Dear Beloved Parishioner,

It is the continued goal of our Clergy and Vestry to have 100% transparency on the financial condition of the Church. On a routine basis throughout the year we communicate with the parish about our finances.

First let me update you on how our Stewardship Campaign turned out. We have received pledges of $778,479, and in 2007 we brought in $755,972 in pledges. For 2008 our pledge budget is $790,000, based on receiving new pledges throughout the year. This will be a 4.5% increase over last year. This has been a remarkable increase considering we ran a Capital Campaign at the same time and with the economy the way it is. Another success is that we brought in 30 new pledging families.

Our Capital Campaign through April is at $2,703,893, short of our ambitious goal of $4,000,000 but still 3.5 times our annual giving. The Campaign continues and actually we just received a pledge last week. As the economy comes back and our financial positions change, we would greatly appreciate additions to our campaign. Many of the pledge commitments are spread over a five year period with 75% of the commitments being spent right now on the new Rectory / Parish Home.  This will result in us carrying forward debt into 2012, or until all the commitments have been fulfilled. Anything that can be done to accelerate your commitment would reduce our interest cost associated with the debt.

Through April our pledge income was $272,945 versus the budget of $302,886. March and April traditionally are very large months for pledging so the budget was set higher for those periods. Total Income including plate and gifts was $327,264, about 9% under budget. We should keep in mind that the church has the same monthly bills that we all have such as phone, electricity, insurance, etc. Staying current with your pledge allows us to stay current with our bills. Our expenses for the period were $342,940 which was 2% under our budget and 5% under what we spent in 2007. Our budget for the entire year for expenses is $1,045,507, versus what we spent in 2007 ($1,067,950). This is a 2% reduction in expenses from last year.  

We are off to a good start but we need to continue to watch carefully how we spend our money. With your help we can continue to fulfill the mission of St.Gregory’s Episcopal Church.

Please do not hesitate at any time to contact myself or Ron Knowlton, Parish Administrator with any questions regarding the statements or the financial condition of our Church.

Bill Unger

Your Treasurer