Parish Council Update - April

Bible Reading

Luke 20:20-26 is a short story about paying taxes. Hoping to catch Jesus out, people ask him about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus famously says "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." What is God's? As a Parish Council, our responsibility is to use all that God has provided us with for his purposes and his kingdom. It is all his. Finances, property, ministries... please pray for us that over this year as a new Parish Council, we will do all we can to help our church give to God what is God's. As we seek to use his resources well, may he be glorified by our humble decisions month by month.

New Parish Council

Tonight we welcomed our newest members of Parish Council - TseRuey Low from our 5 pm Mandarin service, and Harry Tjondro from our Indonesian 5 pm service. We welcome them to the team and pray that God will work through them faithfully over the year ahead.

Major Works

• Ermington: The Ermington works report was discussed in more detail, having now received quotes. Finances for these projects will be discussed, as funding currently is tight. As some of this work is urgent and safety-related, we will be making use of funds from the accumulated income from the Clanwilliam Street property which is now receiving rental income. However, we would be very pleased to receive financial gifts for this urgent work so it can progress quickly in order of urgency. The current priorities are as follows:
  • relocation of overhead electricity cables - $6,990 URGENT - approved to action.
  • repair of roofs between halls - estimated $18,000 URGENT
  • renovation of toilets, add disabled toilet - estimated $30,000 IMPORTANT
  • carpeting of halls/worship areas/rooms - $15,000 IMPORTANT
  • fencing installation - $4,000 or DIY IMPORTANT
  • air conditioning of halls - $15,000 VERY HELPFUL
  • kitchen repairs and renovations - $ VERY HELPFUL
  • new sound equipment for church meeting areas - $ WISH LIST
  • Playground - $55,000 GOVERNMENT GRANT RECEIVED. (Paid for)
• Eastwood: Construction of the toilet block and access ramp is now progressing well and is expected to be completed in the next two months.
• Bells: We have progressed having now met Diocesan requirements for a "faculty" to allow the bell installation. We will wait for their final approval before submitting it to Ryde Council for DA considerations.
• Future works: We continue to plan for the construction of a detention tank for the Eastwood site, and the sealing of the carpark. We ask all members to consider regular committed giving to these projects. Details are on our website as to how you can give directly to the building fund so this can happen in good time. We are currently in need of non-tax-deductible gifts for the building work.

Staffing 2022

It was wonderful to welcome Cathy Gravitis onto the staff team last week. Andrew and Liz Glover will join us from early July across the Ermington and Eastwood sites. These two staff positions for the English speaking ministries have been long vacancies and we are delighted to have them filled with such ministry-minded people. Praise God!

Finances

The budget set for 2022 has been difficult to reach over these past 3 months. There are perhaps several reasons for this. Covid absences have certainly had an impact across most churches, however, this significant gap in our budget is a cause for more prayer regardless of the reasons. We would like to ask every member to prayerfully and regularly consider their giving. Thank you for your generosity, and thank you to those who have been able to establish regular online giving (direct deposit) as this is a wonderful help when it comes to budgeting and banking.

We are currently only at 86.3% of the budget, which leaves us behind $27,720 for the year to date. If you have not had an opportunity to reset your online giving or adjust your giving for 2022, please consider this prayerfully and carefully today. It would be wonderful to be able to catch up on this shortfall.

Details for online banking can be found on our website here: Giving page

Budget summary:

• Income required:
  Yearly: $207,650
  Weekly: $15,973
• Current offertory:
  Yearly: $179,930
  Weekly: $13,841
• Shortfall: $27,720
  Current Offertory is 86.7% of the budget

Other matters

At our next meeting, we will be revisiting our Covid policies regarding vaccination requirements for those working with vulnerable people.

At our next meeting, we will also be finalising our missions planning and budgeted fundraising for 2022. This will include new plans to help all of our congregations connect with our missionaries and agencies through prayer and financial support.