PARISH ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE ENEWS
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Welcome to Rosanna Rosado, and thanks to Louis Fuertes!
Rosanna Rosado, MBA, has been hired by the Episcopal Church in Connecticut as its next Canon for Mission Finance & Operations. She begins work September 3. The announcement was published on August 27 (
link here to read
). Louis Fuertes, ECCT's Canon for Mission Finance & Operations since 2014, retires September 2.
Rosanna has more than 20 years of experience in financial and operational management in religious and other not-for-profit organizations, including the General Board of Global Ministries for the United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Association Community Church, The Episcopal Church’s Latino/Hispanic Ministries and, most recently, the Latino PR Legal Defense and Education Fund. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the College of New Rochelle and an MBA and a Certificate in International Business from the Hagan School of Business at Iona College in New Rochelle and is
currently pursuing the Certified Management Account designation (CMA). (read full announcement
here
)
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By the Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas
Rosanna Rosado, MBA, brings a wealth of experience to her role as the new Canon for Mission Finance & Operations at the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. Coming from a position as Chief Financial Officer for a national Latino justice organization, Rosanna knows well the ins and outs of running a complex and varied not-for-profit, voluntary system. Rosanna’s track record as a results-driven leader will help the Episcopal Church in Connecticut go from strength to strength as we continue to make ECCT’s finance and operations more transparent and healthy.
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By the Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas
While we welcome Rosanna, we are equally sad to see Louis Fuertes depart into retirement as our current Canon for Mission Finance & Operations. Louis came to work at the Episcopal Church in Connecticut five years ago at a crucial time of transition in our Finance Department. He stepped up faithfully, and without hesitation, when ECCT urgently needed a new Canon for Mission Operations and Finance. Over the last five years Louis has moved our financial management and oversight forward in incredible and important ways. He has brought new levels of transparency, trust, and openness to the financial affairs of the diocese. And, because of his experience as a parish treasurer himself, Louis has built bridges of understanding and collaboration with countless parishes and worshipping communities.
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Utilizing PowerPoint with a flair never before seen in ECCT, Louis has raised the financial acumen and knowledge of lay and ordained leadership across the diocese. Louis’s love of God in Jesus and his care for God’s people undergirded all he did. And through it all, his good humor and irrepressible dedication to Texas and baseball, kept a smile on all of our faces. We will miss you, Louis. Well done, good and faithful servant. Prayers and blessings on a well-earned retirement.
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HR Matters: Unemployment benefits for church employees
By Kayla Tubolino, SHRM-CP, Human Resources and Title IV Manager
I have received a couple inquires in that last two weeks about the unemployment benefits for employees. I thought writing a little blurb in the Parish Administration & Finance eNews would be the best avenue to share this information. My hope is that parish leaders (vestry and officers, staff, clergy) will share this information with all church employees so that if there is ever a discussion of ending the employment agreement, all employees have a clear understanding of what or what not (in this case) they are entitled to.
Parishes are exempts from paying into the Connecticut and Federal Unemployment Tax. If a parish does not pay into the pool, their employees are not eligible for coverage under this program.
What can parishes do with this information?
Parishes should include a statement stating these facts in new hires Letter of Employment. Below is a sample statement:
“As a religious non-profit organization,
[Employer name]
does not participate in either state or federal unemployment compensation pools and therefore, should your employment in this position terminate for any reason, no benefits would be payable under those programs.”
Parishes should also communicate to all current employees that employees are not eligible for unemployment benefits because the parish does not contribute to the unemployment pool.
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Values investing product available for D&B participants
By Theresa Dupont
Parishes interested in learning more about how they can invest in a manner that is consistent with Episcopal values should contact Theresa Dupont, Secretary for D&B at
tdupont@episcopalct.org
, or 203-639-3501, ext. 125, for more information.
D&B’s new “Values Investing Fund” is representative of “ESG” funds that screen potential investment options based on their
E
nvironmental,
S
ocial justice and corporate
G
ov
ernance characteristics. It has a target asset allocation of 57% corporate stocks, 35% fixed income securities, 5% tangible assets and 3% cash. ECCT’s Missionary Society Board has elected to be the initial participant in D&B’s new Values Investing Fund.
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Busy, busy August
By Canon Louis Fuertes
While summer is in full swing, and August is vacation time for many families, it is actually a busy time for the Finance team here at the Commons and for parish treasurers.
- Audits and Financial Reviews are due on September 1st. We here at the Commons have been working with our auditors to wrap things up, and a number of parish leaders have shared with us the fact that they are doing the same thing
- We are also working to pull together the information on Cost-of-Living adjustments and insurance premium increases that will affect ECCT’s Budget of Convention and will appear in the 2020 Treasurers’ Newsletter in September (and factor into parish budgets for 2020).
- We will get July Consumer Price Index information later this week, and are expecting that the increase I cost of living over the prior 12 months for New York and Boston metro areas will have increased by 2.2 – 2.3%, which will affect minimum clergy compensation increases for 2020.
- We do not anticipate making changes in the medical plans that will be offered in 2020, and will be receiving premiums for the plans we will offer at the end of August.
- We will not have final Property and Casualty premium increase information until December, but will provide parish leaders with the early guidance for budgeting purposes in the Treasurers’ Newsletter
- It is our goal to issue the Treasurers’ Newsletter for 2020 by the middle of September, incorporating all this information
Busy, busy…
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Faithful Futures for September will again focus on Stewardship
By Canon Louis Fuertes
A number of parishes are starting to meet to discuss plans for their annual Stewardship appeals, and the September Faithful Futures session will provide some ideas and suggestions for these important efforts. This event was promoted in our regular weekly eNewsletter and is now full.
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What's JJMA?
by Canon Louis Fuertes
“JJMA” is short hand for “Joining Jesus in a New Missional Age,” which Bishop Ian Douglas described in an open letter to the Episcopal Church in Connecticut earlier this year (
link here
). With assistance from two consulting firms (CCS and The Missional Network), participating parishes are working to participate more faithfully in God’s mission in their communities in two ways:
- Ten parishes and Christ Church Cathedral, supported by The Missional Network, are engaging more deeply in spiritual practices
- Five parishes (Trinity Brooklyn, Christ Church Bethany, St. James Glastonbury, St. Monica’s Hartford and Emmanuel Weston) and Christ Church Cathedral, supported by CCS, are actively raising new resources
The aggregate fund-raising goals of these congregations was aggressive (more than twice their aggregate 2018 contributions from parishioners). As of the end of July, these congregations had already reached more than 60% of their collective goal.
During the course of this year, nine other parishes conducted rapid fund-raising feasibility studies and 35 others, in conversations with CCS, expressed an interest in conducting a feasibility study in the future. The next steps for JJMA will be a topic for consideration at our Annual Convention in October.
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Constitución y Cánones en español e inglés / Constitution and Canons in Spanish and English
by Matt Handi
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2018 - 2019 ECCT Cycle of Prayer Available
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Parish admins invited to join a listserve
Want to chat with colleagues about ACS vs PowerChurch? Offer tips on more successful mail merges? Get suggestions on names for a new campaign?
Alison Hollo
, Senior Administrator for the Office of the Episcopate, invites parish administrators to forward her their names and email addresses to be added to an ECCT listserve for parish admins.
As a member of Bishops' Executive Secretaries Together (B+E+S+T), Alison has participated in their listserve and wants to make the same opportunity available for parish admins in ECCT.
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2019 Treasurers' Newsletter can be found
here
.
Included: Clergy Compensation, Insurance, Lay Pension, Church Records, Supply Clergy, Tax and other IRS information, and other management operations.
2018 Treasurers' Newsletter can be found
here
.
2019 Spring Safe Church Training Schedule
here.
(Choose "Option 1" or "Option 2" links for Basic Safe Church Training info and dates)
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The next issue of the Parish Admin & Finance eNewsletter will be published mid-April.
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