Stewardship For Kids

STEWARDSHIP FOR KIDS

Just a reminder to thumb tack up your STEWARSDSHIP PUZZLES and PICTURES on the "APC KIDS CARE" Bulletin Board in the Mill Creek Room. Don't forget to wrtie your name on them. I'll be hoping to get Pledge Cards in the Offering Plate in Sunday School, too.

With Care,

STU Bear (and Mrs. Foote)

Pastor's Pen: Stewardship: Investment in the Future

The Ardmore Presbyterian Church is committed to growing in faith, building community and expanding our witness in the world.  We live by God’s grace, and God often uses the generosity of others to extend that grace to the Church and to the world. 

We are thankful for your generosity in 2011.  In the midst of an ailing economy, you gave.  Because you gave, Ardmore Presbyterian Church continues to provide preaching and teaching, excellent music, wonderful opportunities for children, and support for missions both far and near.  Through your gifts, we maintain a beautiful presence on the corner of Montgomery and Mill Creek which benefits both us and a number of neighborhood groups.

Clearly our church struggles financially as everyone has these past few years.  In 2010 and 2011, the session adopted deficit budgets.  That was a hard decision.  At the same time, the church froze salaries for one year and overall has greatly reduced administrative costs.  Thanks to cost cutting and additional giving, 2010 was better than anticipated, and 2011 could be better as well.  However, deficits are not sustainable.  In coming years if the financial situation does not change, deep cuts in ministry will be required. 

This seems a strange time to discuss expanding our ministries.  However, stewardship is not about timidity.  We must live within our means, but we also put our resources where they can make the greatest impact for God’s mission.  In September 2011, the session decided to expand the position of Director of Youth and Children Ministry.  This will cost the church an additional $10,000.  However, we see this as an investment in our existing programs, Sunday School, Youth Fellowship, and Wednesday PLUS.  In addition, we see expanded opportunities for our youth and children in worship, fellowship and mission.  The exodus of young people away from the church later in life is not inevitable.  Nonetheless, if APC cannot increase revenues to match this commitment, the session understands that there will need to be cuts elsewhere. 

We know that these are challenging times.  Nonetheless, we ask for your continued investment in the future of APC.  Consider your commitment as the 2012 Stewardship Campaign begins.

Grace and Peace,

James Hodsden

FROM MATT TAYLOR, MODERATOR OF THE STEWARDSHIP AND FINANCE COMMITTEE…

The Stewardship Campaign is beginning at Ardmore Presbyterian Church.  This is a time when we, as members of APC reflect on the meaning of stewardship, our relationship to God and to the church community especially as it relates to our money.   For our Session, and the Stewardship & Finance Committee, it is a time plan projects for the coming year and to prioritize the many opportunities this congregation has to further God’s word here in Ardmore and throughout the world. 

Minute for Stewardship: Director of Youth and Children Ministry

presented in worship on November 6, 2011...

Good morning.

As members of the congregation, we all make a promise to our children at their Baptism:

Do we the members of the Church of Jesus Christ, promise to guide and nurture [this child] by word and deed, with love and prayer, encouraging this child to know and follow Christ and to be a faithful member of his Church

I am here this morning as a child of this church who was baptized and confirmed here and attended Sunday School and Youth Fellowship. As a mother, I volunteered as a Sunday School teacher for 20 years and for the last 9 years, I have participated as a member of the CEC. The education of our children and youth are very important to the future of our congregation. As the leader of the Christian Education Committee and as a member of this congregation who contemplates my stewardship responsibilities at this time each year, just as we all do, I would like to share with you our need, as a congregation to financially support the expanded role of our Director of Youth and Children Ministries.

As you know, our Christian Education director, Kristen Thomas-Clarke, moved on in September to a new position in her field of library sciences, and we need to fill her position. Kristen’s position was officially compensated for 10 hours a week. She also volunteered many additional hours. This position is responsible for recruiting, training and leading a small army of 20-30 volunteers to teach our children and run their fellowship activities. This position is also responsible for selecting our educational materials, developing materials for our annual Spiritual Enrichment Retreat and Vacation Bible School. This position also participates as a member of the Christian Education Committee.

After reviewing the job responsibilities, and thoughtful and prayerful discussion, the Christian Education Committee recommended to the Session that to effectively keep our promise to “encourage our children to know and follow Christ and to be a faithful member of his Church” we need to expand and strengthen the children and youth program offerings. In order to accomplish this, we need to increase the hours of this role by adding 10 hours a week to the Director of Youth and Children Ministries. . . . . . . .taking it to a 20 hour a week position.

 At their August Session meeting, the Session approved the job description for the Director of Youth and Children Ministries voting to increase the hours of the Director position from 10 hours a week to 20 hours a week. At the September Session meeting, Session agreed to increase the compensation commensurate with the increase in hours.

To attract a candidate that has an education and experience in Youth ministries, we need to offer a competitive compensation package.  This commitment will result in a total of 20 hours a week and an increase to our budget of $10,000/year for a total compensation package of $20,000/year. We believe that 20 hours/week will meet the needs of our congregation and that this compensation level is in line with comparable positions elsewhere in the Presbytery.

As members of this congregation, we have a responsibility to support the programs that are critical to the success of our ministries. We do this by volunteering and by our financial support. Each of us needs to give prayerful thought to how we can best contribute to Ardmore Presbyterian’s ministries. $10,000 is a lot of money to raise, but think about it this way. . . That’s only $1.60 per week from each family in the church.  Without this additional support, the funding would have to be allocated from other areas within the church that also depend upon our membership’s stewardship for their ministries and programs.   

As you consider your stewardship commitment for the coming year, please consider increasing your pledge and including in that increase $1.60 a week to fund the compensation of this critical position.

The Christian Education Committee prays for you as you weigh the importance of this need to the future of the Ardmore Presbyterian Church.

Thank you.

Kathy Toal

Moderator, Christian Education Committee

Parish House Task Force Work Underway

At the Ardmore Presbyterian Church, fall is typically the time that we think about stewardship.  As we further our ministry into our neighborhood and the world, we should care for the gifts God has given us.  That includes our buildings and facilities.

Most of you may be familiar with the Parish House.  Built in 1909, the home is registered with the Lower Merion Township Historical Society, and has long belonged to APC.  Over the years, it has housed ministers, staff, and individual ministries.  Today, we rent the top two floors to generate income for the church, and the rest is used for church, primarily our Youth Fellowship.

The building is in need of some serious and expensive repairs, and the session must make some important decisions about the future of the Parish House.  Our desire is that it should enhance our ministry.  We do not want it to detract from our efforts to serve God.  As a result, the session has named a task force to address these concerns. 

The task force will not make ultimate decisions relating to the Parish House.  That is the job of the session.  Instead their work relates to all the legal and financial constraints on the property.  They are also looking at specific ways the property can further God’s vision for this church.  Moreover, we desire to make this process fair and transparent for everyone.

Over the next few months, the Parish House Task Force will be asking for your input.  We all recognize that this matter will generate strong feelings.  As a result, please share your thoughts.  Don’t let the opportunity to shape the future of our congregation slip away. 

The moderator of the Parish House Task Force is Laura Goetsch.  The other members of the task force are Dick Corl, Harry Hannigan, and Tim Patterson.

Peace & Grace,

James Hodsden

Financial Safeguards at APC

It is helpful to know that APC has for years maintained financial procedures that are intended to keep the monies you donate safe from theft and loss. At least two people count the offering each Sunday and cross-check each other’s work. The Financial Office on the ground floor has its own lock, and the pastor cannot access it. Financial records in the office are maintained on a password-protected computer. The pastor, church treasurer, and financial secretary do not have signature authority on the church’s bank accounts. A church member who has no other role in the church’s finances signs all checks. The pastor, church treasurer, and financial secretary have no authority to sign contracts; only two designated elders can do so. All contracts involving an expenditure of over $5,000 must be approved by the Session. As required by the Book of Order of the PCUSA, financial records are reviewed each year and an accountant’s review report is submitted to the Session. The church has always maintained fidelity, forgery, and crime coverage as part of its insurance.

--Bob Hoelscher, Church Solicitor and former Treasurer

Quarterly Reports and Saving Quarters

Numbers are not ministries. Numbers, such as attendance or budget dollars, do not determine the faithfulness of a congregation. Numbers are tools. They help us evaluate our priorities and our impact. The primary function of the numbers is descriptive, and we believe that those descriptions are helpful to the entire congregation.

This month we are providing even more numbers than in the last newsletter. The statistics for our first quarter of 2010 are available. Reading through the numbers, you will probably notice that we are ahead in our income. This is primarily from several annual one‐time payments.

Income and expenses remain a bit ahead of what has been budgeted. The reader will notice that expenses relating to Worship and Music are higher than expected. This is related to hiring guest musicians for Easter. These expenses are seasonal, and the budget will come into balance in the later months.

Meanwhile, your staff is saving the church money. Recently, Pearlie Diesinger noticed that we spend a lot of money on paper. With worship folders, newsletters, and educational materials, the Ardmore Presbyterian Church acts as a small publishing house. Examining our printing costs, Pearlie has found some substantial savings.

Over the years, we have used a very special paper for our worship folders. The company that produces it must cut it to meet our specifications. It has a great quality, but each page cost us 29¢. Our paper expenses were huge, especially for something that was used for only an hour each week. Stacks of orphan worship folders in the recycling bins were stacks of money. Pearlie found a substitute which maintains high quality but costs only 3¢ a page. We save over a quarter each worship folder. At the end of the year, the quarters add up to thousands of dollars in savings.

Every person who gives to the church gives out of finite funds. We desire to be responsible with those funds in order that God may be praised even more.