August 11, 2009

Editor: Brian Bakeman, 1501 NW 24^th St, Oklahoma City OK 73106

Phone: (405) 530-2067; Email: bbakeman@okumc.org; Website: www.okumc.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

With two workshops down and two to go, there has been a wonderful response as over 190 pastors and lay people have already given up a Saturday to learn more about church finances, filling out forms, church security and getting excited about being the church. It was interesting how many questions there were about accountable expense reimbursements.

 

There are two more workshops being held at Faith UMC in Woodward on August 22^nd and at OKC Church of the Servant on August 29^th. The workshop in OKC is getting full, but there is plenty of space available at Woodward Faith.

 

These workshops will be on Saturdays from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm with lunch and snacks provided.

There is no cost for these workshops, but reservations are important for space and food. So please register by Wednesday the week of the workshop. You may register for which ever workshop is closest or fits your time schedule. To

register, contact Jan Polson at the Conference office at jpolson@okumc.org or 405-530-2064.

 

 

 

If you have not heard, the minimum wage has increased to $7.25. In a recent article in USA Today, more than 600 religious leaders and advocates are calling on congressional leaders to hike minimum wage up to $10 by 2010.

 

It is important to note that churches must follow minimum wage and over time requirements set by the Federal government.

 

 

 

The General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits is sending out postcards this week to all participants in the pension program. The postcards will promote customized financial planning reports that are available at no cost from Ernst and Young Financial Planning Services. This is an extremely valuable aid as we try to navigate through these difficult financial times and I strongly encourage everyone to consider taking advantage of this opportunity.

 

 

 

The General Council on Finance and Administration has published the new denomination and the Oklahoma Conference average compensation numbers for 2011. These numbers are based on the average compensation from our 2008 end of year statistical tables. For Oklahoma, the average clergy compensation in 2008 increased by 2.7%.

 

Denominational Average Compensation

2010 2011

$60,341 $61,716

 

Oklahoma Conf. Average Compensation

2010 2011

$61,314 $62,968

 

 

 

No more checks to write; no more stamps to buy; no more wondering if the mail was delivered on time!

If you would like to complete your Contribution form online and send money to the Annual Conference, this message is for you! You can also make health insurance and cafeteria plan payments as well as pension (CRSP and CPP) payments.

If you are interested in this, you can go to the conference web site at: http://www.okumc.org/page.asp?PKValue=776

 

* Important – If you use Vanco to pay your health, vision and dental insurance, be sure to indicate each payment separately so that you are correctly credited for each payment.

 

 

 

Giving for the month of July dropped a little more leaving the Conference $411,192 behind this time last year. Giving for special Sundays for July was $6,393 with most of that for One Great Hour of Sharing special offering for UMCOR. Thank you for that support.

 

Have you checked your apportionment balance lately? Now would be a good time to check your balance on the Conference web site to be sure we have posted your contributions correctly. The link to check this is http://www.okumc.org/ok_ytd_ch.asp.

If there are any corrections that need to be made, it is so much easier to do that now than it is on December 31^st. If you have any questions, you can contact Sandie Weldon at sweldon@okumc.org or 405-530-2068.

 

Annell Thompson in our office has requested that when you send in funds for either the General Advance Special (line 420) or the UMCOR – Designated (line 422) that you list the name of the project and the project number. If you have questions about the name or the project number you can contact our office or GBGM. This is important to be sure we are posting these contributions to the correct fund you are interested in. Thank you for your help on this.

 

 

Are you a church that received funds from the Oklahoma Conference in 2008? If you are, CF&A’s audit committee’s deadline to receive a copy of your audit, or similar report, outlining your finances for last year was August 1, 2009. This would apply to any congregation that received a grant last year from Equitable Compensation Commission, or from any of the boards of the Annual Conference Council such as Congregational Development, Hispanic Ministries or Mission and Service Ministry Team.

 

If you haven’t sent yours in please do so, and if you have any questions, you can contact Connie Gibson at conniejgibson@sbcglobal.net or the Conference Office at bbakeman@okumc.org.