To guide you through this update, please note that it covers the following topics:
(1) Sale of the Episcopal Residence
(2) Preparing for the Assisting Bishop
(3) New Chair for Diocesan Council
(4) Follow up to the Lay and Clergy Conferences
(5) Information on our Missions

(1) Sale of the Episcopal Residence:

The sale of Bishop Shimpfky's house closed on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - for a sale price of $1,380,000.00. Richard and Jamel have relocated to the East Coast.

The Diocese had a 45% investment in this house. After all obligations were paid out through escrow (escrow fees, commissions, settlement terms/agreements with the Bishop), the net proceeds to the Diocese totaled $543,136.58 (pending discussion around deduction for additional attorney fees). The money used for the original investment came from 4 endowment funds. After replenishing the corpus of these funds, the net income has to be re-distributed proportionately to the temporary restricted accounts from the same funds. This is in keeping with the original intent of the investment.

In the coming months, the Finance Committee and Corporation will determine how to re-invest the funds, both the permanently restricted and the temporary restricted portions.

If you have questions about the sale of the episcopal residence, contact the Rev. Brian Nordwick, Diocesan Administrator, at bnordwick@redshift.com.

(2) Preparing for the Assisting Bishop

Bishop Clay Matthews of the Presiding Bishop's Office of Pastoral Development has now identified several bishops for the Standing Committee to interview for the position of Assisting Bishop. Members of the Standing Committee will be discussing this with Bishop Matthews next week. In our next Standing Committee Update, we will report on any progress we have made.

(3) New Chair for Diocesan Council:

On June 17, members of Diocesan Council elected Diane Lovelace as chair of Council. A member of St. Joseph's, Milpitas, Di brings strong leadership qualities to this position. In addition to her work in her parish, Di has represented the Central Valley Deanery to Council, and represented Council on the Joint Process Committee and the Joint Retirement Committee. In her professional life, Di owned a consulting firm, specializing in management, leadership, and sales skills training.

The next meeting of Diocesan Council will be September 16. The Council is currently working with the Budget Advisory Committee to build a budget for 2005. If you have questions for Council or about Council's work, you may contact Di Lovelace at DiLovelace@aol.com.

(4) Follow up to the Lay and Clergy Conferences:

The energy and momentum from the May conferences for clergy and laity has not dissipated. With the help of Canon Educator Jan Wood, the Standing Committee is planning several diocesan events to build on the work done in May. The next few months will be a very busy time.

During July and August we would like all congregations to spend time together discussing a set of common questions, which will help us begin to define our core values and vision for the future. These will be informal times to talk and share ideas, and could be held on an afternoon or evening, or over coffee after services. More information will be coming soon, by email and by mail to each congregation's leaders.

On September 11 we plan to sponsor a "Day of Forgiveness" for Clergy and Lay at one of our churches. In October we plan to hold a Clergy-Lay Conference. More on this will be forthcoming on the website and through email.

If you have questions about these upcoming events, contact Joanna Shreve, JRShreve@aol.com, and Ann Wright, hmwright1@comcast.net.

(5) Information about our Missions

Ordination at Holy Child, San Jose: In a joyous and festival service on June 22, the Rev. Benedict Baguyos Masillem was ordained to the priesthood by the Bishop of Alaska, Mark MacDonald. The Bishop's Committee of Holy Child has recommended Ben Massilem to the Standing Committee for appointment as the next Vicar of Holy Child.

Bishop Romero is coming: We are pleased to announce that the Rt. Rev. Sylvestre Romero of Belize will be coming to our diocese for ten days in July. On July 11, Bishop Romero will be at San Pablo, Salinas to preside at a joint confirmation service. He will also lead a retreat for Latino clergy on Wednesday, July 14. The Latino clergy are looking forward to this opportunity to come together for fellowship, prayer, and guidance from Bishop Romero. If you have questions, contact the Rev. Silvestre Romero Jr., Rector of St. Philip's, San Jose, at rector2ser@sbcglobal.net.

Overall Mission Strategy: The members of DIEM (Department of Intercultural Evangelism and Mission) have developed and adopted a Mission Position Paper, which has four main components:

(1) DIEM will develop a policy detailing the specific level of internal growth and support which a congregation must achieve before it can advance to the next step of congregational organization.

(2) DIEM will assess the needs of current missions and report its findings to the Standing Committee by June 2005.

(3) Working with the appropriate financial arms of the diocese, DIEM will develop a strategy for future work in the mission field.

(4) DIEM will provide a list of congregations which may not move toward parish status in the foreseeable future but may be considered intrinsically valuable to the mission strategy and identity of the diocese. A detailed plan for the support and funding needed to sustain these congregations will be developed.

At its meeting on June 19, DIEM unanimously adopted the resolution passed by the Standing Committee: Pending the development of an orderly diocesan process, resolved that there be a moratorium through the end of May 2005 on moving congregations in mission categories to the next step.

DIEM, in concert with the Budget Committee and the Standing Committee, is in the process of gathering pertinent information from each Mission Congregation which will support their budget requests for the 2005 Diocesan budget.

If you have questions about DIEM or our mission congregations, contact the Rev. Joan Gardner, revjoan@garlic.com