Congregational Meeting Report

A Brief Report from the 18 October Congregational Meeting 

Last Sunday we held our first Congregational Meeting since March – with 25 in the Sanctuary and almost another 20 online via Zoom we elected Rhoda Lemphers as a new deacon and heard a brief financial update from our Treasurer.

We all share our congratulations to Rhoda and our thanks for taking on this important role.

For those who could not attend here also is a brief resume of Clyde Evan’s remarks:

• Period covered – 9 months ending September 30 
• Revenue – 3 major categories: 
  • Rentals – recent years 9% of total revenue.
    • 2020 (entirely due to Covid restrictions), expect a net shortfall of $25,000 – $30,000
  • Investment Income – 24% of total revenue; growing due to bequests; 2020 to date dividend income is $73,000 compared to $57,000 for 2019 in the same period. This was anticipated and reflected in the 2019 Budget so it is not “extra”
  • Donations – Congregational support is the main sustainer of the Church representing 70% of total revenue. The fourth quarter and especially December usually see a large number of donations.
    • To date:  we are 6% below our 2019 experience which was itself reduced over previous years
    • Canada Helps and E-transfers are increasingly popular and appreciated
• Expenses: the majority are fixed costs (salaries for example) and are generally consistent with previous years.  
  • Covid related expenses (signage, live streaming equipment etc) – approx. $18,000 offset by a $10,000 donation from the Auxiliary 
  • Property Redevelopment (legal and architectural fees) – approx. $10,000 of the $35,000 authorized at the Annual Meeting
• Other funds – Benevolent and Mission etc. – some small declines in donations but otherwise in good shape.
• 2020 – The final quarter will be telling in the overall financial picture. 

This meeting was our first try at a hybrid format with people in the church and at home and we have learned some lessons from the experience. As the year moves on and as we approach the annual cycle of budget and annual meetings, we will be working on some improvements such as improving the visibility of meeting materials in the Sanctuary as well as better integration of sanctuary and online sound.

Thank you to all who made the meeting possible and for all of you for navigating your way to the session.