2006 Budget

We have begun the process of preparing the 2006 Budget. Anyone responsible for a line item in the budget has received notification to submit a proposal. Pat Canavan and I review them and prepare them for the trustees to examine at the August Trustee Meeting. The trustees, in turn, review the ministry proposals, general and administrative operations, building maintenance, staff salaries, building fund capital projects, as well as examine giving patterns. The resulting guidelines will further refine each budget item. I then meet with ministry leaders who want to discuss and refine their budget. In October, the trustees shape a budget to present to the Session October 25. After Session's approval with whatever revisions it may have made, this will become the budget to submit to the congregation in advance of the December 5 meeting.

Pray for everyone involved, especially the trustees. We want to be responsible stewards of the resources God gives to us. There is a delicate balance to keep that we do not act recklessly in committing projected funds, yet acting in faith that God will provide. Discerning where and how God is leading us is the key. We know the direction, but it is in the details where things get tricky.