Talking Points from The Last Meeting

Hello, all!

Thanks to Carolyn George, here are the talking points from our Thursday meeting. I have the recording of our meeting and will send a link as soon as we find a place to store it.

1. We at the Alameda Episcopal Deanery have a new website. These talking points will be posted there.
https://www.alamedaepiscopaldeanery.org/

2. Bishop Marc Andrus addressed us about the Diocesan Budget. Bishop Marc described overlapping crises that have dramatically impacted the 2020 Budget: the COVID 19 Pandemic, the Northern California wildfires, and the financial crisis brought on by the Shelter in Place order. The 2021 budget should see an improved situation because of the effort of each Congregation and the Diocesan Office to obtain PPE loans.  In addition Expanding Horizon contributors responded to Bishop Marc’s request to help with assessment relief. Ten requests for relief have been granted and there may be an additional 10 granted in the next round. Expanding Horizons also contributed to cover the shortfall in the budgets for the temporarily closed St. Dorothy‘s Rest and evacuated Bishop’s Ranch. The Diocesan budget for DioHouse has been trimmed by $60,000.00 without personnel cuts. 

3. The 2020 Diocesan convention will be held virtually all day Friday, October 16, and all day Saturday, October 17.  Each representative will have to register and sign in on a separate device in order to be able to vote on the floor of the convention. Bishop Marc believes all seven proposed resolutions will go to the floor of the 2020 convention.

4. We received individual presentations on the seven resolutions that will be presented for a vote at the 2020 Diocesan Convention. We were told that resolutions 2 and 4 will be on the consent calendar. The resolutions can be found on the DioCal website.
https://diocal.org/2020-resolutions

 

Hello, Alameda Deanery Delegates and Clergy!

I have a few more updates regarding our next meeting, to be held at 6:00 PM on Thursday, September 10.

1) Bishop Marc, CFO Emeritus Jim Forsyth, and Development Director J. Davey Gerhard will join us to discuss and answer questions regarding the 2021 Diocesan budget. Please see our revised agenda.

2) Here is a link to the Cheney-Lund Report on Resolution #4. Carl Cheney and Sherry Lund will discuss Resolution #4 during our meeting.

3) The Rev. Bruce O'Neill of St. Clement's, Berkeley, has nominated Elizabeth Winnacker to serve as our Deanery's Youth Delegate to the Convention. Elizabeth is a 10th grader at Piedmont High School.

Dear Deanery Representatives,
Thanks to Carolyn George, here are the talking points from our meeting last Thursday, Nov. 14, at Good Shepherd, Berkeley:
1) Robert Gammenthaler II of Church West Insurance Services, www.churchwest.com,  discussed his company's insurance offerings for churches in DioCal. Independent (non-group) church insurance is now an option, and he has worked with several of the congregations in the Deanery to provide insurance at rates that saved these parishes money. If interested, he can be reached at robert@churchwest.com, (408) 596-1169.
2) Anne Meyer of St. John’s, Oakland, presented information about the current status of Sacred Space, Oakland. Sacred Space is a church without walls and food program that is held every Sunday at 32nd and San Pablo in Oakland at 2:00 pm. The churches that participate have been in flux, and 4-5 volunteers are needed to serve two to three Sundays a month. Congregations that support Sacred Space regularly are eligible for an equal share of one of the Deanery's annual grants. The Rev. Coryl Lassen has agreed to help with the ministry and Eucharistic duties. Pamela Kruse-Buckingham, the Treasurer of Alameda Deanery,  Pamela.kruse.buckingham@gmail.com, has agreed to help coordinate volunteers. Please contact Anne at anne.meyer5023@gmail.com.
3) We brainstormed topics for Deanery discussion in 2020:
   -be more inclusive with bilingual communities
   -explore disaster preparedness 
   -prepare content for upcoming the Deanery website 
   -Sandy Burnett is preparing FAQs to help representatives learn about the Deanery themselves and inform their congregations about the Deanery.
4) Finally, please review the materials for last week's meeting, https://drive.google.com/open?id=1iv5Qz7vuSYJ1QTeNrwOng6rwVTowp13C,
especially the last two pages, which we didn't get to discuss during our meeting. Warren Wong sent this handout on the Diocese's Racial Reconciliation Project W, for which the Diocese is asking representatives from each congregation. If you have difficulty accessing these materials, please e-mail Robin Henke (rhenke1114@yahoo.com), and I'll e-mail the document to you individually.

Thanks to all, and Happy Holidays!