---To all who participated in our Stewardship Sunday skit. Boxes, balloons, and a reminder that the true treasure is not found in things. Thank you to Gay H. and Linda R. for coordinating.
---To Nancy B. for providing flowers during the month of November on behalf of the Deacons. The deacons “fill in” any gaps on our flower calendar, with the deacons taking a month at a time. December gap flowers will be provided by Charlotte B.
---To all who participated in our Stewardship Sunday skit. Boxes, balloons, and a reminder that the true treasure is not found in things. Thank you to Gay H. and Linda R. for coordinating.
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On Sunday, November 20th we dedicated our stewardship pledges. Thank you for your pledges of financial support for the church during the coming year. 2016 has been a mixed year financially. We have had members move away or move on, which is a normal occurrence. We have mourned the death of several of our long-time members. We have also been blessed with new faces in worship who choose to call our church their home church. There are clear signs of new life in the midst of loss. The financial plan we put in place last year has led to a nearly balanced budget as of 10/31/2016, and it looks like we may end the year in the black. Thank you for your gifts to the church! While we have not yet needed to do so this year, next year we anticipate that we may need to spend some of the rainy-day money in our reserves to support the budget. Thanks to your faithful giving, we have reserves from previous years’ surpluses that are in place for a year such as this one. The session wants to emphasize its commitment to mission. We will not be cutting any money from our mission commitments. Those gifts which bless ministries in Edmonds, our state, our nation, and the world are funded from a 10% tithe of all undesignated giving, and will continue to be funded in that way. If you have any questions about the budget or the financial status of the church, please contact a session elder or Pastor Amy. With thanks again for your faithful support and prayers. Thank-you for paying your portion of our per-capita payments that support the work of the presbytery, synod and General Assembly. This year 57% of the total fee came from contributions for that purpose! Usually we receive less than 50%, so 57% is a great number! Thanks for your support. It’s not too early to pay your per capita for next year. The amount will be $47.82 per member and will be due by September 2017. You have asked about our financial situation. We are on track for a year much like last year. Right now we are behind – income is not sufficient by itself to pay for all the expenses. For that reason we have reserves. But if this is like most years, our income increases in the latter months of the year and we may well end the year in the black. So, if you are behind in your pledge, now is the time to catch up. If you have been thinking about a year-end gift, we’d appreciate your consideration of the church as a recipient for that giving. During November you will have an opportunity to indicate your planned giving for 2017 in the form of a pledge. These pledges will help the session determine the appropriate budget for 2017. If you anticipate NOT being able to give at the same level as in the past, please submit a card so that we know that and take that into consideration for our budget. If your financial situation has changed and you will be giving more next year, we’d love to know that as well. There are many ways that we give to support the church – and only one of those is financial. I’d like give thanks for all the gifts the church receives during the year. Gifts of gardening, lawn mowing and weed-whacking. Gifts of building repair and upkeep. Gifts of musical talent, choral singing, instrumentalists and solos. Gifts of leadership on the session or deacons. Gifts of time with the children in the nursery or Sunday school. Gifts of money counting and purchasing of supplies. Gifts of leading worship and praying for the congregation. We are truly blessed by the many ways you give to the church. The theme for our stewardship campaign is the hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness. There’s a line in the hymn that is worth remembering in this context: we give thanks to God for “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow”. Great is God’s Faithfulness. Thank-you for your gifts. Keep it a coming in – We are almost there! Our Per Capita (membership in the Presbyterian Community) cost this year is $47.65 / person for a total of $3,335.50 ($47.65 X 70 members). As of June 27th we have received over 55% of that amount. If you haven’t had a chance to send your Per Capita in, now is a great time to do so. Don’t worry, if you can’t afford it, we still love you and we will pay your Per Capita out of the general fund – No we will not kick you out for non-payment. I didn’t understand what this fee was for, so for 40 years I didn’t pay it – and you didn’t get rid of me!
Thank you! Don I. As of January 31st we have collected $1,026.25 in Per Capita fees Edmonds Presbyterian Church pays on behalf of our members to be a part of the Presbyterian Church. This represents nearly 1/3 of the congregation had paid their Per Capita – GREAT WORK! If you haven’t paid your Per Capita, please do so.
I had never known what this “Per Capita” thing that kept showing up in my church newsletter was. It didn’t look very spiritual so I always ignored it. Several years ago, it was explained to me by Norman R., that Per Capita is your membership dues in the Presbyterian Church. He told me, that if you want to be a Presbyterian, you pay the Per Capita for dues. I understood that just fine, as I am the advisor of the DECA club at Lynnwood High School and anyone who wants to join is welcome, as long as they pay the membership dues. For 2016 the membership dues or Per Capita for Edmonds Presbyterian Church is $47.65. At school, if you don’t pay your dues you can’t be a member. Fortunately we don’t have the same rules at Edmonds Presbyterian Church. If you don’t pay the membership dues, the church takes the money from the general fund. Taking money from the general fund lowers the amount of money we have to keep the church going day to day. Please pay your Presbyterian Club membership, Per Capita. But remember if you are not able to pay, we still want you to be a member of the club, and you are loved. Last year Minna D., wrote an excellent explanation of what Per Capita is. Per Capita is a set amount of money (an apportionment) per member that congregations pay to the larger national Presbyterian Church (USA) once a year. Per Capita is one fundamental way by which about 11,000 congregations of the Presbyterian Church (USA) stay connected, and participate in the work of the whole church. We send our apportioned amount to our Presbytery (Northwest Coast Presbytery—$39.03) but funds are shared further with the Synod ($1.50) and General Assembly ($7.12), for a total of $47.65. Please remember your per capita payment as you plan out your pledge amount for 2015. Don I. Thanks to your generous and sacrificial giving we ended 2015 with a SURPLUS of $981.00 – PRAISE THE LORD! In preparing the 2016 Budget, your Session anticipates a shortfall of $600.00 after using the surplus from this year. Please pray how you can help keep our church spiritually and financially sound. Thank you! Did you know that every year we give 10 % of all undesignated giving to mission causes? This year we have already allocated $12,200 toward our six mission partners and eleven mission connections. A full list of all our mission causes is posted on the bulletin board in the fellowship hall. We give at least $100/ year to each cause. Our partners receive $1500 or more a year from us. Those include Eagles Wings Disability Ministries, Opening Blind Eyes prison ministry, Presbyterian Missionary Rev. Debbie Blane (South Sudan), Missionary Jan Griffith (Sweden), and Renewal Ministries Northwest. Thank-you for your faithful giving to the general fund that allows us to continue to support these and other mission causes. Thank-you for your financial commitment to the church for 2016! We do this ministry together, and it takes each one of us sharing our resources of time, talent, and finances to make it happen. Look for an update on our financial situation and any necessary budget cuts later in the month. If you have not turned in your pledge form, please put it in the offering plate or mail it to the church office.
Yes, stop by the cabinet outside the church office and pick up a tag from the tree to help replenish necessary supplies at the church. Whether it’s paper towels, batteries, coffee creamer, or windex, we can use your assistance to keep the expenses low for the coming year. Take a tag, then return the item and the tag to the box in the church office. Thank-you for giving a little extra beyond your pledge to help us stay in the black. |
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