2006 Tax Information

In August Congress enacted the massive Pension Protection Act of 2006. While primarily pension reform law, the Act contains a number of provision pertaining to public charities and charitable contributions. Most notably, it imposes new requirements on the substantiation of charitable contributions. These requirements take effect immediately, and must be understood by church treasurers in order to ensure that donors will be able to deduct their cash contributions.

The Act made an important change in the way that contributions of cash are to be substantiated. It requires that all cash contributions, regardless of amou8nt, be substantiated by either a bank record (such as a cancelled check) or written communication from the donee charity showing the name of the charity, the date of the contribution, an the amount of the contribution.

The recordkeeping requirements may not be satisfied by maintaining “other written records.” In the past, donors could substantiate cash contributions of less than $250 with “other reliable written records showing the name of the donee, the date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution” if no cancelled check or receipt was available. This is no longer allowed. This change is effective immediately.

Example – a church member makes cash contributions to his church of between $20 and $50 each week. He uses offering envelopes provided by the church, but the church provides no other receipt or statement substantiating the contributions. The member will not be able to claim a charitable contribution deduction for any of these payments (made after August 17, 2006). The Pension Protection Act of 2006 amended the tax code to require all cash contributions, regar4dless of amount, to be substantiated by either a bank record (such as a cancelled check) or a written communication from the donee showing the name of the donee organization, that date of the contribution, and the amount of the contribution.

(Source: Church Treasurer Alert! Christianity Today International; Volume 14, Nubmer 10, October 2006) A monthly review of accounting, financial, and tax developments affecting churches and clergy.

Thank you for your prayers!!

Hi All,

My trip to New England and Central NY went well. Thank you for the prayers. On Sabbath the 11th I spoke at Waterford, CT, and Rockville, RI. It was good to see friends and make new ones.

Nov 14-15, I met with pastors gathered in Verona, NY, for their bi-monthly (during the school year) session. Ten pastors from Allegheny, Central New York and Eastern Associations were present (plus me). At least 3 were unable to attend. There was a time to watch a sermon on CD and discuss content and presentation. There was a time to share how ministry was going for each, and a time to pray. And there was discussion about where church members lived and were there groupings that might develop into Bible Studies, Sabbath Schools or churches.

Sabbath Nov 18, found me in Springfield, MA, meeting with the branch of the NY City (Brooklyn) SDB Church. It was a great time of worship and fellowship and a good time of sharing about SDB ministries and getting to know Pastor Livingston better.

The next day I was back in RI, and on the radio answering questions about the Center on Ministry during the 4 hours that Vision Christian Fellowship has Sunday from 11am-3pm.

In the goings and comings 7 pastors, in addition to those in Verona were contacted face to face.

A special thanks is extended to those who were gracious hosts. I was able to see the progress on the addition to the Meetinghouse in Berlin, NY, visit the Pine Street Gospel Chapel (not on Sabbath), visit with friends in Eastern NY, and stay with my folks in Westerly, RI for a couple of days. (A bonus was being there to help celebrate my mom's birthday).

Thank you again for your prayers.

Gordon

Happy Thanksgiving!

Good afternoon, everyone.

I thought I would take an opportunity to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. My prayer for all of you is that this weekend would provide you an opportunity to stop, take a break (in addition to your Sabbath) and really be thankful for what God has provided for us. Thanksgiving gives us an excuse to stop and do just that, apart from what the popular culture has attempted to make it. So, as you stop to do whatever it is you're going to do tomorrow and into Sabbath, whether it is eat, rest, spend time with family, gorge yourself on delicious pie (my own personal preference), remember the Giver from whom all those gifts come. Blessings to all of you.

In Christ,
Nick

Thanksgiving Prayer

A Thanksgiving Prayer
by Samuel F. Pugh

O God, when I have food,
help me to remember the hungry;

When I have work,
help me to remember the jobless;

When I have a home,
help me to remember those who have no home at all;

When I am without pain,
help me to remember those who suffer,

And remembering,
help me to destroy my complacency;
bestir my compassion,
and be concerned enough to help,

By word and deed,
those who cry out for what we take for granted.
Amen.


100-year-old Samuel F. Pugh is the oldest living alum of Lexington (Ky.) Theological Seminary, and lives in Indianapolis, Ind.

May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving.
Kevin Butler

Quiet Day at the Center

My assistant, Leanne Lippincott, decided to organize a "field trip" for today.
A bus excursion to Chicago (to see the musical--um, shall I say it?--"Menopause") has taken all the ladies from the Center, and my wife from her post at the Milton church.

It sure has been a quiet day around here.

Kevin ('dead man walking') Butler

Happenings at the Historical Society

Hello, everyone.

I'm pleased to have this new vehicle to communicate what is happening at the Historical Society. Hopefully, you will find this resource useful!

I just returned home from a wonderful visit to Alfred Station, NY, as the church in the Station was celebrating its 175th anniversary. It was a blessed time of fellowship and celebration, and I learned a great deal about the history of that church. For those of you who saw the travel schedule in the Sabbath Recorder and prayed for me, thank you, and your prayers were answered!

Back in the office, the Historical Society continues to work on the major projects that stand before us, including the automation of the library, and the reprinting of Don A. Sanford's book, A Choosing People. We look forward to making good progress on both of these projects between now and the end of the year.

As a quick reminder to all of you, the membership rates for joining the Historical Society will be going up on January 1, 2007, so if you've been considering joining the Society but have been putting it off, now is the time. If you have any questions, please email me at: sdbhist@seventhdaybaptist.org

Blessings to all of you as you write the next pages of SDB History!

Expanded Tax Benefits for 2007

2007 Inflation Adjustments Widen Tax Brackets, Expand Tax Benefits

WASHINGTON — Personal exemptions and standard deductions will rise, tax brackets will widen and income limits for IRAs will increase in 2007, thanks to inflation adjustments announced today by the Internal Revenue Service.

By law, the dollar amounts for a variety of tax provisions must be revised each year to keep pace with inflation. As a result, more than three dozen tax benefits, affecting virtually every taxpayer, are being adjusted for 2007. Key changes affecting 2007 returns, filed by most taxpayers in early 2008, include the following:

• The value of each personal and dependency exemption, available to most taxpayers, will be $3,400, up $100 from 2006.

• The new standard deduction will be $10,700 for married couples filing a joint return (up $400), $5,350 for singles and married individuals filing separately (up $200) and $7,850 for heads of household (up $300). Nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction, rather than itemizing deductions, such as mortgage interest, charitable contributions and state and local taxes.

• Tax-bracket thresholds will increase for each filing status. For a married couple filing a joint return, for example, the taxable-income threshold separating the 15-percent bracket from the 25-percent bracket will be $63,700, up from $61,300 in 2006.
  

In 2007, for the first time, inflation adjustments will raise the income limits that apply to the retirement savings contributions credit, contributions to a Roth IRA and deductible contributions to a traditional IRA where the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work.

Revenue Procedure 2006-53, containing a complete rundown of inflation adjustments, is posted on the IRS Web site and will appear in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2006-48, dated Nov. 27, 2006.

IRS Newswire Nov 9, 2006 / Issue # IR-2006-173

An opportunity to learn

You never know when an opportunity to learn will come along.

As I sat at a picnic table in Salemville, PA, during an Association meeting last summer, I listened to a good friend of mine describe a day's work in the life of a traveling salesperson — waking before the sun, running all day, getting off the road long after the sun had gone to sleep, and flopping into bed to for a few hours rest before doing the same thing the next day. We talked about some of the frustrations that are involved with a schedule like that — how hard it is to stay connected with anybody else, be they family or friends. We talked about how nice it was to have a Sabbath in the midst of that kind of schedule. And we talked about how hard it was to find time for God.

Then it happened — I had a chance to learn. As the conversation was winding down, he looked at me and asked, “So with your travels, do you find time for God or is life just too busy?” I couldn't give the answer I wanted to. Sure, I find some time for God. But, I have also allowed myself to be consumed (for weeks) with details to the point of distraction. I had to say that sometimes I allowed myself to think that life was just too busy to engage in those things God has said will help us know Him. The question has echoed through my heart and mind many times since that conversation, provoking me to set aside what I thought I wanted to be doing in order to remember clearly the love and light of the One who died for me — and to bring the light of His word to bear on those things in life that I would prefer to hide.

I hadn't thought that meal would do any more than to pass some time before the next event of the day. Instead of demolishing time, I was challenged to grow. Sometimes, these things “just happen.” God wants us to think about ways to make them happen (Hebrews 10:24).

Believe it or not, this blog is hopefully one of those ways. Keep checking back.

As various people post, you'll read about some of the things people employed by General Conference agencies do to help local ministries. You'll see descriptions of trips, plans for ministry, hopes for helping churches, and maybe even the occasional frustration that comes when a desire for quick results won't wait for the timing of God. Regardless of what is posted, you will almost assuredly have an opportunity to learn something about our shared ministry — and you may even find yourself unexpectedly provoked to love and good deeds (You did read the Scripture verse referenced above, right?).

New England and Central New York Trip

Hi All,

Just a note to ask for your prayers as I travel to New England and Central New York for the next 10 days. I fly tomorrow, return on the 20th and will be in RI on Sabbath the 11th and in Springfield, MA on the 18th. In the middle of next week I will be visiting with SDB Pastors who gather in Verona, NY every couple of months during the school year. I am told that last time there were 23 SDB pastors, associate pastors and ministers present. Am looking forward to meeting with them all.

Thank you for your prayers.

Gordon

GREAT NEW COMMUNICATION TOOL!

I, like some, have not visited or contributed to BLOGs on a regular basis. This new tool is great in that it will allow for more timely sharing of information that effects us all. I will use it to keep you current on giving and where we stand financially as a General Conference. I may also use it to bounce ideas off of those who read it so that I can address the issues and questions that concern you as Seventh Day Baptist.

Take care and God Bless,
Morgan

Welcome to SDBlog!

Welcome to the new SDBlog!

We have invited the various Seventh Day Baptist agency executives to “check in” with you occasionally on this blog, to let you know what’s happening in SDB circles.

The American Sabbath Tract and Communication Council met this past weekend at the SDB Center in Janesville. The Council members were excited about this new communication tool, and about a new interactive forum for the not-so-young adults to be launched soon.

Adding to the Sabbath Recorder, the SDB Network email chain (thank you, Dave Taylor!), our website, the bi-monthly bulletin inserts sent to each church, and Executive Director Rob Appel’s “Grapevine” e-newsletter, we welcome you to this newest member of our media family: the SDBlog.

Center on Ministry & COSAR info

Hi All,

Your Center on Ministry, under the direction of the Council on Ministry has many opportunities for learning for SDB pastors, and those called to be SDB pastors. Check out the COM website for some information at http://www.sdbministry.org/. If you want more contact me.

Also at the COM website you will find information about the students in COM programs as well as history about COM and COSAR (look under About Us) and information for Churches under the "Churches" button.

Your Committee on Support and Retirement (COSAR), a standing committe of the SDB General Conference, works with the Director of Pastoral Services (me) as their executive. COSAR administers the "old" retirement plan and makes suggestions to churches regarding pastoral compensation. The new suggested guidelines for 2007 are now posted at http://www.sdbministry.org/Churches.htm#sal

Rev. Gordon P. Lawton
Director of Pastoral Services
Dean, SDB School of Ministry