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July 3, 2010

Dear Members of the MCM Community and Friends in Christ,

As Co-Chairs of the Cooperative Ministries Council, we want to share with you the current financial situation of the Cooperative and ask for your participation to ensure that our church ends the calendar year on more solid financial ground.  The Finance Committee is projecting a $75,000 deficit for the 2010 calendar year.  While we have provided financial updates once in a while, we feel we have not done a satisfactory job of regularly communicating details of the churches financial situation and we understand that this figure may be a shock to many of you.  Our budget for the last 3 years has run at a deficit but we have often used a combination of staff pay reductions, elimination of some expenses and reserve funds to help us to fill in the gap.  The 2010 calendar year is different.  First, the size of the deficit is larger than we’ve experienced in previous years because of the loss of generous members of our congregation who have either died, or relocated.  Secondly, we have reached the end of reserve funds so have no resources to fall back on.

While the projected deficit is of great concern and the challenge before us considerable, we continue to feel a very real vitality in our congregation and a powerful movement of the Spirit as we seek to fulfill our mission to love and serve with all people in restoring all of creation to God’s loving embrace.  We believe that we can end the year without a deficit if everyone who is part of the Cooperative community becomes involved in addressing the shortfall.  We ask that you prayerfully consider the role that you can play to attain this goal.

1)     Take a moment to ponder the role that the Cooperative plays in your life.  Some find community and family at the Cooperative and value the open environment in which God’s love is evident.  Others may feel an affinity for ministries such as the Community Compassion Fund which seeks to reach out in love to the least.  For some, the myriad of ways in which the church is involved in the community as we seek to be God’s hands and feet in McMinnville and the surrounding area is very compelling.  Still others find the fact that ALL are welcome at the Cooperative offers a message of hope and love that they want others to experience.  A clear sense of why your church is important to you is a vital first step as you consider your financial commitment to ensuring the church can fulfill its mission.

2)     Review your giving to the church so far in 2010 and consider additional monies you can contribute.  This can be done through a one-time gift or through increased giving each month through December 2010.  We have reviewed the giving history of the Cooperative and if each individual or family who regularly gives to the Cooperative were to give an additional $401 between now and December 31^st, our deficit would disappear.  For some of you, additional giving might be a real hardship, while for others, it would be a small sacrifice.  Rather than using a benchmark for giving as your guide, however, it is more important for you to consider what additional donation is both consistent with your commitment to the Cooperative and reflects a level of giving that is appropriate to your means.

3)     If you haven’t already, please consider completing the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) paperwork enclosed with this mailing.  By having your contribution to the church deducted regularly from a bank account you identify, you’ll help your church leadership have a more accurate estimate of giving for planning purposes.  Electronic transfers are not only very convenient for you, they also help us a lot by evening out the giving patterns. Your completed form may be dropped in the offering plate, returned to the church office, or mailed to the church to the attention of Bill Wood.

In the months ahead, you will hear more from the Finance Committee about their plan to address the budget shortfall in the long term and the ways in which they’ll engage the congregation in working towards a budget that will provide adequate pay and benefits to church staff, allow us to continue expanding our outreach in the community and enhance our ability to welcome new worshippers to the congregation.  This ongoing task will call upon us to work together to live into God’s mission in our community through the Cooperative Ministries, and we invite your questions and feedback.  Please feel free to contact either of us or members of the Finance Committee (listed below).  We welcome your ideas for how we can move forward boldly to fulfill our mission in the McMinnville community and work to establish a more firm financial foundation that will allow our ministries to grow and flourish. 

We ask that you prayerfully consider the role that your contributions make to our local, regional and international communities, and in supporting and adequately paying our staff.  This is a time for prayer, but more importantly, a call to action for all of us.

God’s Peace,

Jeff Peterson                                                                         Laura Hampton

Lay Leader, Trinity Lutheran Church                        Lay Leader, McMinnville United Methodist Church      

Finance Committee Members

Dave Widen, Chair

Don Anderson                                     Donna Fisher                          Dorene Gleason                                 

Kathryn Karr                                      Garry Karns                            Steve Long

Mark Pederson                                   Judy Peterson                         Ron Peterson

Jeff Sargent                                          Bill Wood

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