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Stewards Commission Report |
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| The PSWD Stewardship Commission for 2007 anticipates (as of this mid May writing) a good and active year. In the
2006 budget we had anticipated approximately $500,000 in investment income but had actual earning for the year
from our investment partners of about $760,000 pushing overall receipts for the district to about $890,000 for
2006. For 2007 we budgeted approximately $526,000 from investment income and our pace through mid May should exceed $800,000 from investment income for 2007. This would put our overall income to approximately $950,000 (projected). That's the good news. At district conference meeting last year we voted to increase the limit on our grants from $400,000 to $600,000. We failed to put any research in coming up with that number. During our April board meeting the new limit was quickly reached thereby preventing us from addressing any new grants for the remainder of the year. An email and followup reminder letter is now going out to all congregations asking them to inform the stewardship chair of any grants they might have presented this year or for next year so that (this time) we can adequately raise the limit through our district budget process in October. We apologize for the delay for not being able to adequately address grant needs for 2007. In June, the Stewards will mail version of the original Stewardship "mini package." We encourage all congregations to conduct an annual pledge process, and we emphasize how important it is to educate and to re-educate our congregations on the need to provide financial support to your own congregation, district, denomination and major partners in ministry and service. This year the stewards also took time to go back to review the results from the 2004 stewardship survey and to take a current assessment of the same questions to see if progress has been made in activities and overall attendance numbers. Some positive turnaround numbers have been noted. At district conference we hope to provide a more detailed report of individual congregation success and activities. |
In mid summer we will be sending a mailing to all congregations asking for your support regarding church real estate.
As part of Brethren Church polity it is understood that when a church closes or is abandoned that church reverts
(through a specific process) back to the district where it can either be restaffed or sold, with the funds being
used to revitalize new or existing congregations. It has been understood that a specific "reversion clause"
was to have been placed on all church properties by their respective boards supporting this process. We now find
that this is not the case and we are going through this re-mailing process to ask all congregations to either send
the district office a copy of their previous recording or to go through the recording process and then forward
a copy to the district office. The district will pay for and reimburse all recording costs. The mailing will also
contain an eight page copy of Brethren Church polity regarding real estate. We hope to get this project behind
us by year end. Stewards have frequently used the phrase "good stewardship is just not about money". We have also used another common phrase that the definition of frustration is doing things the same way and expecting different results. This year new job descriptions were provided to all paid staff. As of this writing some of that work is in review. The district board is presently looking at "slimming down" the present structure of the executive board so that it can be more timely and responsive. We are also looking at the timing of how and when do we do our work. Hopefully by district conference in the fall we will have made some "make sense changes" that can be discussed. If we are going to ask our congregations to step up to the challenge of congregational growth in these changing times the district staff and board leadership need to step up and lead by example. Good stewardship is not just about money but how we utilize all of our resources (human, financial, and real property).
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