Moderator Report
April 2025
Over one-fourth—nearly a third of 2025 is in the books. Holy
Week and Resurrection Sunday are on the immediate horizon. We have been blessed
with rain. We have had three false springs, but Tom’s walking weather is just
around the corner.
Seek Justice. Love
Mercy. Walk Humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
Our standing committees have not met for some time,
but we have had some activity in these functional areas.
Missions.
NTR.
Worship.
NTR
Education
NTR
Building and Grounds.
There is an ongoing
list of items that need to be repaired. We have discussed front door
repairs in passing, but I put it on this
month’s agenda.
Fellowship
We had a small but enjoyable fellowship meal on 2 February
2025. We need to continue to invite and then decide what to do with fellowship
meals later this year. For now, press on with growing our fellowship in this
way.
Other
Copier. The new copier is in service. Thanks to Danny
Rush for helping me set it up in short order. It is connected to our Wi-Fi so
you that know how should be able to print from your phones.
Disposition of Old Copier. The old copier is
functional but hardly optimal. It does have spare cartridges to go with it. I
would like to decide what to do with it at this meeting and not let it sit around
the building for a couple of years.
May is Membership Month. I will announce, but people
respond more to face-to-face. Make no mistake, salvation and making disciples are
our mainstays, but membership has benefits for both the member and the body
alike.
QR Code Link to Online Giving. We are in business.
Thanks, Kendra and Phil. I don’t plan to make a big deal out of this with the congregation,
but do want people to know this option is available. I suggest some supplemental Treasurer’s
Report for the rest of the year to assess efficacy, perhaps the number of
transactions, transactions outside the membership, and total income. It will take a while, but we should be
interested in whether this was merely a matter of convenience for some or if it
generated additional revenue. Surely, this tracking will be a work in progress,
but we should keep a close watch these first few months.
Additionally, we may want to look ahead and determine if
there are any annual requirements to maintain the service.
Fiscal Discipline and Accountability. This is the
responsibility of the session, but the treasurer is typically the central
player in our financial accounting. I have asked again if anyone is interested
in helping with the financial accounting. The position title could vary, but
two-person integrity and accountability are the goals. I'm not sure if we've
ever achieved this, but it's the accepted standard, and we would be well served
to adhere to it.
That said, we have gained no traction on this for decades. Let’s
pray about this, first of all, thanking God that we are blessed to have enough
in giving to need a treasurer and that we have had neither significant miscues nor
fraudulent practices, then petitioning Him to put someone on our hearts who
might be involved in this.
Should we find someone, they may want us to have an audit of
finances so they know what they are getting into before they commit. I don’t
expect anything of note from an audit, but financial audits have been a part of
best practices for nonprofits (including churches) for decades. The typical 501
(C) (3) nonprofit likely does an annual audit conducted by an external entity.
If we are trying to get on board with last century’s best practices, we might
need to take this step as well, though I doubt there is a need for it annually All things considered; I’d rather be in Philadelphia.
Budgeting. I know this bothers some of you, but I
will again suggest a budgeting process that begins in June or July each year,
so the session, in concert with the living elders, may review it at the Elder
Retreat instead of starting from scratch.
I’m not just being ornery (sometimes I am) but am encouraged that after suggesting
three times over fifteen years that we put money that was not obligated for the
current fiscal year into a CD, we finally did it. It’s a don’t bury in the
ground sort of thing. You may have heard me preach on it. So, I’m giving
this budgeting process one more shot. I won’t put it on the agenda unless the
elders on the session ask for it, and I won’t bring it up again if you don’t.
Trustees. Traditionally, the trustees of the local church
are the session. Some sessions name elders as long-term trustees. Other church
bodies have incorporated and define their trustees within the incorporation. We
need to clarify the individuals we have designated as our trustees and ensure
that we record their details and update them when they change. In the
Presbyterian system of government, the church's property is traditionally held
by the Presbytery; however, for the local administration of property matters,
the title may be listed under the names of the local trustees, regardless of who,
the property of the CPC is entrusted to a person or entity for the use of the
CPC. There is no individual ownership of church property—Constitution 3.30 for
more information.
Pastor Turnover. Pastor expectations is the next item
to discuss. It was addressed somewhat last month, but this is the time to
discuss and record it for later reflection/confirmation and some documentation.
I suggest it be done after the meeting is adjourned as we did last month.
Tom Personal. I will be away on April 27, 2025.
Projects
in Search of a Champion.
Dates
for Planning Purposes.
Unfinished
Business.
