Sealed up in time for snow

There have been some questions about how we have been doing the major work on the roof and exterior given the current financial state of the church. There are a few pieces of information that will help to clarify this and future projects.

As to our current financial picture, we are in slightly better financial shape than the same time last year despite a budget that was further behind. Likewise, the year before was worse at yearend than the budget for that year predicted. Both years have been much like several years before where much of our mission shares have not been paid and some money from investment income has had to be spent to cover ministerial support at the end of the year. The membership has been increasing contributions, but to cover the annual expence side of our budget with pledges and cash income, we need to continue to increase our commitment to bringing our resources together. 

Most maintenance, capital purchases and special improvements come from investment income and bequests. Some portion of this money can be used to cover annual expenses, but it is better for the financial health of the church to keep most of this income reserved for capital investments and upkeep for our physical capital - the building. Because our investments have been doing well, we do have money to keep the physical plant in good shape and cover some annual expenses. If the stock market turns down, we may even need some budget money to help with maintanance, but this is not a current concern.

Some of the recent projects have been paid for through insurance claims. Here are some notes from Doreen about the details:

Needed roof & steeple repairs was completed last week. This was an insurance claim due to roof shingle and steeple siding damage caused from the storm last April. The total cost of the project was $23,770, of that we had to pay $4,370, which came from investments that are specifically designated for maintenance.

The exterior lights of Ellis Hall & the sanctuary, are in horrible condition, we recently purchased and will have installed soon these replacement lights. They were purchased from Jim Darling's memorial, they totalled $1838 plus installation.

The breezeway windows and safety glass on the exterior of the sanctuary stained glass windows were finally completed two weeks ago. This was an insurance claim because the windows were damaged by pellet gun shots approx. 1 1/2 years ago. The total cost was $1,879, we have a deductible of $1000 per claim from our insurance carrier, they reimbursed us $193.99. The balance of the charges were for needed repairs on a breezeway window, which was damaged during the CIP several years ago, as well as maintenance on several stained glass windows. This money came from investments that are specifically designated for maintenance.

Entrance rugs were purchased to save on continued rental costs at a purchase price of $780. The payback will be a little more than one year.

Finally, there is an insurance claim that was recently settled to cover the damage to the fence on the back side of the church. Chuck Kamilewicz has been handling the contrators and the claim as well as clearing off some of the damaged materials. 

The church is overall in stable condition, though increased income is necessary to meet our full obligations of ministry each year. For further information, please come to the budget presentation after church on the December 9th after church.