1. Parochial Report
Do Not Be Afraid!

2. Why is this so important?
Designed by the House of Deputies’ Committee on the State of the Church (if you don’t know what the House of Deputies is, please stop me NOW) the Parochial Report (PR) is the primary way the wider church gets to know the life, ministry, finances and membership of The Episcopal Church.
The Diocesan Office uses the PR to note trends (so we can provide relevant assistance to our parishes), to calculate the Full Share (the funds from the Full Share provides the Diocese with approximately 80% of the diocesan operating budget) and to get a snapshot of what is happening in our congregations.

3. Where Do we Get the forms and How do we complete it?
In November all congregations receive a postcard with all the access information for the parochial report packet from The Episcopal Church (that is The Episcopal Church offices in New York City)
In that downloadable packet will be the instructions, the actual form (although filing online is much preferred) your user name and your PIN. THE INSTRUCTIONS ARE VERY CLEAR. SO READ THEM!
If you don’t receive your packet, you lose your packet or your packet doesn’t make any sense, CALL MARIA MANOCCHIO. She will help you.

4. Workbooks for Page 2 and 3

5. PAUSE HERE FOR: PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
The Parochial Report Post Card will be MAILED to you.
Who checks your mail?
Who distributes your mail?
What about s? Do you have a church , do the Diocesan offices have all the contact information for your leadership?
Have you completed a PARISH INFORMATION SHEET?
Do you know how to reach the Diocesan Offices? Do you go to our website? Are you subscribed to Postings? Has your changed? Do we know?

6. Back to our Regularly Scheduled Programming
Completing the Parochial Report (you’ll need your handout)
Page 1 is your demographic data. If it is incorrect then the Diocese doesn’t have the correct information!
Yes you need an address. Sorry folks, but it is the 21st century and we communicate electronically. It is not a fad, digital communication is HERE TO STAY.
Page 2 Highlights:
What makes someone an ACTIVE BAPTIZED MEMBER? Any active person whose baptism is recorded in the Register of Church Membership and Rites. (don’t know what that is? Stop me and ask!)

7. Page 2, continued
Inactive baptized members should be listed in your parish register, but in their own section (inactive)
Increases are those people who are NEW to you or who were inactive and are now active.
Decreases are all baptized members lost by death, transferred to another congregation, removed to inactive status, removed for other reasons, or not removed from last year’s count.
removed for other reasons???? It’s not as nefarious as it sounds, these are people who are removed for disciplinary reasons (i.e. ex-communicated)

8. Communicants in Good Standing
Read. Mark. Inwardly Digest.
A Communicant in Good Standing is a baptized member of the reporting congregation who have received Holy Communion in this church at least three times during the preceding year, AND have been faithful in ‘corporate worship, unless for good cause prevented, ‘and ‘in working, giving and praying for the spread of the Kingdom of God.’
This is not someone who attends Christmas, Easter and their mother’s birthday.

9. HERE ENDS THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR PAGE 2
Attendance stuff
Average Sunday attendance. Add Saturday evening services. DO NOT add Weddings, funerals, etc.
Easter Attendance. This means Easter Attendance. ;-)
Other Eucharists
Offices
Baptisms, Confirmations, Receptions
HERE ENDS THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR PAGE 2

10. PAGE 3 Money. How you earn it, how you spend it.
As you go through the instruction packet and you have questions, contact Maria Manocchio. She will help you. We don’t want your report to be incorrect, don’t think you should know all the answers. ASK FOR HELP!!!!!
PR’S ARE DUE IN THE DIOCESAN OFFICES MARCH 1. IF IT WILL BE LATE CONTACT US. WE REALLY DISLIKE HAVING TO CHASE YOU. AND WE KNOW YOU DISLIKE BEING CHASED!