A Letter From Our Moderator
John Gipson

January 25, 2006


Dear Members and Friends of Christ Congregational Church:

On January 22, 2006, a Congregational Meeting was held at Christ Congregational Church following the 10:30 service to present and discuss the recommendations of the Debt Reduction Task Force on how to handle our mortgage debt. Since many of our community were not at the meeting, I am writing to summarize what happened and offer some thoughts on the future.

The recommendations of the Debt Reduction Task Force are available on CCC’s web site (from the home page go to “postings”—the report was posted on January 15th, and is near the top) or in printed form from the church office. This report is well thought out, well written, and well organized. The report makes 5 recommendations which, for the sake of brevity, I will just summarize:

  1. We refinance our loan from the UCC Cornerstone Fund.
  2. We maintain the member loan program.
  3. We institutionalize pledging to the Building Fund as part of the annual stewardship campaign.
  4. We hire a consultant in church financial development to guide us over the near term.
  5. We begin a process of education to make all members aware of the Church’s financial situation.

Further details and rationale are in the full report. I urge you to read it.

Bruce Esposito, chair of the Debt Reduction Task Force, presented the report at the meeting, discussed the recommendations, and fielded many questions from the congregation.

Bruce made a similar presentation to the Executive Council at the December meeting. At the January meeting, the Executive Council approved a motion to be presented at a congregational meeting. This motion was presented by Dan Pence, and seconded by Tom Ault. Neville Platt offered an amendment, which was approved; and the congregation, with a few dissenting votes, then adopted the motion. The approved motion reads:

Moved: That Christ Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) institutionalize pledging to the Building Fund as part of the annual stewardship process. Funds pledged will have 2 major purposes: (1) meet mortgage payments due to the lender and provide a minimum reserve to meet member loan repayments and unforeseen contingencies; and (2) build resources to fund the major maintenance of, and improvements to, the church’s properties.

Annual pledging to the Building Fund involves a major change in the way we conduct our finances. Although all of the details are not yet clear, in outline what may happen is that the pledge card will have two lines on it (these names are not written in stone):

  1. Unified Budget would cover salaries, benefits, routine maintenance, program expenses and mission—everything that the current Unified Budget does.
  2. Building Fund would cover mortgage payments, member loan repayments and interest, pay down of the principal, and major maintenance and improvements.

People will be asked to make an annual pledge to each line, instead of just to the Unified Budget.  In some ways this change is not all that large—if you look at your offering envelopes you will notice that the first two lines are “Unified Budget” and “Recommitment Campaign”—and this new way of doing things just replaces pledging to a 3-year capital campaign with an annual pledge to a Building Fund with specified purposes.

Let’s look at some concrete figures to get an idea of what is involved. Please bear in mind that all of the figures are approximate, but these should give a flavor of what we are talking about. 

  • Our total Unified Budget for the current fiscal year is about $690,000. The largest income source is pledges, which make up $550,000. This is what I focus on below.  The rest of the income comes from loose plate offering, rent, usage fees etc.
  • $30,000 of the Unified Budget is for debt service. In the coming year this amount will come out of the Building Fund. Removing this leaves $520,000 required in pledges to make the current budget.
  • Inflation makes running the church more expensive each year. Using past years as a guide, the operating budget needs to increase $20,000-$30,000 each year just to stay even. This brings us back to a pledge level of $550,000 for the coming fiscal year.  An increase in our program above the current levels would require even more money.
  • The current total debt service, which has mostly been covered by contributions to the Recommitment Campaign, is $180,000.
  • Therefore pledges to the Building Fund must be, at a minimum, $180,000.
  • For next year, combined pledging to both the Unified Budget and the Building fund need to be at least $730,000: $550,000 to the Unified Budget, and $180,000 to the Building Fund.  This is an increase of $180,000 over current year pledges to the Unified Budget.

This is a larger increase in annual pledging than we have ever had, and may seem a little scary.  However, cash payments to the Recommitment Campaign, which ends in February, have been coming in at about $175,000 year. This suggests that the resources are there if we, as a congregation, have the will.

In many ways I view the change as positive:

  1. By pledging to the Building Fund on an annual basis, we recognize that this is an ongoing necessary expense, just as paying a home mortgage or rent is a necessary living expense.
  2. The number of pledges to the Recommitment Campaign are about half of the pledges to the Unified Budget. I am optimistic that the number of pledges to the Building Fund will more closely mirror those to the Unified Budget.
  3. I also believe that this plan puts us on a sounder financial footing for the future. By realizing that we can pay for our building on an ongoing basis, we will become ready to take the next big step when it is appropriate to do so.

The next several months will be an important transitional time for the financial life of our church. The Executive Council and the Boards of Trustees and Stewardship will all work together to make sure the process moves smoothly. I view the 5th recommendation of the Debt Reduction Task Force, (“make all members aware of the Church’s financial situation”) as key to the whole process.  I anticipate that there will be articles in News Notes, as well as further opportunities for in-person discussion. I invite anyone to contact me or anyone else on the Executive Council if you have any concerns or questions, particularly if you have concerns. I would be happy to discuss any issues—how we manage our debt, more details about what happened in the congregational meeting, etc, either in person or by telephone or email.

We, as a congregation, have the resources to meet these challenges if we have the will. My family has already discussed pledging to the Building Fund in the coming year. Although we have not yet settled on the exact amount, we are committed to pledging at least at the same level as we gave to the Recommitment Campaign. I know several other people who have informally indicated that they will do the same. I invite you to prayerfully begin the process of deciding what you are prepared to give.

In closing, I would like to paraphrase the prayer frequently said during our Sunday worship service, “God, don’t give us tasks equal to our strength, but strength equal to our tasks.”

In Christ,

John Gipson
Moderator

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