[Parish] Budget Letter

[Malcolm Young]

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We are struggling with our church budget.  Below you will find a  
letter from the Rector, Wardens and Vestry of Christ Church that  
outlines our situation and the decisions we face.

May God bless you,

Malcolm





January 13, 2010

Dear Friends and Members of Christ Church Los Altos,

As you may know, Christ Church is facing a $128,000 budget deficit  
going into 2010.  We, as your Vestry, are struggling with our budget  
issue and want to share all the information we have with all of you  
in order to come up with a solution that maintains the important  
things that make this a parish we can all treasure and secures a  
bright future for us in the years to come.

We continue to work on our stewardship process, with the Vestry  
making calls to approximately 50 members who have not yet turned in  
their pledge for this year.  We cannot emphasize how important it is  
that we receive your pledge.  None of us wants to make cuts that will  
impact our programs or our ability to keep our staff employed.  At  
our Vestry meeting last night we discussed the very real possibility  
that Jim McKnight may have to leave us at the end of February because  
we cannot afford to pay him.  That is something we don’t want to have  
happen, and so we need to raise an additional $128,000 to have a  
balanced budget that includes keeping Jim McKnight.  If those fifty  
people who have not yet pledged were each able to pledge $50 per  
week, that would cover the deficit for this year.  If every one who  
has already pledged could increase their pledge by $50 per week,  we  
will be able to continue our planning process for the future of this  
parish knowing that we will be financially stable.

This Vestry is facing some very tough choices regarding our budget  
deficit - lights, or no light, heat or no heat, and especially, Jim  
or no Jim.  The next three weeks before our parish meeting on January  
31st will require some serious analysis and creativity on our parts.   
We understand that not everyone is able to support the parish with an  
increased financial contribution and that there are many ways that  
our parishioners contribute to our community other than financially.   
We are sincerely grateful for all of the ministries and stewardship  
to our programs that make this the spiritual home we so treasure.   
However, if you are able to make a financial pledge, increase you  
pledge, or even give a one time donation, we need to know that right  
away.   Your additional support will be extremely helpful for our  
church now and will enable us to continue our planning process for  
the future.

We ask not only for your financial consideration, but also for your  
prayers as we continue to struggle with the budget process.  The  
Vestry will meet as often as necessary in the next few weeks to  
continue our work on the budget, and your support through prayer and  
through giving is vitally important.

We are so grateful for all that you do and for making this the  
spiritual home we are blessed to be part of.

Thank you and love,

The Rector, Wardens and Vestry of Christ Episcopal Church