GOOD NEWS !! GOOD NEWS !!
Through a combination of increased giving and other income from January through March, and through careful reduction of expenses we have a positive balance to report for the first quarter of 2012! Instead of taking money from the unrestricted endowment (as we did in 2011) we actually have money in the bank! The Finance Committee and Church Council have agreed that I should give you a narrative report to replace the old line item report which used to appear in this monthly newsletter. The line item report is still produced and used by the committee and the church council and available for review by any member of the church upon request to the church office. We hope you will find the following highlights informative and beneficial to your understanding of Stone UMC’s financial picture.
2012 Total Income for the First Quarter ………………………….. $102,635
2012 Total Expenses for the First Quarter ………………………. $ 88,208
$ 14,426
Compared to First Quarter Last Year ……. Income ……………. $ 60,734
“ “ ……. Expenses ………… $ 89,077
Operating shortfall which was taken from unrestricted endowment: $28,343
Income from pledged and unpledged contributions has increased $ 8,992 for the first quarter of this year and the improvement in our financial picture is great!
An unusual Expense in the first quarter was the repair of the organ which was $6,405. This was completely covered through the generous direction of memorial funds given to honor Louise and Robert Thomas and an additional $2,000 for the repair was given by Nancy and Jonathan Helmreich. Many members also donated to the project. No money was taken from Endowment Funds.
One of the Special Sunday “second mile” offerings was designated for gifts to the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) through One Great Hour of Sharing. Last year this congregation sent $500 to UMCOR……. THIS YEAR the members have donated $2,099 to UMCOR! Of course, all donations designated for special offerings go directly to the designated purpose. At no time is any of it used for operating expenses.
Members may wonder how/where expenses have been reduced. I will highlight a few areas. One, is the result of the mild winter. January through March Church Utility expenses are down $2,300 compared to last year. Two, the reductions to wages and salaries are down $6,065 compared to the first quarter of last year. And third, is the reduced payment of Conference apportionments of $3,281.
As you can see none of the expense reductions have affected our mission or ministries. We continue to reach out to the community through our witness here in Meadville.
Thank you for the increased giving to fund the mission and ministries of our church! We can now envision the day when we will no longer use any unrestricted endowment funds to meet operating expenses, but instead we will use those funds to “birth” new ministries here in Meadville. Thank you for increasing your financial gifts and commitment to the future of Stone UMC.
Submitted by: Jan Emblidge, Finance Committee Co-Chair
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