VOLUME XLIV, 2 FEBRUARY 2006

Perspective The newsletter of the Episcopal Church Of Our Saviour

10 Old Mill, Mill Valley, CA 94941 415/388.1907 www.oursaviourmv.org

COS ANNUAL MEETING HELD

IN FEBRUARY AT COS February Friday Flicks will roll on the 3rd at 5:30p.m.

The Altar Guild will meet after the 10 o’clock service on February 5th to discuss Lent and Easter plans.

The Vestry meets on the 8th at 7:00p.m.

Godly Play teachers will gather for dinner at a bistro yet to be deter-

mined on the 10th.

All COS kids and their families are invited to a Valentine Party hosted by the Mishalko family on the 12th at 4p.m.

The next Godly Play training work-shop will begin with Evening Prayer in the church at 7:15p.m. on the 16th.

And then it’s Mardi Gras on the 28th!

R oger Quy, in his last act as Sen-ior Warden, led the parish in its

2006 Annual Meeting on January 22nd. The meeting kicked off with the report of the Nominating Committee. This year’s slate for the Vestry was made up of Paige MacLeod, Gillian Mishalko, Sally Thomas and Steve Quarles. The slate was elected by unanimous voice vote. Roger an-nounced that Steve Quarles has agreed to be Senior Warden for 2006. Roger thanked the retiring Vestry members, Peggy Redfield and Louis Stervinou, and Valerie Blackburn for all her work. New Deanery delegates are Fred Cone and Graeme Mac-Donald. They join Louise Gaumond, Eva Marie Keagy, and Toni van Kriedt. Letty Erringer is the alternate. Everyone present thanked Roger for his commitment during this difficult time.

Roger announced that over the next year Maggi Nicholson and Maggie Lang will be heading up a new Out-reach Committee. Additionally, the Worship Committee is to be rein-stated under Mother Andrea’s direc-tion. Dan Hoggatt, our interim music director, has agreed to remain at COS through the current church year (June 2006).

As always the highlight of the meet-ing was the presentation of the budget by our treasurer, Jeff Johnson. Jeff reported that although we began the 2005 fiscal year with a deficit budget, through careful stewardship and unexpected gifts from parishion-ers, we ended the year with a surplus. The COS budget for 2006 is also set with a deficit but one much lower than the last two years. See page 2 for the very attractive pie chart detailing

(Continued on page 2)

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

From the Rector’s 3

Meet The Vestry 4

The Deacon’s Diary

6

Christ Church Outreach

12

Godly Play News 9

Who’s in the Pews? 7

MEET THE VESTRY!

VESTRY BIOGRAPHIES AND A PHOTO CAN

BE FOUND ON

PAGES 4 & 5.

This is the letter the Rector wrote for the An-nual Reports.

Dear Friends,

A challenging year has ended and we begin again in the cycle of life. While we are in the midst of a time of uncer-tainty, of some fear and anger, and some regret, we are also in a time for repentance, reflection, forgiveness and kindness to one another in our daily interactions, the essence of our Chris-tian calling. We share a marvelous op-portunity to learn and to heal from a painful time. In the short time I have shared your life I have been struck by the courage and commitment of this community as you seek a new way to move forward together in charity.

In fact, although conventional wisdom says we should expect to see some re-duction in numbers, participation, pledging and so on, that is not the case–I am struck by the real steadfastness and continuity here at Church of Our Saviour. Ministry continues in all ways: our pastoral care, liturgy and education programs are strong. We “work, pray and give to spread the Kingdom of God,” and though we have a budget

shortfall and some other work to do, our fundamental health comes from the depth of faith in God and hope for the future that is evident to me as the “new person.” It comes from God and lives in all of you, together, as individu-als working out a life in community.

I thank each and every one of you, the people of Our Saviour, for the gift of my own ministry here among you. Es-pecially I thank Roger Quy, who stepped forward to lead in the most dif-ficult of circumstances. He has been a true gift from God to this place and to our ministry, handling with grace the unanticipated events he has encoun-tered. I thank the Vestry, staff and offi-cers: Lynn Baker, for her steadfast com-petence; clergy Jan Heglund, Malcolm Manson, Murray Hammond; Steve Quarles and all of you who filled the breach during flood emergencies and beyond; Ros Patterson and the wonder-ful Altar Guild; Dan our music leader and the faithful Choir; Michelle and the Perspective and signs at the front door; and Jeff and Gay and the Money; and Heather and the youth ministry; and

(Continued on page 5)

that the Parish Profile had been ap-proved by the Vestry at its January 18th meeting. The next step will be to send it on to the Diocese. After it is reviewed by Cn. Hansen we will receive a list of 4 or 5 appropriate candidates. The com-mittee hopes to begin seeing candidates early in the summer.

Mother Andrea thanked us all for our welcoming attitude and closed the meeting with prayer.

how we plan to use our resources next year.

The Junior Warden reported on the work we are having done for mold abatement. Along with that, a commit-tee has been formed to investigate short-term solutions and devise a long-term plan to prevent future flooding.

Marsha Dugan, chair of the Long-Term Interim Search Committee, reported

(Continued from page 1)

FROM THE RECTOR’S DESK

ANNUAL MEETING HELD

PAGE 2 FEBRUARY 2006

Mardi Gras is coming to COS!

Mother Andrea & Peppen

T he COS Vestry is made up of 12 hard-working, committed indi-

viduals. Here’s a little about them:

Steve Quarles, our new Senior War-den, came to COS about six years ago. He had been invited by Steve and Sue Beecroft to be Montana Beecroft’s god-father. In very short order, he found himself on an earlier vestry and serving as Junior Warden. Under Steve’s lead-ership, the vestry will be tackling our water problems and handling the transi-tion to our long-term interim rector. Steve and his wife, Nancy Emerson, are the parents of Casey and Jack Hogan.

Our Junior Warden, John MacLeod, has been at COS for over 20 years, rais-ing both Kendra and Jonathan here. John and his wife, Winifred, are fre-quent ushers at the 10a.m. service. John will be taking the lead in issues regard-ing our building and grounds.

Mary Washburn has agreed to serve as Clerk of the Vestry. Mary, who has been coming to COS for 7 years, came because of her kids, Martha, Sarah and John. An active member of the Godly Play team, Mary originally agreed to serve on the Vestry because she felt there wasn’t enough representation for children’s ministries. She hopes that over the next year “we’ll come together and focus our energies toward the best interests of the COS community as a whole.”

Peter Menkin is the Vestry liaison to the Music Commission. He’s been at COS for 8 years and originally sought us out because we were nearby. He is pleased to be able to be of service and hopes to help in continuing to make our music program strong.

Maggi Nicholson, who is married to John, has been a member of COS since 1967 when she joined the Young Wives/Mothers Group. After teaching on Wednesday nights for many years, she was finally able to say “yes” to be-ing on the Vestry. Maggi is very inter-ested in outreach and hopes that COS will strive for continuity in our pro-grams, while being flexible enough to make reasonable changes.

Debbie Sorrondo is a relative new-comer to COS having only been with us for three years. She and her son, Matt Verelley, have gone on the parish re-treat at the Bishop’s Ranch each year. It’s a familiar place; Debbie is on the Ranch’s Board. Debbie hopes her back-ground in business and finance will be helpful to the Vestry and COS. In the coming year, one of her goals for COS is for us to “have more fun as a commu-nity.” Debbie will be working with the Stewardship Campaign.

Juliana Jensen, who is married to Charles Coleman, and is mom to Geor-gina and Eleanor, came to COS be-cause of Georgina. Georgina wanted to attend a church school with “real” Bi-bles. It must have taken; Georgina was confirmed last year! Juliana has been teaching the Middle Saints and is now involved with the new confirmation class. She says, “I love this parish.” She hopes we can keep things on an even keel as we look for a wonderful long-term interim rector. She’s also excited about the new curriculum for Middle Saints/Youth Class.

Elaine Crepeau came to us from the Lutheran tradition. Brenda Henderson, a former member here, invited Elaine and her son, Nicky, Eagle Scout and yo-yo champ, to visit COS almost 5

(Continued on page 4)

MEET THE VESTRY

PAGE 3 FEBRUARY 2006

Meet our Vestry

years ago. Having served on the council in the Lutheran Church, Elaine brings a wealth of experience to the Vestry. Elaine will be working with the Search Committee and looks forward to help-ing in both the search and the transi-tion.

Elaine Dvirnak attends the 8:00a.m. service and was encouraged by the pa-rishioners at that service to serve on the Vestry. A member here for 5 years, her first involvement at COS was on the PIE committee. She hopes that COS will find some stabilization over the next year, and looks forward to being the voice of the 8:00a.m. worshippers on the Vestry.

Gillian Mishalko has only been at COS for a year and a half and is already on the Vestry. You can read more about Gillian and her family in this month’s “Who’s in the Pews?” on page 7. She

(Continued from page 3) agreed to serve on the Vestry because of Lilli and Joanna. She says, “my chil-dren will grow up here and I’m inter-ested in programs for kids.” She hopes that we will have a successful rector search in 2006 and more parties!

Paige MacLeod is no relation to John! But she is married to Ian and is mom to Madison and Stephen. A lifelong Epis-copalian, she immediately came to COS when the family move to Mill Val-ley three years ago. Paige sees the tre-mendous potential at COS and wants to help us grow.

Sally Thomas is a familiar figure to eve-ryone with a child in Godly Play. She brought the program to us when she, Bill, Charlotte and Brooke moved here almost 6 years ago. She feels called to serve on this Vestry and will work to-wards strengthening our existing minis-tries. Her wish for COS for 2006 is for healing.

MEET THE VESTRY

PAGE 4 FEBRUARY 2006

Mother Andrea with the 2006 Vestry Seated: Sally Thomas, Maggi Nicholson

2nd row: Gillian Mishalko, Debbie Sorrodo, Juliana Jensen, Elaine Dvirnak, Elaine Crepeau, Back row: Peter Menkin, Steve Quarles, Paige MacLeod, Mary Washburn, John MacLeod

T his is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

I happen to be a morning person. I say this portion of the psalm the first thing when I wake up. You would be sur-prised the effect it has. Maybe you are not a morning person, or maybe you feel as a friend of mine does. She says, “I don't do mornings.” Either way, I hope you pray in thanksgiving that you have been given another day...a day when you DO wake up and you are able to GET up.

There are many wonderful references regarding mornings:

He is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning,… II Samuel 23:4

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3

The Lord’s compassions are new every morning. Lamentations 3:23

The day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart. 2 Peter 1:19

I will give him the morning star. Revelations 2:28

In the book Apples of Gold, it says, “I am born happy every morning” From that point through the rest of the day is up to us.

May your morning be filled with the light of Christ, no matter how dark out-side. May you arise with a prayer of thanksgiving in your heart. May you meditate not on your hardships, of which we all have some, but on your blessings, of which we all have many.

Deacon Jan

THE DEACON’S DIARY

PAGE 5 FEBRUARY 2006

Deacon Jan

scripture tells us that God prunes the branches in order to add strength for the coming fruitfulness, all in due season. It is time now to begin to wonder, to dream, to imagine what, in God’s name, we will become.

With love in Christ, with affection and blessing,

Andrea

Bill and the Acolytes; the Healing and Prayer Teams; Paige and the Christmas Pageant; Sally and Godly Play; Vyvien and liturgical servers; Nancy and lec-tors; Cathy and pastoral caregivers; Marsha and Search; and on and on and on!

And I invite every one of us to join in embracing the challenges ahead as we move through this time God has given us to continue discerning who we are and what we want to become. Holy

(Continued from page 2)

FROM THE RECTOR’S DESK

When Welcome Works Wonders

O ur parish’s youngest member is only three months old at this writ-

ing and is unavailable to be inter-viewed, as she is napping. However, her mom, Gillian Mishalko, now shares some rare free time to introduce little Joanna, her big sister Lilli, the girls’ daddy, Cliff, and herself.

The Mishalkos joined us last spring, pre-Joanna. For Gillian it was a return home after a long journey. Gillian had grown up in Mill Valley, attended many schools in the area, and also spent a year in Oxford. Cliff was from Warren, Michigan, where he attended Michigan State and became “very Spar-tan-oriented.” The two met in Atlanta through a mutual friend with Cliff’s work at Siebel Systems. Three years ago, they married and relocated to Cali-fornia.

But by last spring, the young couple had already attended five different churches, searching for a church that would fit their mixed upbringing. Cliff had been raised Catholic; Gillian had been baptized Episcopalian, but raised “non-committed,” with experiences in many different traditions. Church of Our Saviour was the fifth church they visited; they were understandably skep-tical.

Their first event here was the Mardi Gras, which they attended not knowing anyone. There a cheerful lady named Valerie introduced herself and sat with them, says Gillian, and “made us feel completely welcome right away.” This Mill Valley family decided to stop church shopping right then.

Even Gillian’s free-spirit parents are pleased that the family has found a church home here. They had planned to attend the Christmas Pageant, where Joanna was scheduled to star in the part of Baby Jesus. (The star, regrettably, came down with a tummyache and was forced to cancel.)

Right after that, though, Gillian and Joanna both took part in the Steward-ship Committee. And Cliff has not only joined the Search Committee, he’s now also chair of the subcommittee that works with Cn. Michael Hansen and a confirmation mentor to Ian Light. While Gillian cares for Lilli and Jo-anna, Cliff also volunteers for coffee hours and for such happy odd jobs as distributing flowers for grandmothers.

The Mishalkos are primed for more so-cializing and celebrations. They at-tended the young families’ potluck that Philip and Alex Norris organized, and they look forward to more happy events like this. Finding Marybeth Gilliam and her little boys were already members here was also another happy discovery for Gillian because the two had become friends before they met here. And Sun-day morning has become important for two-year-old Lilli, who joins her little buddies in the daycare room, under the watchful eye of Paula. “Lilli loves Paula,” says Gillian

So things are settling in now for the Mishalkos, who’ve become a valuable part of our church community in less than a year. Says Gillian, “It was obvi-ous that this was where we belonged.”

—Rosine Reynolds

WHO’S IN THE PEWS?

PAGE 6 FEBRUARY 2006

You can see Gillian in the Vestry pic-

ture. Make sure to meet Cliff, Lilli and

Joanna at coffee hour any given

Sunday!

J anuary was a month of talking about the bible—through Bible Blurt (a

new, fun youth group game), and read-ing different translations like The Mes-sage, and figuring out where the heck Revelation is? In February we will con-tinue looking at the Bible through par-ables and learning about the New Tes-tament.

On Feb. 19th the youth will host coffee hour with the Middle Saints. They will also try their hand at writing a Lenten reflection for the Diocese’s Lenten de-votional. Keep your eyes peeled too for the registration for HAPPENING 24!!

Feb. 19 Coffee Hour with Middle Saints

Bring something to share with others like cheese and crackers, sandwiches, desserts, etc.

February 24-26 – THE HAPPENING

This is an amazing weekend for youth to have fun and hang out with other Christians their own age at St. Clare’s Pleasanton.

March 11 Girl’s Time/Guy Time

I’ll take the girls, and Bill Cullen and Terry Peck will take the guys, out for some quality bonding from 2-6p.m. I am sure there will be food involved, definitely some sweets. Got ideas? Talk to Bill, Terry or me.

March 26 Visit to St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Marin City.

St. Andrew’s is a multicultural church with a lot of style. Come join us and the Middle Saints for a chance to ex-perience worship differently.

April 9 Ardeo Aura @ St. Greg-ory’s of Nyssa (4-8 pm)

Questions about youth activities can be emailed to me at youth-lady@sbcglobal.net or you can call me at church on Tuesdays.

Heather Chase

There is great potential right now for our youth and family ministries to grow. We have a confirmation class of 14 Mid-dle School-aged youth this year, who will join our youth group in the Fall of 2007. We have several High School sophomores and freshmen now in the Youth Group with the capacity to be leaders in 2007. Our nursery is growing. We just re-opened our second Godly Play classroom. It is an excit-ing time!

There is positive energy building in youth and family minis-tries here. I pray that momentum continues to grow, because I believe that the people of COS care about youth and fami-lies .

Sincerely,

Heather Chase Youth Minister

Dear COS parish,

I have experienced such joy in my ministry with the COS youth over the last 14 months. The youth are such a gift to me and to the church. I have enjoyed our times playing, talking, and praying. That is why it is with a sad heart that I write to tell you that I will be leaving the Bay Area in late May. My family is moving to At-lanta, Georgia, to pursue graduate work and in order to complete my Clinical Pastoral Education for ordina-tion. It is an important move for us, but we will miss all that we had in the Bay Area.

I will continue to serve in my position at Church of Our Saviour until mid-to-late May. The Vestry has contin-ued to budget for a 10 hour a week Youth Minister posi-tion until the end of 2006. My hope is that a new Youth Minister will be found soon, so we don't lose the mo-mentum we have now.

YOUTH PLAN AMBITIOUS SPRING PROGRAM

A SAD FAREWELL

PAGE 7 FEBRUARY 2006

T here once was someone who said such wonderful things and did

such amazing things that people fol-lowed him. I wonder what his parents named him? This month we are going to hear stories about this man that are called parables. These stories are old and come in gold boxes because they are valuable and precious to us. I won-der what stories about this mysterious man we will hear this month?

Young people, Pre-K through 4th grade, are welcome to join us at 9:45a.m. around the labyrinth each Sunday for singing and centering prayer.

Parents…please remember that we start at 9:45a.m. Children are always wel-come, however it is much less disrup-tive when children do not arrive after class has already started.

Upcoming Godly Play Workshop February 16th, 7:15-9p.m.

Interested in learning more about Godly Play? Want to brush up on your Storytelling skills? Want to learn a new story technique? Then come to this month’s Godly Play workshop on Par-able Synthesis Lessons, co-taught by Sally Thomas and Heather Chase. We will begin with evening prayer in the church and then go to our Godly Play classrooms for the workshop.

Thanks to Sally and Mary Washburn for last month’s workshop on Godly Play with older children.

Teaching schedule for February:

Near Room

February 5th Parable of the Mus-tard Seed Ann F./Heather

February 12th Parable of Parables Mary S./Rosine

February 19th Parable of the Good Samaritan Mary W./Martha

February 26th Mystery of Easter Sally/Rosalie

Far Room

February 5th Parable Synthesis 1 Sally/Charlotte

February 12th Parable Synthesis 2 Marsha D./Rosalie

February 19th Parable of Parables Toni/Ann

February 26th Parable Games Mary S./Toni

THANK YOU to our storytellers, door-persons, plant fairy and the others who work so hard to make Godly Play hap-pen every Sunday.

Godly Play Teacher Dinner February 10th , 6-8p.m.

Please join us for fellowship and food with all the GP teachers as we celebrate five years of Godly Play at COS. We will do some catching up with each other and learn about some future sto-ries, like the COS box and the Object Box of Saint You. We also want to thank you for all your hard work over the last year. Sally and Heather are working on a location, but mark this date so that you can join the fun. RSVP to Heather at youthlady@sbcglobal.net.

FROM THE GODLY PLAY ROOMS

PAGE 8 FEBRUARY 2006

Follow me to Mardi Gras!

Dinner

Natural disasters, both far away and close to home, have bombarded us over the

past months. The heartbreaking images and stories have drawn us closer to those who suffer in this world. In our own neighborhoods everyday we see the devastating effects of social and eco-nomic “disasters.” How do we respond to these needs which touch our hearts? What do families and children need in order to create change in their own community and in their lives as Chris-tians?

Please join us for fellowship and explo-ration of how we can practice compas-sion to better connect with our own calling and with the needs of those in crisis. The luncheon speaker will be Cynthia Smith, Executive Director of Interfaith Hospitality Network. The event, co-sponsored by Episcopal Charities and the Department of Faith Formation will be held on Feb. 26th at 12p.m. at St. Stephen’s, Orinda.

Please RSVP by February 10th to Kath-leen Douglas at kdouglas@episcopal charities.org or 510/663.1430 x307.

February 22 Marjorie Cope

Rachel Lang

February 26 Dorothy Killion

February 2 Barbara Blackwell

February 10 Casey Hogan

February 13 Janet Upham

Myles Gutenkunst

February 14 Elizabeth Frazelle

Joan Livingston

February 16 Chris Figueroa

February 18 Luc Stervinou

PRACTICING COMPASSION–ACTING OUT OF FAITH

HAPPY FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS!

LOVED THE WEDDING; INVITE ME TO THE MARRIAGE April 21-23, 2006 in

Pleasanton, CA Please contact:

Curt ♥ Arlene McClelland 408-371-5581

curt@sbcglobal.net

A weekend of Discovery … a lifetime of love

For more information or to register online, go to: www.episcopalme.com

Affiliated with Worldwide Marriage Encounter

Give each other a wonderful gift! Go on an Episcopal Marriage Encounter weekend! Marriage Encounter is 44 hours when married couples can get away from jobs, kids, chores, and phones–and focus only on each other. If you’d like greater depth, growth, and enrichment in your relationship, you’ll like the difference an Episcopal Mar-riage Encounter weekend can make! Here’s information about the next weekend:

PAGE 9 FEBRUARY 2006

C hurch of Our Saviour’s Christian Education program has the re-

sources and capacity to grow, but we are at a point of transition. People inter-ested in youth and family ministries are invited to a meeting about these minis-tries on March 12th after church. Lunch will be served.

At this meeting we will share with you the plans for the future of our programs as we explore what challenges and op-portunities lay ahead next Fall. Some of the topics addressed will be:

• Journey to Adulthood, our new cur-riculum for Middle Saints, is filled with possibilities for growing our young people’s faith in the Episco-pal tradition. This new program will also open up new teaching op-portunities for adults, as our faithful Middle Saints teachers, who have steered that program for four years, will be retiring.

• What’s happening in the Godly Play program, and how you can get in-volved to make the dream of a third classroom to meet the needs of our 4th-5th grade children a reality.

• What our new Youth Minister’s posi-tion will look as we go forward.

We’ll learn about one another, discern how we would like our programs to look in the future, and discover where our gifts fit into this program. Enjoy lunch and learn how your child’s faith can be nurtured and developed at COS!

More information will follow in the coming weeks, so check your Sunday bulletin for updates.

All proceeds from the sale will benefit Christ Church in Bay St. Louis, Missis-sippi. (For more information about Christ Church, turn to page 12).

On Dec. 11th, St. Anne’s held a sale of some of the quilts the members had been working on during the year. Sev-eral of these were designed at the Parish Retreat. Photo cards of our kneelers, designed by member, Joan Peck, were also sold, as well as small sachets.

One of the quilts, designed by Jasper Goldberg, was won by Valerie Black-burn!

YOUTH MINISTRIES MEETING SCHEDULED

QUILT RAFFLED OFF

PAGE 10 FEBRUARY 2006

By Maggie Lang

M any of you are aware that the Nicholson’s niece, Nikki, lost her

beautiful home during Hurricane Katrina. Not far away, Christ Episcopal Church, right on the Gulf, was also de-stroyed. Since many of us have wanted to find ways to help those who have suffered so during this awful hurricane season, we proposed to reach out to this neighborhood parish.

Originally located on 8 acres with a beautiful sanctuary and multiple build-ings, only the bell tower now stands. Very few possessions of the church were salvaged. During the first few weeks after the hurricane, John’s nephew, Wayne, whom many of you have met, traveled to Mississippi to as-sist with services for the congregation.

Over the holidays, my family and I traveled to New Orleans to visit with my husband’s family and then on to Florida to see my brother. On the way we stopped by Bay St. Louis and visited briefly with Scott Bagley, the Senior Warden of Christ Church. Mr. Bagley was most gracious during our visit, pro-

viding us with a tour of their site, as well as the local coastal area. Unfortu-nately, Rev. Elizabeth Wheatley, re-cently appointed by the Diocese, was unavailable, as she was ill. The Christ-mas cards we had all signed and the information about our parish were warmly accepted.

At the time of our visit, the congrega-tion was holding services in a tent, but has now moved to a more “permanent” Quonset-style building. Their numbers are growing, as more families return to the area. Over Christmas, they had about 50+ at a service. Now they have close to 75.

With the Vestry’s blessing, we hope to be able to help Christ Church as they rebuild. It will be a long commitment. We have already designated the pro-ceeds from our quilt raffle and we hope to also donate any proceeds from our Mardi Gras celebration . We are await-ing a wish list from their Rector. If you would like more information, you can visit their website (Christ Church, Bay St. Louis, MS) at www.members.tripod.com/ 4christe/4christe.

COS TO HELP CHRIST CHURCH, BAY ST. LOUIS

PAGE 11 FEBRUARY 2006

Christ Church before Katrina After the hurricane, only the bell tower remains

“I give to _________ Episcopal Church, located in __________, CA, ______.

Pretty simple. Just fill in the three blanks.

Nothing out of your pocket—this won’t happen in your lifetime. These words are for your will or revocable trust. Af-ter you’ve filled in the blanks, give this to your attorney. Your attorney can include this language when you do your every-three-years review and revision of your plans.

When inserted into your will or trust, these few little words can have a tre-mendous effect.

The first two blanks are easy to fill in—simply the name and town of your par-ish. The 3rd blank is harder—deciding what to give. It’s this 3rd blank that of-ten spurs Episcopalians to call their gift planning officer to see what their best options might be.

Here are some examples of how various people have filled in the 3rd blank:

• “$25,000”

• “10% (one-tenth) of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate”

• “50% interest in my property lo-cated at xxx xxxxx Street, xxxxx, Cali-fornia”

• “my home located at xxxxxxx to be used to provide housing for clergy”

After specifying the gift, you may wish to designate a specific use for your gift. Or, you may simply add “to be used for its general tax-exempt purposes and without other restrictions as to use.”

In order to reduce possible income taxes due on the estate, the attorney may add this strange-sounding lan-guage, “This gift shall be paid out of ‘income with respect of a decedent,’ as that term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code, to the fullest extent pos-sible. If such ‘income with respect of a decedent’ as valued for U.S. tax pur-poses is insufficient to pay this bequest, then the bequest shall be paid to the extent necessary out of the general as-sets of my estate.” All you need to un-derstand about this is that it may save significant taxes and so preserve dollars for both family and charity.

To remember your church in your will or trust is as simple as it is important. In doing so, you declare your thankfulness to God and your hope for the future.

_________________________________

The Rev. Richard L. Schaper, CFP Gift Planning Officer Diocese of California

MAGIC WORDS AND THE 3RD BLANK

TO REMEMBER YOUR CHURCH IN

YOUR WILL OR TRUST IS AS SIMPLE

AS IT IS IMPORTANT. IN DOING SO, YOU

DECLARE YOUR THANKFULNESS TO

GOD AND YOUR HOPE FOR THE

FUTURE.

PAGE 12 FEBRUARY 2006

Tickets are only $10/adults and $5/kids 13 and under at Mardi Gras!

PAGE 13 FEBRUARY 2006

This one looks hard.

Good Luck!

Answers are available in the Parish Office in the Perspective mailbox.

Who’ll be crowned King and Queen of Mardi Gras?

10 Old Mill Mill Valley, CA 94941

Phone: 415/388.1907 Fax: 415/388.6584

E-mail: perspective@oursaviourmv.org

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOUR

On Tuesday, February 28th we’ll celebrate our annual Mardi Gras Fest!

Food like your mama used to make (if she was from Louisiana)!

Masques, beads, and chocolate coins for everyone.

6:00 to 8:00p.m. Hammond Hall

Tickets at the door: $10/adult, $5/kids 13 and under All proceeds to support outreach.

Y’all come!

C’EST MARDI GRAS!

Our Mission Statement

The Episcopal Church of Our Saviour strives to be a welcoming community for those

seeking to deepen their relationship with God, and to journey in faith with God’s

people through the breaking of bread and in service to others, in Christ’s name.

US POSTAGE PAID MILL VALLEY, CA 94941 PERMIT #48