Esperanza leadership has set the upcoming Congregational Meeting agenda below and the annual report will be available on May 15.
Council President Chuck Yount encourages you to attend our Sunday, May 22, Congregational Meeting to discuss and approve past meeting minutes, discuss our financial status and approve the incoming nominees.
We will meet in person at 9:30 a.m. between services (Zoom access available – see below)
The congregation will be involved in making important decisions relating to the financial challenges highlighted at the recent financial forum. Find a link below to our recent financial forum video recording (Sunday, April 24th), as well as the presentation that was provided by the financial committee.
The meeting agenda will include the following:
- Approval of the minutes from the January 2022 meeting.
- Election of new and returning council members.
- An update on the anticipated giving shortfall.
Esperanza’s annual report will be available in the Narthex on May 15 to allow review before the meeting and can also be emailed if requested by emailing [email protected].
For the meeting, an online option via Zoom will be sent by email for those who need to attend remotely. If you would like to request a link please do so by emailing [email protected]
Candidates selected by Nominating Committee
Since selection by the congregation and the meeting in January, the Esperanza Nominating Committee has prayerfully reviewed and considered nominees for the Congregational Council. The nominees will be elected during the Congregational Meeting.
Candidates are:
- Craig Peck (completing a two-year term, eligible for a second consecutive term).
- Michael Paradise (completing a two-year term, eligible for a second consecutive term).
- Julie Valenzuela.
- Paige Somero.
- Kelly Edwards.
Meet the Esperanza Council Nominees for the incoming 2022-23 Esperanza Council by Clicking here.
The Nominating Committee is confident that the candidates will bring a wide variety of gifts and talents to the Congregation Council. Biographs of each candidate will be prepared to provide the congregation with additional information.
General Fund status through March
Esperanza may be $30,000-50,000 short of the funds we need to pay salaries, support important ministries and run our church by the end of this year.
This table highlights our General Operating Fund through March 2022:
Our General Fund balance as of March 31 was $29,785.
March was a particularly strong month for pledge giving. Through the first quarter, pledge giving is ahead of budget, nearly covering a shortfall in projected non-pledge giving.
On balance, total revenue is just slightly behind expenses so far in 2022.
Click here to watch the Financial Forum.
Click here to view the Financial Forum presentation.
Outlook for the balance of 2022 cloudy
Unfortunately, the picture is not as healthy as it might appear.
First, while pledge giving is, indeed, ahead of budget, this is because several giving units have paid ahead on their pledge and a handful of folks already have paid their full annual commitment.
Right now, this more than offsets the 40 percent of pledge units who are behind. This will diminish as time passes and we expect a possible shortfall in pledge giving for the full year.
More importantly, recall that pledging for this year was down significantly from 2021. Total pledges for 2022 are $55,000 less than a year ago. Sixteen units who pledged in 2021 did not make a pledge for 2022. As the 2022 budget was assembled, the hope was that we would see a corresponding increase in non-pledge giving. So far, that is not occurring.
Forecasting where the church might end 2022 financially is difficult at best. Based on where we stand now, it is possible that we may face a gap of $30,000 to $50,000 in the General Fund.
Council has commissioned a team to explore potential options, some potentially quite difficult. This is unlikely to close the entire gap so we may face some level of deficit spending. Our Constitution requires congregational approval for deficit spending in excess of $2,500.
–Photo by Antenna on unsplash