Hello, FBC congregation! In this space I’ll recap the semi-annual congregational meeting we held on January 24 to approve the budget for 2021. Thanks to all of you who could be present at that time.

The meeting was an excellent opportunity to look forward to what is coming and what we, as a Church, will be aiming to do in the coming year as COVID eventually begins to recede into memory (it will still be with us a while yet, but I believe the end is nearing and will effectively arrive this year). In that spirit, we presented for your approval the proposed budget for this year’s planned activities, maintenance, and payroll.

I will not use this space to repeat what you can read in the pages emailed before the meeting from the leaders of our various groups about the money needed to meet the goals we have prioritized. Instead, I will give you a general overview and sense of what we have been doing regarding this budget. Obviously, the most salient feature and greatest challenges of predicting what we can and wish to do has been COVID. It has changed the way we do many things. On the budget side, we figured out how to save some money with resources we did not need to spend because of services we could not provide. But we also lost revenue from the rental of space to people who couldn’t use it this year.  Looking into 2021, we projected that we will have many of the same restrictions, and limitations on use, for at least several more months. And we are aware, as we seek to raise money to meet the needs we feel that we should as a Church, that the economy, too, has been damaged by COVID. Some might have a hard time providing the level of support that they would wish because of those effects. And at the same time there is a great need because of the crushing blow the pandemic has inflicted on many. We therefore feel blessed that we are able to continue our missions to serve and act as a Matthew 25 Church due to your kindness, generosity, and faith. 

Thank you for your community and your kindness, your support and your belief. I look forward to working with you to keep FBC operating as an anchor for each other as we venture into the uncharted seas of 2021. May it have fewer storms and smoother sailing than 2020.  

Dave Ferry, 

FBC Church Board Moderator