EI pray that I may be honest, pure, unselfish, and loving. I pray that I may make the quality of my life good by these standards…

Administrative items:

• Attention Laity of ECR – Be sure to attend the Lay Conference tomorrow, May 19 at St. Paul’s, Salinas (10AM – 3PM). Rob Voyle will be our Leader. This day is sponsored by the Conference Education Resource Team. It is important that you RSVP to susan[atecr]edecr.org  no later than Today, May 18th. The purpose of this conference is to talk about and prepare for the election of and the transition with a new Bishop. A flyer <archived> and bulletin insert <archived> are attached for your use.
• Bishop nominee/election information can be found at http://www.edecr.org/bishopsearch/ .
  The nominee presentations will be June 6-10th at:
  • Wednesday, June 6 - St. Barnabas, Arroyo Grande 6 PM – 10 PM
  • Thursday, June 7 - York School, Monterey -6 PM – 10 PM
  • Friday, June 8 - St. Stephen’s School 6 PM – 10 PM
  • Saturday, June 9 - St. Paul’s Salinas 1 PM – 5 PM
    Spanish interpretation provided
  • Sunday, June 10 - St. Andrew’s, Saratoga 1 PM – 5 PM
• As required by resolution of our ECR Convention, the 2006 Final Financial Audit Report for the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real has been posted to the website at: http://www.edecr.org/corporation/audit2006.html . This report has been received and accepted by the Diocesan Finance Committee and accepted by Diocesan Corporation. If you have any questions, please contact me.
• Along the King’s Highway – The May issue will be a web only edition. The June edition will be hardcopy. To check out the May highlights of Episcopal Life on-line, please click on the following link: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/episcopal_life.htm
• Deployment/Position Postings – Detailed postings for jobs can be seen by clicking on the following link: http://www.edecr.org/jobs.htm . Check out posting for: Youth Director, St. Paul’s, Salinas.
• Jo Ann McClain will be on vacation from May 16 through the 22nd.
• Susan Altig returned safely from her BEST meeting (Bishop’s Executive Secretaries) on Monday, and had a successful conference.
• Jo Ann McClain will be on vacation from May 16 through the 23rd.
• I will be attending a Medical Trust Conference on Health Insurance issues on May 21-24.
• The diocesan office will be closed for Memorial Day on Monday May 28th.
  Attention all Parish web site administrators: Please check your link to the diocesan website. The correct address is www.edecr.org . The old address, www.ecrweb.org, will be deactivated soon. Please also let us know who the contact is for your website, by sending parish name, contact name and contact email address to Stephenie Cooper, ecrweb@earthlink.net .

Announcements:

• You are invited to the installation for The Rev. Terry Burley as Rector of St. Stephen’s in Gilroy tonight, May 18th at 7pm. A reception will follow.
• Annual Golf Classic: Sponsored by St. Andrew’s, Ben Lomond, this fundraiser will be held Saturday, June 2 from 9AM to noon at Valley Garden Golf Course, Scotts Valley. Cost: $55/golfer (includes Green Fees and BBQ at St. Andrew’s, Ben Lomond). Cost for BBQ only: $10/adult and $3.50/child. For more information call 831-336-5994.
• St. James, Paso Robles would like to have a steel drum band play at our BBQ on Saturday, June 23rd from 5-8pm. If anyone knows of a group that might be interested, please contact St. James office at 805-238-0819 or st.james.pr@juno.com
• The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) are in need of a Recording Secretary. Duties are to attend approximately ten (10) meetings a year and record the minutes for them. The minutes can be distributed either electronically or by mail. There will be no extra committee meetings involved. Contact Bev Anderson at 831-899-3345 or bev.larry@comcast.net  OR Jane Pomeroy at 408-263-8485 or jane.pomeroy@prodigy.net 
• Sierra Backpacking: The Second Winders, a program sponsored by the Diocese, is taking sign-ups this month for the three trips during July 28-August 4. The cost, including food, group equipment, and permits is $130; there is no cost for clergy. See www.secondwinders.org , or call Lewis Pollard, 408-269-6657.
• Team St. Edward's rides in the Tour de Cure…On June 10th Fr. Ed McNeill will lead Team St. Edward's in the Tour de Cure, a fundraiser for Diabetes research. This is a bike ride from Palo Alto over the Santa Cruz mountains tot he coast and back. Fr. Ed likes to say that "the body of Christ has two arms of love, Soul Outreach and Social Outreach. Evangelism is Soul Outreach. Social outreach includes such things as food banks and medical research". Riding in the Tour de Cure is one way of the Church showing her commitment to Social Outreach. If you would like to support Team St. Edward's by riding with the team or by making a donation you can do so here http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=4406&px=3346887 
   

Ministry items:

• Youth Ministry –
  • Sierra Service Project: Scheduled for the week of July 15th at an urban site in South Los Angeles. Call or e-mail with any questions leannbrooks[atecr]hotmail.com 805-466-1060 (h) 805-550-9832 (c)
  • Rock-n-Water has been cancelled due to lack of sign ups.
  • Camp Saint Andrew’s: This is a week-long nondenominational summer camp (now a Diocesan summer camp!) from July 29 through August 4 for children ages 8 – 15. For information or to enroll go to www.campsaintandrews.com
  • Spirit West Coast – will be held in Monterey (Laguna Seca) on August 2-4. We will be organizing a group from ECR. If you are in interested in attending, or desire more information, please contact Desi Brown. Also, you can view details at the following link: http://www.spiritwestcoast.org/home.php
  • Contact info for Desi Brown – Diocesan Youth Coordinator: Email – desi[atecr]edecr.org Phone - 408-710-4795.

Important Training / Dates to mark on your calendars:

• Lay conference to prepare for our transition with our new Bishop will be led by Rob Voyle on May 19th at St. Paul’s in Salinas.
• All Clergy Invited to a Seminar on Marriage Counseling: On Saturday, May 19th at St. Jude's in Cupertino, 9:00am to 12:30pm, The Rev. Dr. Chuck Rassieur will be teaching the clergy a step by step process for clergy to address troubled marriages/relationships of parishioners. He will use his book, "I have a Plan: A Pastor's Guide to counseling Troubled Marriages", by Charles Rassieur, Westminster John Knox, 2005. Please order this book and bring to the seminar as Chuck will guide us through "the plan." Please RSVP to Karen Siegfriedt at: rector[atecr]saintjudes.org  so she can plan accordingly. A few books will be available for purchase.
• An annual workshop for lay and ordained people preparing for mission to Latinos living in the United States will be held June 1-5 in Houston, Texas. Presented annually by the Diocese of Texas' Office for Multicultural Ministries, the program will cover the Latino/Hispanic in the US, popular religious traditions, church year celebrations, pastoral care liturgies, Christian education, and patterns of stewardship, community formation and evangelism. The program will be held at San Mateo Episcopal Church, 6635 Alder St., in Houston. The course does not require Spanish proficiency and there is no language component or instruction in Spanish, said the Rev. Canon Jaime Case, director of the diocese's multicultural ministries. Cost is $700 - including room at a nearby hotel and meals but not travel. Contact information for Canon Case - 512.477.2644 - jcase[atecr]epicenter.org  - PO Box 2247, Austin Texas 78768.
• You are invited to apply for the new Women Touched by Grace Program at the Benedict Inn in Beech Grove Indiana. This is a three year spiritual renewal program for women pastors serving congregations. Participants must commit to the entire program (five 10-day sessions at the retreat center in Beech Grove). This program is financed from a grant by Eli Lilly Foundation. A fee of $350/session is paid by the clergy person/congregation. Go to benedictinn.org  and look under programs for more information. Application deadline is June 1, 2007. Call Rev. Karen Siegfriedt at 408-252-4166 for additional information as this program changed her life. Or email rector[atecr]saintjudes.org
• Episcopal Asiamerica Ministry: The EAM Consultation this year will be held on June 28-July 2, 2007 at the Westin Hotel-LAX Airport in Los Angeles, CA. Every parish/mission is entitled to send at least 1 clergy, 1 lay leader and 1 young adult. This year’s theme is Working Towards Being “Competent Leaders in a Diverse, Changing World”, Part II. EAM Consultation materials, including registration, can be viewed at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/asian_84186_ENG_HTM.htm?menupage=55768.

Diocesan Office Meetings:

• This Week: Foundation met on Monday in Seaside; Diocesan Budget Advisory Committee met in Gilroy on Tuesday; Council and Convention Planning Team met on Thursday in Seaside.
• Next Week: Budget Advisory Committee on Friday the 25th in Gilroy.
   

As I return from NYC today, I am reminded of 9/11 and the prayer of the deceased Father (NYFD Chaplain) Michal Judge with a little addition in ( )…

The will of God will never take us to where the Grace of God will not protect us...Let us pray that God’s will be done through our common ministry – loving and caring for each other – both inside and outside the Church – living in God’s Grace.