Post-Convention Mop-up
The 135th Convention of the Diocese of Arkansas is history and the dust is settling. Kudos to Mike Schaufele, Cindy Miller, Rocki Proffitt and all of the good folk of St. Mark's, Little Rock, for a super job hosting the almost-300 attendees. The hard efforts they made to see to every detail obviously paid off. Thank you.
There were several elections and appointments during the process, and for those who were not present, they were:
Elections
Standing Committee:
- Mrs. Lynn Barton, Holy Cross, West Memphis
- The Rev. Pam Morgan, St. Andrew's, Mountain Home
Executive Council:
- The Rev. Gene Crawford, St. Mark's, Crossett (Clergy, SE Convocation)
- Mr. Andy Peeler, St. Mark's, Jonesboro (Lay, NE Convocation)
- Mr. Garry Roberts, St. Thomas', Springdale (Lay, NW Convocation)
- The Rev. Danny Schieffler, St. John's, Fort Smith (At-Large Clergy member)
Ecclesiastical Court:
- The Hon. Robert L. Brown, St. Margaret's, Little Rock (5-year term)
- Mr. George Talbot, Grace Church, Pine Bluff (3-year term)
Camp Mitchell Board of Trustees:
- Dr. Robert Seibert, St. Margaret's, Little Rock
Trustee, University of the South:
- Mrs. Pan Adams-McCaslin, St. Mark's, Little Rock
Appointments
Commission on Constitution and Canons:
- Mrs. Sherry Furr, St. Luke's, North Little Rock (filling an unexpired 2008 term)
- Mr. Barry Coplin, Christ Church, Little Rock (2010)
- The Rev. Danny Schieffler, St. John's, Fort Smith (2010)
Commission on Ministry: (reappointments to terms ending 2013)
- Mrs. Shellie Bailey, St. John's, Harrison
- The Rev. Steve Thomason, St. Thomas', Springdale
We heard inspiring words from Bishop Benfield as well as from the Rev. Mike Kinman, Director of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation, who shared stories and information about our role and responsibility to respond to the Millennium Development Goals. Of note was the news that All Saints', Bentonville, has had it's organizational meeting and Bishop Benfield will meet with the Standing Committee soon to ask them to designate All Saints' as a mission station in the Diocese. The biggest news was that the members of convention approved the resolution to move St. Thomas', Springdale, from mission to parish status. Congratulations to all!
Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines
Parochial Reports are due today!
The Canons (1.6.1) of the Episcopal Church state: A report of every Parish and other Congregation of this Church shall be prepared annually for the year ending December 31 preceding . . . and shall be filed not later than March 1 with the Bishop of the Diocese.
Guess what, folks. Today is March 1. We have always been lenient in the past about this deadline, but due to the fact that we plan to publish both the 2006 and 2007 Journals of the diocese as one document and we hope to have this available sometime next month, we need your Parochial Report right away. The Parochial Report is not contingent on your audit or anything pertaining to this year. This is information for 2006 that you are reporting. IF you have lost your copy, please be in touch with Beth Matthews and she can send you a copy and/or give you your ID and password so you can file your report online.
Also, each congregation recently received a survey from the Church Pension Fund requesting information on lay employees. This is a very important survey that will impact, and hopefully help improve, the role of the lay person employed in the work of the church. The deadline for this survey is March 5 and thus far we still have 35 congregations who have not responded. If your church has no paid lay staff, they need to know that, too. [Editor's note: I am part of the task force that is working on this and we are working hard to find out, for one thing, just how many lay employees there are in the Episcopal Church, so please respond to this survey as quickly and accurately as you can.]
New Face of the Diocesan Website
Have a Look!
You are invited to visit www.arkansas.anglican.org to view the recently updated diocesan website. Many thanks to the Rev. Jos Tharakan, Missionary Chaplain at Christ Church, Mena, for his expertise and diligence in getting this updated site up and running. We welcome your comments and ideas about our website. It still is in process, but the basics are out there and updates will be frequent, so visit often and let us know what you think.
Upcoming Events
March 2-4 Happening #18, Camp Mitchell
March 12-24 Executive Council overnight meeting, Camp Mitchell
March 16-21 House of Bishops' meeting, Camp Allen, Texas
March 18 Arkansas Day at the National Cathedral
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