Anne Harvey, President, Board of Trustees president@westsideuuc.org
Hello Members and Friends,
There are many things going on now in our church that everyone needs to consider. On February 7, Rev. Carol provided a sermon on different church identities. After the service, we had an open discussion on our opinions to be identified as a family size church or as a pastoral size church. I felt we had an honest and informative discussion concerning our opinions and desires for our church family.
During the Board retreat on February 13, the board members continued this conversation. On March 20 after the church service, members and friends will meet again in small groups with members of the Board and members of the Committee on Ministry to get a thorough sense of the everyone’s thoughts on the future path of Westside.
The vision we want for the church guides us in choosing the programs that we offer. For instance, if the desire is to grow membership and reach out to young families, we must have a vibrant RE that requires a RE director. If we agree that music is an important part of our services then we require a music director. Each of these is an addition to our annual budget.
During this time of thoughtful consideration for our future, we must take a hard look at our church budget. The Board is closely watching the donations to this year’s alternative auction. The annual auction has always been an important part of our church budget. Please plan to participate. Staying a family size church or stepping up to a pastoral size church does not require a vote. But, it does require commitments. Family size churches require more time commitments for members to do functions that staff do in pastoral size churches. Pastoral size churches require more commitment to process and programs.
Growing membership requires programs that are financially supported. But, either path we take requires a balanced budget for 2016-2017. The first step for this to happen is reaching our goal of $10,000 during the Alternative Auction. Please donate. The celebration of our commitment and love for Westside is Saturday, March 5 starting at 6 pm.
I am anticipating our dinner together and discovering our members’ talents during the evening’s entertainment!
Best wishes as the daffodils are starting to bloom!
Anne