I hope that you all had a wonderful summer. We had a lot going on at the church over the summer. Two new large A/C units were installed in the Sanctuary in early August. We had a leaking pipe to the family bathroom in the Sanctuary dug up and replaced. We will be re-piping the Sanctuary to make sure that does not happen again. We also had a roof leak repaired over the upstairs youth room where a hole was created during the installation of our solar panels. It took the heavy rains from this summer for the leak to manifest itself. Fortunately, our capital reserves were more than sufficient for this unplanned work.
September will be a busy month for the Board of Business as we draft our “challenge” budget for 2026. The challenge budget will be presented at the October congregational meeting for your approval and for the kickoff of our 2026 pledge campaign. There will be some challenges for the next year. The Board of Human Resources is working on refining job descriptions and determining the staffing needs of the church. We will need to continue to grow and use our capital funds for repairs and improvements to our campus. We will finally pay off our mortgage for the sanctuary by February. We will start a search for a new settled minister as Rev. Donna Schaper’s time with us as an interim minister comes to a close.
To encourage thinking about our future here, I invite you all to attend my seminar, “Maintenance, Mission, and Money,” after the service on Sunday, September 14. The short description is “a conversation about UCG finances and structure and how we might reorganize both to address the maintenance needs of our campus and our mission(s) in the world.” I’ll be presenting newer financial report forms. I’m also inviting the Board of Endowment, Board of Human Resources, and the Campus Keepers (a/k/a Buildings and Grounds Subcommittee) to be present and participate with their perspectives.
In recognition of the 60th anniversary of the founding of UCG, I think it will be fitting to have an open conversation about what we can and need to do to ensure that the church continues for another 60 years and more.
– Alan Hill, Chair