Body Judgment  written by Wendy Tajima, Executive Presbyter

IT'S ANNUAL

SURVEY TIME!!

Each year, the Commission on Ministry asks for the Teaching Elders, Commissioned Ruling Elders, Commissioned Pastors, Honorably Retired Pastors, and Teaching Elders at-large to fill out a survey to let the Commission know more about your ministry and ways that they can support your work. Please complete your appropriate form as soon as you can and submit no later than December 18, 2024.

Your completed form will be read by Stated Clerk for Administration, Carrie Kohler, and a member of the Commission on Ministry. COM will pray for the prayer requests at our January meeting and will address concerns and suggestions during the first meetings of 2025.

For those servings SGP Congregations in 2024: 

https://sangabpres.breezechms.com/form/ARTE823878

For Honorable Retired

Ministers of Word and Sacrament: https://sangabpres.breezechms.com/form/ARHRTE808334

For those serving in Validated and At-Large Ministries in 2024: https://sangabpres.breezechms.com/form/ARVALTE23889

WATCH OUT FOR

EMAIL SCAMS

Several of you recently received an email that seemed to come from Wendy Tajima. Thanks to Skip Ober Miller from San Marino Community Church for sending some tips to help people recognize scam emails. Here they are, slightly edited:

~Look at the address in the header. If the email address comes up as anything other than the real address, it’s a scam. If there's any doubt about the email, write or text a separate message using the contact info you already have.  

~If the email just starts with “Hi” – not “Hi Skip” or the usual way we start emails – big red flag.

~The sender wants to only talk via email.

~The "essential task" is vague but sounds important or urgent. One of the common scams involves gift cards—if you are asked to buy gift cards, it's probably a scam--when in doubt, contact the sender with the contact info you already have to confirm.

~The language is "off." It's kind of formal or stiff, like something generated by AI.

~The closing says, "In Christ." (the nerve!) Most folks have standard signoffs, so if this isn't it, then confirm.

UPDATED RESOURCES

There are several new resources for our churches:

~Presbytery approved the 2025 pastor compensation minimums. Find the overview of the numbers, along with a summary of the benefits policy changes, HERE.

~Contact Kristin Leucht at kleucht@pensions.org for BoP questions, Cyndie Crowell at cwcrowell1001@gmail.com, or Wendy Tajima at wendytajima@sangabpres.org on San Gabriel's policy.

~If you want to consider alternative sources of coverage for pastor's families, contact Martha Gonzales for options and non-BoP quotes at martha@chminsurance.com

~The Justice Peacemaking and Mission Committee has compiled a list of resources for unhoused neighbors seeking help, but we'd like to update it, especially for services outside of Pasadena--like our churches' food pantries in El Monte, Highland Park, and elsewhere. You can find the list HERE Please take a look and if you want to make additions or changes, contact Patrick Perry at perryting@sbcglobal.net

WINTERFEST RESOURCES

Resources from the Gabrieleno/Tongva Tribe

Legal Training for Churches

Neighborhood Center Resource List

Treasurer's Manual PCUSA