Diocese of Kentucky Shield
Janurary 31, 2013 - In This Issue:
Diocesan Clergy
Leadership Newsletter
 
Greetings clergy, wardens, treasurers, and other lay leaders:

I hope everyone's Annual Meetings went well. If you haven't had yours yet, I hope it goes well. Annual Meetings do a lot for parishes. They update the congregation on the status of the church, set the next year's budget, bring the entire congregation together for fellowship, and also serve as a changing of the guard so to speak. 
 
If you are a new parish leader, welcome! We in the Diocesan Office value the commitment you've made to your congregation, the wider church, and most importantly God. This year our office will offer multiple conferences and information for you to learn tools and tricks of the trade that will make your vestry, and subsequently your church, a stronger one. 
 
If you know of a member of your vestry, clergy, or lay leadership who has not received this email, please send me their contact information at bkinnaman@episcopalky.org. If you have something to add to this bi-weekly newsletter, you may email it to me as well and let me know it's for the Leadership Newsletter.
 
God's grace,
 
Brian Kinnaman
Emily Crouch with child
The Rev. Emily  and Zach Crouch welcome a their baby girl into the world

Congratulations and blessings for the birth of Charlotte Victoria Crouch to the Rev. Emily Schwartz Crouch and her husband Zach Crouch! 

Heavenly Father, you sent your own Son into this world. We thank you for the life of this child, Charlotte, entrusted to your care. Help us to remember that we are all your children, and so to love and nurture her, that she may attain to that full stature intended for her in your eternal kingdom; for the sake of our dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Annual Sunday Attendance Reminder

As you prepare your Parochial Report and calculate your ASA, a friendly reminder that 2012 had 53 Sundays not 52.
Clergy, do you have someone who helps keep you on track?

Some of you might have an assistant, parish administrator, or anyone who helps keep you on track, remind you of upcoming events, and helps you fulfill God's call. If you'd like for them to be added to this email list, please send me an email at bkinnaman@episcopalky.org. If you've e-mailed me their name before, please remind me.
Diocesan Office launches Diocese of Kentucky Scholarship Fund

On December 20th, the Bishop announced the launch of the Diocese of Kentucky Scholarship Fund in response to the alleged misappropriation of funds by the former chair and his wife of the Woodcock Foundation. This restricted fund will receive contributions to continue and support the legacy of the Woodcock Foundation Scholarship in two ways.

  1. Scholarships promised for Fall 2011/Spring 2012 will first be fulfilled.
  2. Funds received over and above the amount needed to fulfill those promised scholarships will begin to rebuild the Woodcock Scholarship Fund.

The Diocese of Kentucky Scholarship Fund will be a restricted fund, governed by Trustees and Council of the Diocese of Kentucky until such time as all litigation and any other matters are resolved. The establishment of the Diocese of Kentucky Scholarship Fund under the oversight of Trustees and Council has the unanimous support of the Board of Trustees of the Woodcock Foundation.

 

Contributions can be made by sending a check made payable to the Diocese of Kentucky, memoed Woodcock Scholarship, and mailed to:

Diocese of Kentucky
425 South Second Street, Suite 200
Louisville, KY 40202

 

Soon online contributions will be possible through the diocesan website. Notice will be given when the online payment method is up and available.

 

The response from so many people who wish to make a contribution to rebuild the fund has been wonderfully encouraging, especially from those who themselves received a Woodcock Scholarship at one time.

 
Vestry Elections

With Vestry and Bishop's Committee elections happening this time of year, I wanted to remind all clergy and/or senior wardens to please send in a list of your new vestry members to me in the Diocesan office. Specifically I'll need their name, email, phone number and position on your vestry/bishop's committee. The Bishop and his staff have some great ideas on how to increase interparish communication and sharing of resources.
Where do I send my United Thank Offering donations?

With the current vacancy in the United Thank Offering Coordinator position, it might not be clear where to send your UTO donations. 

You can send your UTO checks to the Diocesan Office. We are set up to send the funds to the national UTO office!

Please make checks out to "Diocese of Kentucky" with the memo "UTO donation"

Checks may be mailed to:
Diocese of Kentucky
425 S. 2nd St,
Suite 200
Louisville, KY 40202
The new online directory is almost done!

One of the ways our office is trying to increase communication to its leaders is by offering an online and mobile directory. 

You'll be able to log into the directory from our website to view your profile, edit it when you need to, and view the contact information for the other leaders. Since this is will be username and password protected, there is no fear about your information going viral. 

And with the mobile app, available for Android and iPhone/iPad, you'll never have to guess what a colleagues' email or phone number is again! The app even allows you to text, call, or email right from the app, so there's no copy and pasting hassle. 

This system is in its last testing phase before it becomes available to clergy only. It will become available to heads of departments, chairs of committees, and Trustees and Council later this season.
Changes in the registration process are to come

In order to make registration and payment for events easier, the Diocese will switch to an online registration process that allows the user to save information, track their payments or donations, and easily keep their contact information up-to-date. All of this will be done on our website through a program called Access ACS. 

This registration process will go live this spring. 
Are you and your congregation earthquake ready?
From the Diocesan Disaster Coordinator, the Rev. Karl Lusk

Are you and your congregation ready for a big earthquake? Have you checked your 
emergency supplies and emergency plans to ensure everything is up to date?

You are invited to join millions of people who will Drop, Cover, and Hold On at 
10:15.m. on February 7, 2013* in the 2013 Great Central U.S. ShakeOut!

 You can register as an individual, family or your organization may register.  
 http://www.shakeout.org/centralus/ 

There are some great resources on the site to make us think and ensure 
preparedness.  

The following materials are available to you or your organization to support 
your participation in the ShakeOut and to promote awareness and preparedness:

Direct Link:  http://www.shakeout.org/centralus/resources/index.html#manuals 
  • Earthquake scenarios for your drill
    • To aid in the development of self-led earthquake drills, we have created several earthquake scenarios for your use.
  • Earthquake Hazard Information
    • USGS Publications Putting down Roots in Earthquake Country - Your Handbook for Earthquakes in the Central United States  Bicentennial of the 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquake Sequence December 2011-2012  Earthquake Hazard in the New Madrid Seismic Zone Remains a Concern
  • Drill Manuals and Other Planning Documents 
    • ShakeOut Drill Manual for Individuals & Families  ShakeOut Drill Manual for K-12 Schools  ShakeOut Drill Manual for Businesses  ShakeOut Drill Manual for Non Profits and Other Organizations  ShakeOut Drill Manual for Government Agencies and Facilities
  • Countdown to ShakeOut for Organizations
  • New! Recommended Earthquake Safety Actions (including situations when you cannot get beneath a table)
  • New! Earthquake Preparedness Guide for People with Disabilities and Other Access or Functional Needs (8 pages)
  • New! Key Earthquake Safety Tips for People with Disabilities and Other Access or Functional Needs (2 pages)
  • Audio and Video "Drill Broadcast" recordings created to provide instructions during your Drop, Cover, Hold On drill.
  • Videos that explain "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" and other topics, useful for understanding or promoting the ShakeOut.
Vestry Papers
Tools for vestries, especially those going through clergy transitions

Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) is offering some great web conferences this February.  There is no cost to participate in most of the web conferences and all lay and clergy leaders are welcome to take part.  (Note:  There is a modest fee of $10 per web conference for the two-part Fresh Start series, Leading Through a Clergy Transition)

 

Topics will  include vestry leadership (in English and in Spanish), clergy transition (Fresh Start), stewardship, and endowments.

 

Click on the links below to register, or click here to see a complete list of web conferences for January - March, 2013,

 

We hope these web conferences will engage and empower Episcopal leaders throughout the Church to transform their faith communities and respond to God's call.

 

CONTINUING EDUCATION & LEADERSHIP TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
National Preaching Conference: The Promise of our Craft
Coming to Louisville!

On February 5-7, the Christ Church Cathedral will host the Preaching Foundation for their annual national preaching conference. Tom Long, Will Willimon, and Lauren Winner will be key speakers. The conference will be a mix of plenary discussions and small group workshop.

The Bishop encourages all clergy who can to attend. Bonus: it counts toward your annual continuing education requirements!
VTS professor to teach at upcoming SoM

On Saturday, February 9th (9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CST), the Rev. Dr. Kate Sonderegger, Professor of Theology at Virginia Theological Seminary, will be the guest teacher at the School of Ministry. Her topic is the Doctrine of Last Things. She recommends reading St. Gregory of Nyssa's "On the Soul and the Resurrection," published by St. Vladimir's Seminary Press. as preparation for the session. This presentation is open to anyone who is interested.

If you would like to attend, please let me know (rosebogal@gmail.com) by Thursday, February 7th. The cost is $20 which includes lunch. If you would like to come up on Friday evening, please contact Paula Probus at All Saints (1-888-853-6776).
Save the Date!
Clergy Lent Ember Day gathering

On Tuesday, February 19th, the Bishop will be hosting a clergy gathering at All Saints Center from 10:30 - 2:30 CST. 

Topics include: CoM presentation on proposed Continuing Education guidelines, proposed annual conferences in the diocese, scholarship info for continuing education grants, and much more!

Also meet Kendall Badgett, Director of Youth Programs and Yound Adult Ministry! 

Also conversation with the Bishop!

Contact All Saints to say you're coming for lunch and if you need overnight accommodations.

It'll be great to see everyone again!
Save the Date!
Wardens & Treasurers Conference

On February 22-23, the Diocese will be hosting a lay leadership conference for wardens, treasurers, and any other interested lay leadership. It will be held at All Saints Episcopal Center. Topics of the conference will be released shortly. 

If you haven't elected or won't have elected your new Senior Warden, Junior Warden, and Treasurer by Feb. 22nd, you might want to send possible candidates to the conference.

Can't wait to see you there!
Brian Kinnaman
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