News – Page 12 – St. Philip Lutheran Church

We are blessed at St. Philip with great resources! One of which is an Endowment Fund and other investments that allows our congregation to expand ministry in many exciting ways. However, Church Council also wants to thank you for your generosity to ensure that the infrastructure and core ministry of the congregation continues to happen.

Endowment income and investments are not used for the day to day ministry of St. Philip. We continue to need to watch very closely our expenditures as they relate to daily operation. To date, our expenditures for daily ministry outspend the offerings received from the congregation. That deficit will not be offset by investment income, per our investment policies. St. Philip Council asks that you faithfully give and consider increasing your offering so that we finish the year in a strong financial position.

In 2016, the St. Philip Endowment generated $15,000 for ministry initiatives through St. Philip. Church Council has approved the following ministries which, again, are made possible by the Endowment Fund:

$5000 grant to St. Philip Youth for ELCA Youth Gathering

$2000 Seminarian Support – to support our student Matt Leonard

$1500 grant to Camp Caroline Furnace – Virginia’s Outdoor Lutheran Camp

$6500 media upgrade throughout the building

Church Council also approved several upgrades which were made possible by funds from St. Philip’s additional investments. These included:

$6,250 Color Pinter/Copier

$3,390 Automatic Door – to allow easier access for folks with mobility challenges

Church council met on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. in the church library. Church finances were discussed extensively as council prepares to submit a 2018 spending plan for congregational approval in December and as expenses continue to outpace giving this year.

While giving is up from last year, expenses are exceeding receipts by about $55,500 so far this year as insurance, utilities and other costs continue to rise. It is likely the church will end the year in the red for the third year in a row, which is a troubling trend.

Thanks to the Kinder Bequest and other substantial gifts over the years, St.. Philip has a sizeable endowment and long-term investment fund for capital projects, but council has tried to keep routine spending in line with annual giving.

Council discussed how best to communicate the situation with the congregation, and whether there are ways of responsibly tapping some of the church’s investment funds or income to cover ongoing expenses.

This will continue to be discussed next month.

Council voted on a new motion for the 2016 endowment disbursement. The motion presented last month contained an error. According to congregational policy, a portion of investment earnings from the endowment fund is disbursed every year to further the mission of St. Philip.

The disbursement will be as follows: $5,000 for the upcoming National Youth Gathering, $6,500 for media upgrades for the church (video conferencing for the library, televisions and monitors for the youth rooms and fellowship hall and improved wi-fi throughout the building), $2,000 to support Matt Leonard’s seminary studies and $1,500 for Caroline Furnace..

Council discussed the rollout of the new logo and tagline for the church and received an update about progress on a new website, which should be ready to be unveiled at the end of October.

Sarah Parker will attend a training session in September to serve as head of the congregational Forwarding Faith campaign, St. Philip’s contribution to the effort to raise at least $2.5 million over the next five years to provide an endowment for faith formation activities in the Virginia Synod.

The next council meeting will be Monday, October 16, at 7 p.m. in the church library. Anyone is welcome to attend.