The Stewardship Council is responsible for taking care of the church’s finances, buildings, and grounds.  Members are Jack Marcum, Moderator; Soni Castleberry; Gayle Collins; Bill Gilliss; Jack Leake; Alan Steilberg; Ted Trautwein; and Jerry Van Marter.

2006 was a busy and productive year for the council.  Highlights include:

Building renewal.  Together with the Building Renewal Task Force (of which Ted Trautwein was a member), we helped direct improvements to the facilities made possible by $50,000 in bequests.  These included:  painting the entire inside of both buildings; new lighting in the education building; a furnace relocation to cut down on noise in the chapel; and a new fence to enclose the garbage cans.

Other building improvements and repairs.   Efforts to provide better lighting for the front plaza, initiated by council in 2005, moved along with selection of a design, ordering of the lights, and installation of wiring.  Soon, two post lamps in a style appropriate for the building will be put in place on either side of the front doors, along with three complementary but shorter post lamps along the sidewalk on the north side of the sanctuary.

Among significant maintenance required in 2006 were the removal and replacement of a gas line to the education building, and repairs on a leaky roof above the gathering room, which caused a partial collapse of the plaster ceiling.

The colony of bats that had been living in the attic of the sanctuary building were successfully and humanely removed with the assistance of Critter Ridders, Inc., and extensive caulking.

Landscaping.  The attractive design put in place around the plaza in the late 1990s had become unkempt due to intermittent maintenance, disappearance of some plants, and overgrowth of others.  Nature by Design (Suzette White) was hired to clean up and rejuvenate the plantings, which was done in October.  The council will continue to work with this company to maintain the front beds.  The council hopes to do some of the maintenance ourselves, to keep down the cost.

Ongoing financial administration.  Treasurer Jack Leake and assistant treasurer Ted Trautwein kept the books in order and the council and session apprised of income and expenses on a month-by-month basis.  The church ended the year a little over $2,000 in red, not bad given capital repairs costs of more than $10,000, which was more than double the budgeted amount.

2007 financial stewardship campaign.  Jack Marcum directed this effort, begun in early October.  A total of 95 pledges were received, totaling $217, 222.  Nine pledges were received from individuals or families that had not pledged for 2006, while 16 pledgers for 2006 did not make a 2007 pledge.  This total includes three who had moved away; three who had left the church amicably; two who had died; and two who plan to continue giving but did not feel able to pledge.

2007 Outlook.  2007 looks to be another busy year, with surprises almost guaranteed because of the age of our facilities.  But the council has an experienced group of volunteers who value the church and will continue to apply conservative principles to keep the finances and buildings in good order.