EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
2008 President: Lynn Baronas
2008 Vice President: Brian Thompson
2008 Clerk: Cindi Bates Russell
2008 Past President: Les Korper
2008 Treasurer: Jill Carpenter
Minister Senior Pastor: David Taylor
Report of the President
April 6, 2008
Dear Friends,
This has been a busy year for First Church. Most
recently, we worked together to balance the 2008 budget while trying to keep the
focus on increasing church membership. This process was arduous and at the 2008
financial meeting, which lasted almost two hours, we discussed a host of issues,
including a strategic forecast of future spending, an analysis of current giving
levels, a review of how our money is spent, a plan for reallocating
responsibilities among our pastoral staff and several proposed cutbacks. While
the meeting generated much discussion, the assembled group ultimately voted to
pass the proposed budget.
We are working together toward a renewed focus on
current and future revenue and expenses; we are also focused on sharing more
information about First Church finances with the congregation. There is a
critical need for each of us to embrace stewardship on a year-round basis.
Simply stated, to do all we hope and want to do requires resources, and more of
us are beginning to understand the need to step up and increase our levels of
giving. We are hopeful that through assertive stewardship education, results of
the 2008 fall stewardship campaign will be more robust than prior years, making
the decisions essential to balancing the budget in 2009 less difficult.
In other news, in 2007, Chris Mereschuk joined us
as Associate Pastor for Youth Ministries. Called on July 1, 2007, Chris was
ordained on September 30, 2007 and has been working with the Board of Youth
Ministries in leading the Senior and Junior High Fellowships, and with David
Taylor and Kate VanDerzee in guiding the confirmation class.
A special task force, commissioned by the Church
Council, met throughout the summer and early fall of 2007 to consider expanding
programming in the area of Family and Children’s Ministries. The task force
recognized a need to expand programming in the area of Family and Children’s
ministries and recommended that the Church increase staffing in that area. The
2007 fall stewardship campaign focused in large part on raising funds to support
an expanded Christian Education and Family Ministries program, which the Church
Council endorsed at its February meeting. A committee is currently working on
devising a job description for an expanded staff position, as well as a time
line and process for following through on the position.
Work continued on the Hale House property thanks
to the hard work of a group of member volunteers, the "Sweat Equity Group" or
"Sweaters." The Trustees obtained appropriate approvals to remove a portion of
the rear wing of the house, which housed a greenhouse. That portion of the wing
was dismantled on a weekend, and the opening was capped off and a door and
window were added. This work left a stand-alone overhang which can be used as a
pavilion for outdoor celebrations. The Sweaters also installed a white picket
fence around the house, which looks very neat and tidy. Sarah Moriarty and Bruce
Fleahman worked with Harold Parmelee to draft and submit a grant proposal for a
Technical Assistance Grant from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.
The grant will allow First Church to do a feasibility study, which essentially
maps the second phase planning described by the property planning committee.
We are grateful to an anonymous donor, through
whose generosity the Church is poised to begin construction of a Universal
Access entry to the sanctuary and the social hall entrance. The project will
also include a number of handicap parking spots on the Hale House property. The
Trustees are hard at work setting up a process for communicating with the
congregation about the appropriate design as well as proposing a time line to
guide the project. We have been waiting a number of years to make Church easily
accessible to young and old, and the design will allow a park-like and communal
setting for church gatherings.
Finally, the Church has kicked off a partnership
with Foodshare to support a mobile Foodshare van in the First Church parking lot
every other Wednesday to provide free food to those in the Glastonbury community
who are in need. First Church volunteers gather together to help with the food
distribution process each week, serving between 30 and 50 people who have come
to the van for food.
Thanks to the many First Church volunteers whose
contributions are so essential to sustaining this vibrant community of which we
are a part. There continue to be plenty of opportunities for each of us to pitch
in as active First Church members in the weeks and months to come. Most
importantly, I hope all of us will commit to participating in and learning more
about church finances during this fall’s stewardship campaign. I look forward to
continuing to experience the magic of this magnificent fellowship we are
privileged to share.
Very truly yours,
Lynn Baronas, President
