled with the resolution and expanded the name to "Putting Our Money Where Our Values Are: Evaluating Church Financial Relationships." They did this to include relationships to not only banks but also institutions where investments are managed and maintained.

Central Atlantic Conference involvement with this resolution

Representatives of the Central Atlantic Conference were actively involved at General Synod in promoting this resolution. Rev. Bob Rock and Bob Ziegler met with the Minnesota Delegation to provide background on the resolution. Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel and Bob Ziegler met with the General Synod Committee to promote the resolution and answer any questions of the committee. Dr. William Fields, a C.A.C. delegate, spoke to the importance of the resolution during synod deliberation.

As a result of the resolution's approval, work continues within the conference. Jason Judd, a layperson from Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ and the originator of the resolution, is working on a webinar with the Center for Responsible Lending and the U.C.C. Pension Board. Intended to help those interested in implementing this resolution in their respective settings, the webinar will be offered later in October. In addition, Bob Ziegler is working with Justice and Witness Ministries, the covenanted ministry charged with managing the resolution's enactment, to create an online implementation guide

Faith Matters at General Synod

Rev. Dr. Stephanie Weiner

The United Church of Christ is at its best when it brings our faith tradition and contemporary issues together. General Synod 28 had thirteen resolutions to help us do that.

Eight of these resolutions involved general issues, issues that confront thoughtful people regardless of their faith tradition. They ranged from mindful eating to nuclear test ban treaties.

Matters pertaining specifically to the U.C.C. were also brought before Synod. In addition to the crucial concerns of governance, elections, and the frequency of General Synods, discussion and debate focused on the following five resolutions: Covenant for Church Youth Ministers; Health Care for Clergy Families; Evaluation of Church Financial Relationships; Formation of a Theological Commission; and Mutual Recognition of Baptism.

The Mutual Recognition of Baptism

The Mutual Recognition of Baptism has greater implications than may first be apparent. The result of seven years of intense study and conversation, the resolution (and its culminating passage at General Synod) is an ecumenical milestone among the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Reformed Church in America, and the United Church of Christ. In order for a baptism to be mutually recognized among all these faith traditions, the resolution requires that the sacrament be administered: (1) by someone authorized to do so; (2) with water; (3) and through invocation of the Trinitarian formula as articulated in Matthew 28:19 ("in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit").

As might have been anticipated, there was substantial discussion about the requirement to use the Biblical formula, especially among those of us who believe and practice inclusive language (and thereby employ an alternative formulation, e. g., "Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer").

It's been said, however, that to have a real choice, there must always be a third option. In this instance, there is. We can go beyond both exclusive and inclusive language to expansive language. The latter broadens the possibilities inherent in the "either-or" choice between the former two. The "Riverside" formula, used by Riverside Church in New York City (U.C.C.-affiliated), is only one example of such broadening ("Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God and Mother of us all"). Another is the inclusion of divine functions in the formulation (as in, "the Father who creates and loves us").    

Why is this broadening of language in particular and the mutual recognition of baptism in general important? Because words and relationships count! And because...

(1) It provides a good opportunity to talk with parents about the importance of faith and language. Mutual recognition may or may not be important to particular families but they should know of its existence. It has significance for the church and broadens future faith decisions for the one baptized...

(2) It recognizes more universally the authority of ministers in the Reformed tradition, who may be female and/or married - quite a step for our Catholic colleagues.!

This is one step, a giant step, along the way to fulfilling Jesus' prayer "that they may all be one" (John 17:21). Who knows? God willing, we may eventually be able to share communion!

Note: You can go to the United Church Website (www.ucc.org) for more information on all of the resolutions considered at General Synod 28.

  To Keep the Walls from Tumblin' Down

Rev. Dr. Stephanie Weiner

Union Congregational United Church of Christ in Montclair, NJ, worships and serves in a building 112 years old. Designed for the warmer climes of England, the building was constructed at a time when mortar compounds were still in the developmental stages. Not surprisingly, the mortar recently began to crumble and the stones were threatening to spall. That, combined with remedial repair to the 1950's education building, added up to a $2.9 million dollar repair bill.

With Bea Stoner serving as consultant, the congregation undertook a capital campaign. It also applied for a New Jersey Historic Trust Capital Preservation Grant. Low and behold, it was awarded one! The grant can only be used for the historic sanctuary building, not the educational one, and must be matched by church-generated funds (which have been secured). The grant was awarded on the basis of the building's historic and architectural significance and on account of the many ways that it is used by the community. The grant requires a thirty year easement which the congregation is approaching as assurance that its building will be well kept and well used into God's good future. We are grateful!

To celebrate meeting the capital campaign goal, Armen Khachaturian, former president of the congregation, constructed a cupcake tower."

The Tower at Union Congregational Church cloaked in scaffolding and mesh

 Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Wheaton, MD is in the midst of a major expansion effort.  There will be new offices, a new entryway, classrooms, and a new social hall.  In the lower right picture, Rev. Steve Anderson admires the progress on the new social hall.

The UCC Cornerstone Fund helped with loan financing.

Rev. Steve Anderson observes the construction

Pilgrim Church Capital Campaign

 Photos from the CAC Annual Meeting

Bishop Ilsa Junkermann from our partner church in Germany (EKMD) attended the Annual Meeting along with a 6-person delegation

UCC General Minister Geoffrey Black was Friday evening's preacher and shared his "State of the UCC" on Saturday

We celebrated Pentecost through energetic and creative worship led by Rev. Lucy Brady.

Newly elected CAC President Jill White thanked outgoing President Jim Bundy at the conclusion of his two-year term.

Asst. United Nations General Secretary Robert Orr reflected on his upbringing in the United Church of Christ, the witness of the church, and the global situation. Bob is a member of Park Avenue Christian in New York, which recently dually affiliated with the UCC

*

Carol E. Lytch Named as 11th President of Lancaster Theological Seminary

Lancaster Theological Seminary

Upon unanimous vote by the board of trustees, the Rev. Dr. Carol E. Lytch, a nationally recognized leader in theological education, has been named the eleventh president of Lancaster Theological Seminary. Lytch will assume her role at the seminary in mid-August.

"Dr. Lytch is not only what we were looking for in Lancaster Seminary's next president, but absolutely personifies the optimistic commitment to the future of the Christian church that the school seeks to encourage in its students," said Lancaster Seminary Trustee Richard Kratz, who chaired the presidential search committee.

Lytch is currently the assistant executive director of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), where she provides oversight for the Association's professional leadership initiatives for seminary presidents, deans, development officers, chief financial officers, and student personnel administrators.

Dr. Daniel Aleshire, executive director of ATS, said, "Carol is broadly experienced and deeply committed to the work of theological education in service to the church. Her years of work at the Association of Theological Schools have given her a keen understanding of the most important work that seminaries need their presidents to do--making friends for the school, building its capacity, and securing its future. And Carol is the kind of person who will be disciplined about doing what most needs to be done. I know no one who has a more abiding personal faith or deeper commitment to the church and its witness in the world than Carol."

A cum laude graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Lytch earned her Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and the Ph.D. from Emory University within the department of ethics and society. Her dissertation focused on the faith development of church-affiliated high school youth, and that topic has continued to inform her scholarship in subsequent years.

Prior to assuming her position with ATS, Lytch was the coordinator of the Lilly Endowment's Program for Strengthening Congregational Leadership. She was also visiting scholar and researcher-in-residence at Louisville (KY) Presbyterian Theological Seminary. A minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), early in her career she served as co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Cranberry, NJ, with her husband, Steven.

"I feel tremendously blessed to be given the opportunity to serve the Lancaster Seminary community as president," Lytch said. "I have been aware of the seminary's good work for over ten years since the school received grants from Lilly Endowment for innovative programs for pastoral renewal and for youth vocational exploration. I look forward to engaging United Church of Christ and other churches and the wider public to the aspirations of seminary so that dreams are fulfilled 'beyond all that we ask or imagine.' It will be exciting to work with wonderful colleagues in making a fine institution even better."

The search was led by a ten-member committee appointed by the board of trustees that included five board members along with representatives from the faculty, staff, students, and alumni/ae. The board also engaged independent consultant Rebekah Burch Basinger as counsel for the search.

(Lancaster Theological Seminary Press Release)

* Ordination Milestones

On July 10th, three long-tenured United Church of Christ ministers were honored:

Rev. Richard Winters was ordained in 1946 and so celebrated his 65th year of ordination.

of Rev. Masters (left) and Rev. Winters. Rev. Carol Hallman (center) is the church's current pastor

Rev. Richard Masters was ordained in 1951 and so celebrated his 60th year of ordination.

Both were ordained at Christ Reformed United Church of Christ in Cavetown, MD, a church which recalled their 125 years of ministry during Sunday's service and a special lunch.

Also honored on the same day was the Rev. Art Waidmann.  Bethesda U.C.C. members celebrated his 50th ordination anniversary during their Sunday service and the festivities that followed. 

(John Deckenback)

* General Synod Newsroom Dedicated in Honor of U.C.C. Communicator

The Rev. Gregg Brekke prepares to hang a plaque in honor of the Rev. J. Martin Bailey, U.C.C. communicator and journalist. (photo Scott Griessel)

One of C.A.C.'s own, Rev. Martin Bailey, a member of Montclair's Union Congregational U.C.C., honored

Longtime U.C.C. journalist the Rev. J. Martin Bailey was honored Friday when the press room of General Synod 28 was dedicated in his name.

The Rev. Gregg Brekke, U.C.C. news director, gathered current and former members of the press working GS28 outside the press room in the Tampa Convention Center and read a proclamation recognizing the 50 years of service to the U.C.C. by Bailey and his wife, the Rev. Betty Jane Bailey.

A plaque will be attached to the door of Room 1 for the duration of GS28.

Brekke noted that this was the first General Synod that Bailey has missed since the formation of the United Church of Christ in 1957.

"Throughout his career and well into retirement, Martin has been an example and a mentor to many of us," Brekke said.

"We want to take a moment to recall his eagerness for the work of journalism, his joyful spirit, his dedication to telling the truth of the church, even when that was difficult, his unwavering support for an independent news service in the U.C.C. and his passion for journalistic excellence."

A 1954 graduate of Eden Seminary (where he and Betty Jane met), Bailey said his greatest passion has been working for peace in the Middle East. The Baileys have written numerous books and thousands of articles. The most recent book is Who Are the Christians in the Middle East (Eerdmans, 2010).

From 1963 to 1982, Bailey served as editor of the United Church Herald and A.D. Magazine. He has been the co-chair of the Media Working Group of the Middle East Forum, director of development for Worldwide Faith News, and the media consultant to Interfaith Communities Today.

The Baileys are members of Union Congregational U.C.C. in Montclair, NJ. 

(Micki Carter)

New Pastors

Brookside Community Church, Brookside NJ has called the Rev. Joel Biggers who will begin Oct 1.

Rev. Deidre Thompson is the new pastor at the Rossmoor Community Church in Jamesburg, NJ 

Rev. Jocelyn Emerson is now pastor at St. Paul's Congregational, Nutley, NJ

Sojourners UCC, Charlottesville, VA has voted to call the Rev. Melanie Miller to be the 3rd Pastor of the church.

The Rev. Melanie Miller

Photo by Mr. Ray East

Retirements

Rev. Dr. Verne Arens, Little River UCC

Rev. Heather Cherrey

Rev. John Cooper-Martin

 Rev. Gerald Fuss, Emmanuel Baust UCC

Passages in the C.A.C.

✞Clyde H. Miller, Jr. (12/29/1927 - 7/16/2011)

Clyde H. Miller, Jr. died in a hospice in Denver on the morning of July 16th. Renal failure finally overcame his fierce fighting spirit. Clyde graduated from Chicago Theological Seminary in 1958 and has always been a leader in U.C.C. affairs, having been Director of the Boston City Missionary Society in the 1970's and Conference Minister of the Rocky Mountain Conference for more than a decade after that. Always a political participant in heavy duty transitions within the U.C.C., Clyde was a Synod fixture. He chaired the budget committee and also understood where racial civil rights had to go: integration and leadership in the mainstream.

In retirement, Clyde traveled extensively; indeed, you could never tell when he might arrive at your door. Once he came to Baltimore to attend a colleague's funeral and came to our house for the night. The evening became an exhilarating Bible study around our kitchen counter.

Clyde also served several congregations as their interim minister. He was one of those who made the UCC what it is today...

A memorial service for Clyde was held in Denver on August 3rd.

(Thanks to Clyde's many friends for passing the basics of this note along--John Deckenback)

✞Charles Stansfield

Rev. Charles Stansfield passed away in early June. He had a heart attack at age 61 while on dialysis. He lived in Florida.

Rev. Stansfield served St. Matthew's UCC in Pleasant Valley, MD, from 1979 to about 1994. During that portion of that time, he also served Krider's UCC in Westminster.

A Memorial Service was held on Saturday, July 9 at St. Matthew's UCC, Pleasant Valley.

(Thanks to Rev. Dale Krotee for passing along this information - John Deckenback)

This summer, Sanctuary UCC, located in Harrisonburg, VA, extended a "helping foot" to those in need. Sanctuary firmly believes that all are welcome to experience God's love no matter where they are on life's journey. Unfortunately, in today's economy, a family's journey can often mean limited or no funding to obtain proper footwear. Moreover, with children headed back to school and with winter fast approaching, the need for shoes increases locally. Many around the world also struggle on account of oppression, natural disaster, or poor economic conditions that hinder their ability to obtain much needed footwear.

Sanctuary's research that spurred on its attempt to address the "soles" of the needy uncovered not only a definite local resident need but also Rockingham County's "Save a Sole" recycling program. This project is able to give shoes to people in the immediate area while assisting in preventing shoes from entering the local landfill, thereby helping to protect our environment. Throughout the summer, shoes were collected, sorted, and finally put on display in preparation for a shoe give-away.

Indeed, with the help of Harrisonburg residents who dug into their closets and with the aid of several business owners who accepted containers within their stores to assist in convenient drop off sites, Sanctuary collected nine hundred pairs of shoes! Many of these were given away to local area residents during a Saturday "shopping" event hosted by Sanctuary, and the remaining shoes were donated to several local charities and the worldwide Soles 4 Souls Project. Sanctuary's success now has its membership thinking of plans for next year's shoe drive in the hopes of making "life's journey" a bit more comfortable for those in need, both locally and globally.

(For a detailed account of this project's logistics, contact Kenyon Sheffer via email at www.kmscna@aol.com.)