Board of Trustees
December 2011 Message from Your Board/Leadership
ASK-Commitment and Renewal
At a recent Sunday service, the message was on the subject of Gratitude. Also on that Sunday, we
welcomed seven new members into our spiritual community. During the same Sunday service, two new attendees spoke of their gratitude for our minister and how they were served by attending the new-member orientation at Unity. These individuals are already Unity members from another church but stated that they attended the group to get a sense of our minister up-close and personally.
These are outwardly visible signs of growth and personal commitment to Unity of the Valley. We are grateful to be reminded by these individuals of what is present today, outwardly visible.
This is the season for renewal, commitment and service for the board as well. One primary role we have at this time is to forecast our financial future. This activity requires a close look at the outer conditions and circumstances of income and expenses. The outer financial circumstance reveals decline in income and attendance. Yet, that is not the experience we witness at Unity. We see an increase in the spiritual growth of individuals being served through a committed ministry. We ASK each of you reading this message to demonstrate your love and gratitude for this church through a sustained financial commitment. What is the promise on the promissory note of a dollar bill? "In God We Trust."
Blessings from your Unity of the Valley Board
Semi-Annual Financial Report to the Congregation
September 21, 2011
At the Unity of the Valley annual meeting in March, the Board committed to reporting mid year about the financial status of the Church.
To refresh folks minds about where we were at in March, the following is an excerpt from the March 2011 report to the congregation:
The pattern of giving vs. expenses has been on a downward trend for the past three years. On January 1, 2008, there was approximately $144,000 in reserves. This number is now $41,000. The $103,000 difference is attributable to an imbalance between regular giving and expenses ($73,000), and a combination of a bad investment economy and, in hind sight, a bad investment decision ($30,000).
The message to the congregation in March related to an intent to see regular giving increased, coupled with fund-raising for increasing the size of the reserves.
There is much to report since March:
1. Regular giving per person has noticeably increased. We thank all who have held this intent in prayer and action.
2. Overall regular giving has decreased. Through August of 2011, overall regular giving, not including special gifts, is down, year-to-date, over $15,000.
Decreased overall regular giving is primarily attributable to a continued trend of decreased weekly attendance at the Sunday service. For the purpose of comparison, the average weekly attendance in 2009 was 175 people per week. In 2010, this number was 148 people per week. Through August of 2011, average weekly attendance is 128 people per week. Average weekly attendance for September will likely be a lower number than 128.
We express our gratitude for all that do attend and all that we receive.
3. The Church has undertaken a many month process of prosperity consciousness building, starting with 40 days of prayer, and culminating in a seven week series on prosperity, to begin September 25, 2011.
4. Special gifts have been received. One gift for $5000+ paid in full for the new sign. Another gift for $20,000 to the reserves, has allowed us to cover the operating loss for this year, and to see a modest increase to the overall size of our reserves.
We deeply appreciate these generous gifts.
5. Financial trending. Without another special gift, or a significant increase in regular giving, the reserves will see a decline in order to cover monthly operating loss.
6. Spiritual intent. As fiscal stewards of the Church, we mind the numbers, while, at the same time, holding prosperity in our consciousness.
7. The Bookstore.
For quite a few years, the bookstore has had its own budget, separate from the Church’s operating budget. The intent has been for the bookstore to operate as a service to the congregation and to be self-supporting.
YTD, net sales have been down dramatically, such that the bookstore has lost approximately $2000. The Board is reorganizing the bookstore structure, and is open to ideas from the congregation about what it would like to see from the physical space in the future. In the interim, we are actively seeking volunteers to staff the bookstore on Sundays.
If you care about the future of the bookstore, please stop in the bookstore after the Sunday service. Leave a suggestion in the appropriate box, and look over the items currently on display.
 Dennis Chandler |
 >Bill Hirsch |
 Suz Aird |
 Bev Hollander |
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 Brian Alexander |
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