Well, a big whoopee! We got our first utility bill since the installation of the solar panels, and it was all of $35 for the electric portion! Lisa says this time of year with moderate temperatures it usually runs from $275-300. It will be interesting to see what it is when temperatures are either cold or hot and we’re running the heating and air more. The costs have typically ranged from $500-800 in those periods. We will be keeping you posted, of course. And we just cannot say thank you often enough to those with the foresight to move us in the right direction, and at a sizable expense to them. It takes so many people in this church giving in so many ways to make everything happen. This is one small piece but one that comes with immense gratitude for the “gift that will keep on giving.”

And although it has been a few months since I have made any appeals for financial contributions, it is that time of year when some of you will be required to take money from some of your investments and will be making decisions about what to do with those funds. The capital campaign seems to be a given, and early contributions to that would be greatly appreciated by the Re-Mod Squad, since we are really on a financial hold right now. We may have some funds we can spend in December once we make sure we are past any emergencies for this year, but we still have a long, long list of repairs that we are itching to cross off our list and that is going to take lots of money.

We are thrilled this month about the addition of a new member, Stephen Bottomly, who brings a systems and big picture perspective, and who I understand is a darn good organizer. He has also generously agreed to be our liaison with the Board of Business, our parent board which gives us our allowance! LOL! And so very timely, Phoebe Papadi has come to us requesting to be an ad hoc member of our group and work with us on tackling storage issues campus-wide. Rooms and closets, and probably spaces under sinks and behind furniture, are bursting at the seams with junk! Well, of course, there are some necessary and precious items in the mix and they will be preserved. Phoebe will be working with the boards and committees and church staff to clean out and purge. We will then move on to designating space for each board and committee, and adding shelving to some closets to help in the organization of what needs to be stored. Phoebe loves doing this and we are just so thrilled to have her enthusiasm, and can’t wait to see the finished project. As a result of this cleaning out, we hope to restore one of the seminar rooms, maybe two, to actually being seminar rooms! How about that? We have tried to twist Larry Alsobrook’s arm to join forces with us but he wants to just stay ad hoc and we have given him our stamp of approval. We are sorry to lose Jim White at the end of November;  he has been with us from the beginning, and has provided good insight and perspective and some sweat, too, with various projects. He needs to take care of his health right now, as well as his family, and he knows the door is open if he wants to return.

Larry and Erick continue to work at vegetation clearing. Larry has finished the area north of the office building and has laid down hay to prevent weed growth. We hope the church staff all appreciate the views out their windows now – and their windows even work and they can open them on these beautiful fall days. Erick is continuing to concentrate his energies on the northeast side of the Sanctuary, where it is a veritable jungle. He is hoping to have a workday in January and February so watch for that, all of you great volunteers!

Carol is spending a great deal of time getting soft estimates for many of the projects that remain on our list. That is a time-consuming project (foundation stabilization of Reimer Hall, the courtyard, retention ponds and drainage, parking lot refurbishing or redesigning, a divider between Reimer Hall and the west wing, carpet replacement in the Sanctuary, etc.) All of these projects are contingent upon capital campaign funds. She has also followed up with the HVAC folks with some small repairs to some of the units. We feel good about the watchful eye of the HVAC folks on our aging units, and appreciate their understanding of our financial situation and where we can reasonably buy more time. The handyman has caulked all the windows and done a myriad of mortar repairs to the brick façade throughout the campus. We are still awaiting the woodwork repair because the company is waiting for necessary materials. We have also been asked to give some feedback about what facility requirements there would be to host an after-school program for K-5. Carol will be consulting with the plumber and the architect, as there are issues that would need to be addressed to make that workable. But it would be a great outside source of budgetary funds if we could make it work.

We will have had a party to celebrate our accomplishments by the time you read this, with Jim White treating us to his famous BBQ. We’ll be raising a glass to toast ourselves, so wherever you are, raise a glass to share with us in our celebration!