Newsletter Thoughts May 18, 2025

Dear Congregation Members,

This week’s newsletter is an update on our work in transition.

In June I will have served as your interim pastor for two years. You might be wondering how long it will be before you are ready to call your next pastor. That is a good question. It is also a financial question, because the reality is that ALC does not currently have the resources needed to call a full or half-time pastor.

While this might be frustrating, you have made some great strides towards stability. When I began working with you, your finances were dire. If you had not made some drastic changes, ALC was projected to become insolvent in July 2024. You all came together and made a commitment to do the hard work.

The financial decisions made for 2024 helped slow down our progression towards insolvency, but we were still on an unhealthy path. For the budget year 2025, further cuts were made. Most notably, my position was cut to 25% time and six Sundays of the year were designated to be entirely non-staff led services. Some of you even stepped up to begin cleaning the facility on Fridays (and it’s looking great by the way).

The changes made this year are helping, and our financial report for the First Quarter indicates a small surplus. This does not mean that we have more funds available, or that we have improved significantly, but it does mean we are on the right track. A congregation, to be financially viable, should have six-months of operating funds available. Here’s a small chart that shows where we are:

Here are a few thoughts on these numbers:

• This is just a point in time, but it does show positive direction.

• Expense budget is greater than expense income for this quarter because we anticipate more income later in the year (Dish project).

• We are currently spending below budget. Property repairs and maintenance will eventually bring expenses up to budgeted amounts. Because our income is also below budget, we will have to closely monitor our spending.

• Our current checking account balance at the end of March was, $37,273.08 (Balance Sheet), which means we have a two-month reserve. We have a long way to go to build a 6-month reserve. Thankfully we appear to be headed in the right direction.

• Thank you to everyone who is working so diligently.

What Else Is Happening?

While financial realities sometimes seem to take all our energy, we are working on other things. We need to be working on other things… we need to be focused on ministry. Here are some highlights:

• The Transition Team and the Church Council worked together to discern an updated vision and mission for the congregation. These are:

  • Vision: We are called to be a nurturing community practicing acceptance, hope, love, and service.

  • Mission: We follow Jesus’ actions to be a shepherding force by accepting, embracing, and nurturing all of creation.

    
    

• The youth group continues to meet most Thursdays. The leadership is currently deciding on the best summer schedule, while also thinking about ways to begin serving those younger than high school age.

  
  

• Our choir (and music leadership) continues to provide excellent musical leadership, as well as a place for new people to connect.

  
  

• The Little Neighborhood Food Pantry is used often by our neighbors. We need to find ways to provide more food for this vital ministry.

  
  

• Our neighbors continue to engage with the prayer wall. My invitation to you is to read weekly and include the requests in your prayers.

  
  

• Bible study/lectio divina/contemplative prayer happen most Wednesdays

  
  

What Could Be Happening

I add this section as an encouragement for us to think about what else we can do for faith formation. Some of our current activities contribute to faith formation. Here are some questions for further discernment.

• What might we do to better connect with our neighbors?

• How can we celebrate the ways God interacts with us daily?

• How can we more deeply engage, through our faith, in matters of justice in our communities?

• How can we more deeply live into the vision that we discerned?

• What faith practices can we emphasize given the new understanding of our mission?

• What questions do you have?

  
  

Opportunity for Collaboration

ALC is not the only congregation in our area that is unable to fund the Call of a full-time or half-time pastor. We are in conversation about forming a group of churches that can share ministry leadership. I am optimistic about the work of this group. By working with other churches, we can be creative in how we call pastoral and other leadership. We can also share ministry is ways that highlight the strengths of each congregation. This conversation is in the very early stages, and I look forward to sharing more information soon.

The next step for our Transition Team is to complete the Ministry Site Profile. When this is completed, we can form a Call Committee, but our calling a pastor is dependent on our work with this collaboration. Meanwhile, if you are interested in working on this please let me know.

This is a lot of information. It is hopeful information. We are on a hopeful path, and I look forward to continuing to discover how you all will continue to grow in faith and how ALC will be part of what God is doing in the world.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Nancy