Are You Part of “We”?
Dick Gerhart, Vestry Commissioner of Stewardship and
Finance, has an article entitled “COMMITMENT” in this issue of
“Tidings.” That article is a concise, detailed accounting of where Church of the
Nativity is in relation to our building project, “HOPE AND A FUTURE.”
Throughout the article, the Church is referred to as
“we.” The question before us as individuals, is — Am I part of WE? —
or — Are YOU part of WE?
Our HOPE AND A FUTURE campaign of 2000 was truly a work of
our Lord, The pledges were many AND generous. The excitement of what God was accomplishing
in our midst was contagious.
However, some of us have missed the mark! The pledged monies
are running behind schedule. Some pledges have gone ignored. On the other hand, our new
members have not yet been given an opportunity to become part of our HOPE AND A FUTURE
campaign.
If you are part of any of the above situations, please talk
to Dick Gerhart, Fr. Jim, Deacon Jan, or any member of the Vestry so you, too, can become
part of “WE.”
Together we can praise our Lord through our commitment to
His building project at Church of the Nativity — corporately and individually.
Commitment
COMMITMENT:
The act or process of committing; a pledge to do something: a contractual
engagement.
Recently we held our official ground
breaking ceremonies for the construction of a new sanctuary to which we are committed.
A loan closing was held with First Union, the construction/permanent mortgage lender, and
the building process will begin soon.
Total project cost is estimated at $1,234,000. of which
$800,000 will be provided by First Union and the Church deposited $434,000. in a
closed-end equity money market account which will be used first before loan funds are
disbursed.
The Church will continue to collect building fund pledges
which monies will be invested in the brokerage account and subsequently used to pay off
the bank advances as they are incurred. Since the pledged monies are payable over a five
year period and do not cover the entire construction cost, the Church will be relying upon
the bank loan to cover a portion of the building costs.
Upon completion, the construction loan will convert to a
permanent mortgage loan which is limited to $400,000. by Diocesan approval and is payable
over twenty years..
As of 12/31/00 Building Fund pledges totaled $948,657. of
which $473,805 had been collected with a balance remaining of $474,852. payable over the
next four years.
In addition to the collected pledge monies, the Church had
on hand $90,933. at the start of the campaign which has been fully absorbed by the
feasibility study, campaign costs, architectural fees, inspections and permits.
Kraft Construction, the general contractor's, contract is
$1,178,974. which does not include landscaping and interior furnishings which could total
about $210,000. The balance of construction costs will be used for architectural
engineering and other soft costs.
Thus, we are committed to a program that will require
additional pledging and commitment. While some pledges have deferred meeting their commitments
due to reversals in the stock market, hopefully market corrections will occur or
alternative sources of payment found that will help them meet their pledges.
While a secondary source of repayment might be found in the
church's operating accounts, this doesn't appear possible since the budget is on a
break-even basis provided pledges equal forecast and are maintained.
Unfortunately, the Church does not have an endowment fund or
other sources of revenue that could provide the additional funding to complete the
construction financing without bank reliance.
What we do have is a great opportunity to
grow our Church through the solicitation of new members, increased pledges, fund
raising activities, gifts, will and trust remembrances, and estate planning.
Let's capitalize on these opportunities and all meet our commitments to build our new
Church.
Dick Gerhart
Vestry Chair, Stewardship & Finance
See previous building committee reports:
Terry Bradshaw Kicks Off our Hope and a Future Campaign
Announcing Committee Leaders for Hope and a Future Campaign
Committee update, June 1999
