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2012 ELCA National Youth Gathering
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 Still Time to Sign up for the Gathering
Over 28,000 have registered for the 2012 Gathering including 347 from New England. It's not to late to sign up your Youth Group. Click below to find out more:
2012 ELCA Youth Gathering Web Site
2012 ELCA Youth Gathering Registration Page
2012 New England Synod Youth Gathering Page.
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Jena Hardy
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Meet the Doing What Matters "Ambassadors"
Like their counterparts in the U.S. government, Jena Hardy and Arlene Creswell excel in diplomacy, often work behind the scenes, and get to travel to wonderful, exotic places....like Manchester, Conn., West Warwick, R.I., and Newington, N.H.! As the official ambassadors of the Doing What Matters synod mission strategy, Jena and Arlene will be contacting congregations that might have missed the events on November 5. They will be checking to see if these churches would like to participate in the community surveys, or receive a "Toolkit." In addition, the two women are ready to assist congregations that are in close proximity to each other in forming listening-helping "clusters" so that they can work together and provide mutual support.
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Arlene Creswell
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Both Hardy and Creswell are original members of the Doing What Matters Faciliteam, and their energy, enthusiasm and commitment to this important work is obvious to all who meet them. Jena is a member of Faith Lutheran in Gardner, Mass., while Arlene makes her church home at St. Andrew in Bristol, Conn. For more information about Doing What Matters, please go to the synod website.
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Last Chance for Contributions from IRA
This may be the last year in which you can make direct contributions to qualified charities directly from your IRA. According to news reports, this way of making gifts to charity is set to expire in 2012. Under this plan, charitable IRA rollover gifts count toward a donor's required minimum distribution, thereby reducing taxable income.
Making such a gift is easy. Simply instruct your IRA trustee or custodian to transfer your desired gift amount directly to your designated charity, such as your congregation, the New England Synod, Lutheran Social Services or Calumet Lutheran Camp and Conference Center.
Some guidelines to remember:
- Donors must be 70½ or older and own an IRA.
- The amount of the gift must be $100,000 or less.
- Only the IRA trustee or custodian can make the transfer. If a donor withdraws funds and then contributes them separately, the withdrawn amounts will be included in the donor's gross income.
- Gifted amounts are not included in the donor's taxable income. No charitable deduction then, is allowed for these amounts.
- Transfers can only be made to public charities, such as Saint Paul's, Lutheran Social Services, Camp Calumet, or the New England Synod.
- IRA gifts can't be used to fund "life income gifts" or other arrangements.
For more information, contact Pr. Paul Sinnott, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Torrington, Conn. |
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