Dear Friends,
At the AMC congregational meeting yesterday (March 5) after worship the
congregation decided to proceed with the ongoing plans to remodel the two
bathrooms in the main hallway of the church to meet accessibility standards.
This project has been needed and discussed for many years, and Pastor Lee and
the Facilities Committee have recently developed a plan which replaces the
current hallway bathrooms with accessible bathrooms. Despite their efforts to
keep costs low, the project will cost at least $45,000. The Finance Committee
has therefore suggested that we designate $50,000 for the project.
Fortunately, we already have $10,000 in our current savings that can be pledged
toward this project. At the meeting Sunday we decided to begin a fund-raising
campaign for the remaining $40,000. We also decided to delay signing the
contract until we have at least $20,000 of the $40,000 pledged or in hand.
However, if we delay longer than a few weeks we may miss the chance to complete
the project over the summer.
As AMC treasurer, I am asking you to do two things. First, please provide me
with a pledge of the amount that you can contribute toward this project. You
should do this privately, and can send this to me by email (ldabraham@xxxxxxx)
or by handing me a note in church. You may also do this through our
bookkeeper, Pat Hochstetler (pat.hochstetler@xxxxxxxxx), if that is easier.
Pat and I will keep a running total of pledged funds. Second, you can begin
now to make actual contributions that are specifically earmarked for the
bathroom project.
This is a very large amount of money for us to raise, roughly one third again
above our budgeted amount for unrestricted giving, so it will take a sincere
commitment by everyone to make this very necessary remodeling a reality. We do
need to have some cash early on for a down payment, and will need the balance
within a few months. However the Finance Committee has decided that we can
remain solvent throughout the year as long as payments are made for all pledges
steadily throughout the year and are completed by the end of 2017. So
immediate and generous action is needed. As soon as we have a total of gifts
and pledges of at least $20,000, we will be ready to sign a contract to allow
preparatory planning and paperwork, including obtaining a city permit, to
begin.
Throughout my time as AMC Treasurer, I have been impressed by the generosity
and commitment of our members and friends, always caring about the welfare of
each other and those around us. Is is truly a blessing to be a part of this
congregation. This project has been sorely needed for a long time, and working
together I am convinced we can do this. If you have any questions about this
project, I encourage you to contact Pastor Lee or Steve Hochstetler, chair of
the Facilities Committee. If you have any questions about this fund-raising
campaign, please contact me.
Thanks in advance!
Larry Abraham, Treasurer
Austin Mennonite Church
p.s. While a direct email reply to this message will reach me, it will also
reach everyone else. To keep your pledge private, you should only send it in a
message addressed directly to me (ldabraham@xxxxxxx).
