It is a long term three phase plan to: 1) raise additional money above and beyond stewardship in order to pay off the mortgage by June 2025, the Church’s 60th anniversary; 2) to assess the current building’s needs/repairs and to meet those needs; and 3) to begin to think about the use of our vacant property next door and how we will pay for whatever we decide to do with the property.

In January 2024, the mortgage balance was approximately $200,000.The Phase One goal was to pay off the mortgage by June 2025, the Church’s 60th Anniversary.

Yes, we completed Phase One of the Capital Campaign, reached our goal six months ahead of schedule and paid off the Church’s mortgage in January 2025!

No, Stewardship was not affected. In fact, the amount given to Stewardship actually increased in 2024.

As you may recall, the Capital Campaign has three phases. We are now working on Phase Two. In Phase Two, we identified the structural needs of the current building, what major repairs were needed and developed a plan to meet those needs. The Parish Council provided progress updates at the recent General Assemblies including the one held in Spring 2025.

Any money raised will be placed into the restricted account for exclusive use in Phase Two of the Capital Campaign which is to address the building maintenance and repairs.

Unfortunately, stewardship only covers about 60% of our operating costs with the balance of our funding coming from festivals and the golf outing. With the mortgage paid off, we can save approximately $75,000 per year. However, this amount is not enough to cover the building’s anticipated future needs. It only covers about 40% of what we need to save for the building’s needs.

We have identified four major building needs as follows: 1) replacement of the three original HVAC systems including the boiler in the basement; 2) replacement of the existing roof when the time comes (approximately 5 years); 3) repair the parking lot and bring it up to standards; and 4) landscape renovation.

Currently, without a “crystal ball” to predict the future, our best estimate is as follows: a) maintain and repair the current HVAC systems for at least 5 years, or approximately until 2029. At that time, we can assess the roof condition and if the roof needs replaced, we can go ahead and simultaneously replace the HVAC systems and the roof; b) maintain the current parking lot; c) subsequently to the HVAC and roof replacement we can move forward on the parking lot renovation.

We discussed this project with our landscape contractor and have been advised that the Fall is the best time to move forward on this project. As discussed and voted on during the Spring 2025 General Assembly, we will move forward with this project in the Fall 2025.

Please remember that the following are merely estimates and do not represent signed contracts. The approximate costs are as follows: 1) HVAC replacement - $210,000; 2) roof replacement - $1,000,000; 3) parking lot project - $700,000; and 4) landscape renovation - $35,000.

After much discussion and consultation with our current HVAC contractor and other communities, including property managers, we have decided on prioritizing the replacement of the HVAC systems along with simultaneous replacement of the roof when the roof needs replaced.

Replacing the HVAC systems will require that we cut into and patch the existing roof. We do not want to risk causing leaks and water damage. The roof has an estimated remaining useful life of five years. It may last five years and a day or it may last another 8 years. We simply don’t know. What we do know, is that it will have to be replaced and it is our most expensive and necessary project!

As reported at the Spring 2025 General Assembly, we have approximately $339,975 in a restricted account for the sole purpose of these building related projects. We project that the mortgage savings, after 5 years, will provide us with another $375,000 for an approximate total of $714,000. The balance of the money will have to come from increased Stewardship and/or Capital Campaign contributions.

The Church’s budget reflects us saving $200,000 per year for these building projects. $75,000 per year will come from mortgage savings, with the balance, either from increased Stewardship and/or Capital Campaign contributions.

Yes, Phase Two has a lot of estimates because we simply can’t predict the future. There are many uncertainties. However, we know one thing for certain – in the next 5-7 years the community is going to have a tremendous financial need that we must begin to plan for now!

Our Phase Two progress will be regularly reviewed and reported to the entire community.

We need to focus on a year at a time, a bit at a time. To put it into perspective, if 200 Stewards, each gave $50 more per month for a year, we will have reached our fund raising goal for the year!