audit manual

Parish Health Ministry Notes & Information

Diocese of the Midwest, Orthodox Church in America 

Issue: # 2/7 September 28, 2007
Parish health Min logoBrothers & Sisters,

This is a brief issue of Parish Pulse. It is designed to share many recently completed efforts within the Parish Health Ministry in preparation for the Diocesan Assembly next week.

Some of this information will be presented and discussed at the Assembly.

Our distribution list has now grown to over 500 members of our Diocese. Sixty percent of you actually open the email and, more importantly, some of you tell us that you actually read this!

Even better!

In Christ,
Joe Kormos
Parish Health Facilitator, Diocese of the Midwest
513-683-1911

Parish Health Ministry

The Diocese' "Parish Development Engine"
 
The Parish Health Ministry is a new effort of the Diocese of the Midwest. Click here to learn more.
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Upcoming Dates & Events
- 10/5-7 Church Consecration Holy Trinity parish, Overland Pk, KS.

- 10/13 - Columbus Deanery Church School Teachers Certification Class in Cincinnati

- 10/27 - St Andrew's Parish Maple Heights OH, Altar Consecration

- 11/3, Parish Vision Workshop - St Luke's parish, Palos Hills, IL

- 12/1 
Choir Workshop; Cleveland Deanery; David Drillock, workshop leader.
UPDATE ON VARIOUS PARISH HEALTH MINISTRY EFFORTS
Projects To Be Reviewed at Diocesan Assembly
At the 2006 Diocesan Assembly we shared plans for twelve projects to be undertaken by the Parish health Ministry in the coming year. A summary of the progress made on those efforts is covered in the Parish Health Ministry report to the Diocesan Assembly-- to be found here.

Recently many of these projects have made important progress. Some of the results can be viewed by following the links below:

Hardcopies of the documents will be provided at the Assembly along with a CD containing the videos.)
  • "Intro to Orthodox Evangelization" Video - One project not included in the year's planned efforts is an effort to reinvigorate our parishes activities in the area of evangelization. With the help of Fr John Matusiak  this ten minute "pilot" video, describing the  fundamentals of sharing the Good News as Orthodox Christians, has been completed. You may view them via these links:
    • Flash Link (smaller file, plays in your browser, faster download, audio quality is less good)
    • AVI Link -- requires a movie player such as RealPlayer, somewhat better quality.
  • Parish Financial Audit Guidelines - Auditing professionals collaborated with us to create a set of "How to" Guidelines for conducting Financial Audits in parishes. The document is meant to be a thorough yet practical view of testing the Financial practices of the parish. This document can be found here.
  • Sexual Misconduct Materials - Three documents have been finalized. These are:
    • An article by Michael Herzak, Diocesan Council member and leader of many parish workshops on this topic describing Frequently Asked Questions on Parish Practices to Avoid Misconduct.
    • A Checklist to Assess Parish Implementation Status.
    • A template for a Manual that parishes can use to adapt the OCA Policy to your parish situation.
  • Clergy Compensation Committee Report - A Compensation Committee had been formed some years ago -- but after one meeting it became dormant. The Committee was re-energized this year. A survey of current compensation status preceded issuing a report by the committee. Found here, this report will be discussed at the Assembly.
  • Lay Catechist Definition  - Though materials are not yet available for download, a discussion will be held concerning plans for training of Lay Catechists. Fr Michael Butler will share prototypes of On Line Learning Courses that can become part of this curriculum.
  • Saturday Lunch Video -- Though not "new" (this was mentioned in the last Parish Pulse) a video has been produced outlining the Charitable outreach activities of St Gregory of Nyssa parish on Columbus OH. This is basically the same video that many of you viewed earlier this month. The video can be found here.
PARISH HEALTH WORKSHOP HELD IN CANTON OH
Parish Requests Your Prayers 

Canton workshopWith the assistance of Fr John Steffaro (Dean) and Fr. Gregory Jensen 25 parishioners of Holy Assumption parish in Canton OH gathered for a Parish Health Workshop last weekend.

The parish has endured a series of stressful situations in the past years. In introducing the session attendees were asked to focus "upward and forward" and to make serious effort to listen more than advocate their personal viewpoints.

The agenda included:
  • A reflective period -- asking parishioners to focus on the love they share for one another and the qualities of the parish and its persons that they appreciate.
  • Discussion of a set of "fundamental questions" to help the group focus on what it does well, its gifts and where improvements are needed. 
  • Examples of outreach projects from other parishes
  • Information on the qualities of growing Orthodox parishes based on previous surveys. 
  • Finally, the group broke down into smaller discussion groups to describe the desirable qualities of healthy Orthodox parishes in America. The three groups reported back and found reasonable consensus in their vision for their parish.  A step in the right direction.
Prayer Request
The session concluded with the attendees agreeing to pray that their parish family finds the wisdom to discern and follow God's will, and the humility for each person to see their own faults and to forgive one another for wrongs that may have been committed.

The parish asked that all in the Diocese pray for the renewed health of their parish.
CHURCH SCHOOL TEACHERS TRAINING
church school Cincinnati October 12
The Columbus Deanery will offer an OCEC Church School teachers certification course at Christ the Savior-Holy Spirit parish in Cincinnati on Saturday October 12. Registration cost is $25.
For more info click here.
Thank you for reading these letters and for the many encouraging comments.   
In Christ, 
Joe Kormos, Parish Health Facilitator
Diocese of Midwest