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Dear Friends,
I am writing from beautiful Montreat, NC, where our ten teens and their
faithful chaperones are experiencing a very meaningful conference called
"Perfectly Imperfect." Marilyn and I arrived in time
to share dinner and worship with them last night. Thank
you again for making it possible for them to have this faith-shaping
experience.
This Sunday the Rev. William Kemp is preaching on one of my favorites --
the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which also could be called the Parable of
the Loving Father. Hate to miss it, but this retreat in the
mountains will be good for the soul of this pastor. Don't
forget your Father's Day Offering of Non-Perishable Food.
Elizabeth
See below a
important letter from the Active Elders and Building Vision Team:
We thank you for your
responses to the Building Capability Survey, conducted in May.
We are glad to announce that there is great enthusiasm at Peace for
building phase one of a new church home – 94%. Among those who
completed the survey, 90% intend to make a pledge to the building
campaign. However, the survey has shown us that we simply
do not have the means within the congregation to build and to sustain the
scope of the design we shared with you. The promised giving of
the congregation for a three year period is in the range of $475,000 -
$825,000.
This means that we
cannot afford to spend 3 million dollars in our first phase. Rather,
we think we are in a position to spend no more than $1.5
million. The site work alone will cost close to
$350,000. So we, the Session of Elders, want you know that the
Building Vision Team is working hard on all options for scaling back the
size and the expense of the building plans. We have explored
the possibility of buying Faith Christian (the foreclosed church on Lorraine
Road) but to no avail. We are examining loans through the
Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program, as well as looking for
alternative funding through trusts and “angel” gifts from beyond the
congregation.
Also, we are carefully
considering our timing for building, as it relates to church growth,
knowing that a larger congregation can better sustain both capital campaign
and the subsequent operating costs of a new facility. We
estimate that the total increase in annual cost to the church for sustaining
$1.5 million dollar building project is $132,000. We are trying
to ascertain our potential length of stay at the current
location. We promise to keep you informed of our
progress.
In the meantime, yes,
you may give as you are able, to the Building Fund of Peace.
And thank you for continuing to help us prepare for that day when we
officially commence a campaign to build. (Checks payable to
Peace with Building Fund in the memo.)
Building the
congregation of Peace for the last several years has required patience,
discernment, prayer, and deep trust in God’s providence.
Building a permanent home for Peace’s worship, ministry, and mission will
require the same patience, discernment, prayer, and deep trust.
We are grateful that you are on this adventuresome journey of Christian
faith with us. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who
build it, labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1a)
The Session and Building
Vision Team of Peace
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