From the Vicar...
Money matters
For most of us as parishioners, dealing with the church budget is a bit like going to a buffet dinner. You know the vegetables are probably good for you, but you'd rather skip them and head straight for the dessert section! This week, however, I really need to load up your plate with vegetables as we begin planning for 2014. It may not be the most "spiritually uplifting" From the Vicar column you've ever read, but I think understanding where we stand will be good for you.
In many respects, the budget at both of our churches is not unlike your home budget: we have our regular income, we have some modest investments and resources - and we have bills. And, like in your home budget, we have to make all of these numbers "add up."
First, our resources
If you look at the big picture, we're not as "poor" as you might imagine. After all, our church buildings, our largest non-cash assets, are mortgage-free. But, as with any aging property, there is a significant cost to maintaining our buildings and grounds. And, due to deferred maintenance occasioned by tight finances over the years, we have some serious issues (particularly our furnace issues at Christ Church) that cannot be ignored. But when I look around our diocese, I'm not all that displeased with where we stand. There are a number of churches that are using the principal of their endowments to maintain their operations - and we have not done that. Both churches have a deficit - but at Trinity the deficit is much smaller than we anticipated when writing the budget last winter, and Christ Church's largely owes to our dying furnace - which is about to be replaced with help from a Diocesan Advance Fund loan - about which you'll be hearing more in the coming weeks.
Next, our expenses
The good news is that we've cut the budget in prudent ways in both churches, giving us a sound but realistic set of expectations. The bad news is that our pledges, particularly at Christ Church, have not kept up with our needs. That has meant that, while we run a very lean operation, keeping the budgets balanced has been a challenge. There is literally nothing more we can cut without impacting who we are as a church in either place. We've already saved significant dollars by consolidating office operations. We are, with diocesan permission, paying a reduced Fair Share to the diocese. But, beyond that, most of our costs are "fixed" - we do not have discretionary control over them.
Finally, our income
Passing the offering plate on Sunday morning is the most visible way we, as parishioners, support our churches. And yet, the non-pledge income coming to us through that offering plate is really quite small. Pledges from parishioners are our single biggest source of revenue and the lifeblood of both congregations, representing nearly 80% of our income. The remaining income comes from special services like Easter and Christmas, contributions made by organizations that use our facilities, investment income, and such fund-raising income as the Christmas Fairs and last spring's calendar fund-raiser.
How do all those numbers add up?
Let's just put it this way: the solution is not on the expense side - it's on the income side. And it's going to take more than just asking the current membership to "dig deeper." With a new stewardship campaign starting at the end of September, it is critical (1) that every member of both Trinity and Christ Church pledge, and (2) that we be intentional about growing our base, welcoming new folks into our fold. We do this not for financial reasons, but for spiritual reasons. A growing church is a living church - and I think you share with me the desire that ours be living churches. Our "Come and See" initiative later this fall (which you'll hear a lot about in the coming weeks) will be a big help in this area - but it is an initiative that absolutely depends on you for its success.
A church really is the sum of its members, and your support is vital to the fulfillment of our mission. We need you - not just for the dollars you invest in this ministry, but for the ways you can reach out, one-to-one, to draw others into these two wonderful spiritual families. The Bishop's Committees have led us a long way out of the "hole" we have been in recent years - but if the rest of us don't follow that lead, much of that work could be in vain. I don't want that, and I know you don't either.
Faithfully,
Fr. Chip
Notes on the August Bishop's Committee meeting
At our August Bishop's Committee meeting, we tried something new: breaking out into "executive sessions" in which the Trinity folk dealt with strictly "Trinity-related" matters, and the Christ Church members did the same with Christ Church-only agenda items. By so doing, we were able to shorten our agenda by about 20 minutes (as these occurred simultaneously) and that kept the portion of the meeting where we were together as a single body well-focused and efficient.
The major item on the Christ Church agenda was the failure of our current furnace and the hard work being done to quickly procure bids for its replacement. It was learned that our request for funding from the Diocesan Advance Fund had been approved, so now comes the hard part: raising money to help offset that loan. The diocese has generously offered to match any donations made in such a limited capital campaign dollar-for-dollar - and Little Blessings has agreed to contribute as well. Energy efficiency grants from Unitil and PSNH will also figure into our financial picture for this project. Be watching for more on this over the coming weeks.
At Trinity, there were a number of buildings and grounds issues on the agenda - including the likely need to replace our present mower next season. We learned of a mower we may be able to borrow to get us through the rest of this season, but long-term we need to budget for replacement.
In other business:
- Patsy Tremblay was confirmed as Christ Church's new Safe Church minister. She was recently trained at a convocation-wide session in Dover, and this week took "the notebook" Tanya Miranda had so diligently maintained as her predecessor in this ministry.
- Plans for the fall Stewardship campaign were outlined. An October campaign will culminate in a fun and festive Nov. 16 dinner to receive pledges for the 2014 budget year. As we did last year, we will conduct this campaign jointly, with two mailings and three "Ministry Minute" speakers on Oct. 13, 20 and 27. Diana Jodoin was elected chair of a committee with members from both congregations.
- Plans for our "Come and See" campaign in November were reviewed. The diocese is funding a mailing of 80,000 postcards to all households served by our two churches and St. Thomas', Dover, in preparation for "Come and See" Sundays on Nov. 3, 10 and 17. Parishioners will be asked to make personal invitations to friends, family, and some targeted communities to "come and see" us on those any of those three Sundays.
- A date was set for sending out our draft Covenant to all households in preparation for September's open forums and our Oct. 6 vote on the Covenant. Be watching your e-mail inbox (or your mail, if you're not only our e-mail list) on or about Sept. 12.
- Gary Dozier reviewed progress on our directory photography. E-mail reminders will go out to all who have not yet been photographed. Make-up dates are Sept. 15 at Christ Church and Sept. 22 at Trinity.
- It was agreed that we would hold off until Annual Meeting to elect someone to fill Jean Wadman's unexpired term on the Bishop's Committee. Meanwhile, Susan Ott has stepped forward to serve as coordinator for our soup kitchen ministry at the Salvation Army in Portsmouth. All agreed that her passing leaves not only a hole in the fabric of Christ Church's life, but a hole in all our hearts as well.
Full minutes will be posted as soon as they are available. The next Bishop's Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at Trinity Church.
Can you help us "let freedom ring"?
As announced last week, Christ Church will be hosting a joint "Let Freedom Ring" service on Wednesday, Aug. 28 at 3 p.m. to mark the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
This half-hour long service provides some opportunities for lay participation. If you can help in any of the ways outlined below, please be in touch with Fr. Chip:
- Bell-ringers: We will start the service with a three-minute peal of the giant church bell. We need at least one volunteer to ring the bell - but if two or even three want to share this part of our commemoration, so much the better.
- A Lector for the scripture passage: Exodus 3:7-12.
- An Intercessor to lead a responsorial prayer we'll be using in the service.
- One or two Greeters to welcome worshipers and hand out programs.
Many thanks - and do come join us for the service.
The 2013 Evangelism Institute
September 21, 2013; 10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Lake Opechee Conference Center
62 Doris Ray Court, Laconia, NH
Registration is now open for the Diocese of New Hampshire's second annual Evangelism Institute. The all-day event is set for Saturday, September 21 from 10am to 3pm at the Lake Opechee Conference Center in Laconia.
This year's program will center on face-to-face conversations about how we are growing our churches now for a thriving future. Go to http://evangelism.nhepiscopal.org for more information and follow the directions to register - or (preferably) let Fr. Chip know you are coming and he can put in a single registration for all from our congregations who are attending. Registration deadline is Sunday, Sept. 8.
This year's Institute will feature few speakers, but what might better be described as conversation leaders. The day will be broken into four parts: Speed Evangelism, Come and See Q&A, a Welcoming Ministries panel and a World Cafe conversation.
Register today with Fr. Chip, our registrar for both congregations, to be there on September 21!
Directory photography make-up dates
As announced earlier in this space, the Bishop's Committee endorsed our going forward with a locally-produced, non-commercial pictorial directory this fall.
Our new directory will only be valuable if it is complete. Accordingly, our goal is 100% participation. If you have not yet been photographed for our directory, here are our make-up dates:
- Christ Church: make-up date, Sept. 15
- Trinity Church: make-up date, Sept. 22
Members of either church may be photographed in either location.
Trinity Church to add Saturday evening service starting Sept. 14
Sunday mornings may be a time for church, but for many busy people, the day is no longer off-limits to soccer games or work responsibilities. That has led some area churches to offer Saturday-evening worship. Long a staple in the Roman Catholic Church and common among many non-denominational churches, Saturday-evening services have been slower in coming to many Episcopal churches.
On Sept. 14, Trinity Church will launch a new weekly 5 p.m. Saturday service. At least initially, it will be a simple celebration of the Holy Eucharist, following Rite One - a service several people at Trinity have indicated they miss. In time, a monthly healing Eucharist may be added - or even such creative possibilities as a Taiz� service or other "alternative" offerings of the liturgy. On evenings there are social events at the church (dinners, etc.), the service may be tied in so that those attending the event can come for the Eucharist, then stay for the evening program.
Members of both Christ and Trinity churches - as well as the community at large - are warmly invited.
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