a word from robin

March 2008

Mayflower's financial situation has been steadily improving. We remain unable to get everyone to sign a pledge card, but more are doing so, and contributions to the church are up, allowing us to finish 2007 in the black. The trustees are being extremely responsible in paying down the principle on the remaining debt on the Christian Education Wing, which now stand at around $80,000. When we have extra money, we "buy down" that debt instead of just sitting on the money. I support this enthusiastically.

The improving financial situation has allowed us to do more things like help to sponsor a position for the Conference called Justice and Witness Organizer, which allows our own Karen Spradlin to help churches in our conference organize around issues of social justice. She is a great ambassador for Mayflower Church, and is helping churches to do more than just preach the Good News.

We also now have a part-time Webmaster to help us improve the web site, and make it more up-to-date, and functional. The Deacons met for their annual retreat recently and have many great ideas for improving the church and serving both our members and the community more responsibly. Watch for some long-overdue improvements to the "bulletin board chaos" in Milligan Hall.

The new audio-visual equipment in Milligan Hall is great, and a permanent feed from the sanctuary will allow us to more easily send a video and audio feed for overflow crowds (such as we will surely have when Fred Craddock preaches at Mayflower on May 18). The Autism Partners who work in the new wing split the cost of that equipment with Mayflower, so it was a good deal for everyone.

All of this is good news, and in many ways the church is as healthy as it has ever been. One item, however, is of real concern to me. We have seen unrestricted benevolence giving (a check box on your pledge card) drop dramatically. We are down from a high of nearly $60,000 just a few years ago, to less than half that amount. The Benevolence Board, which meets six times a year to distribute those funds to the best charitable organizations in OKC, and to support individuals in crisis, and worthwhile mission projects (like our Medical Mission in Nicaragua, Rebuilding Together, Mobile Meals, and the new Norman UCC church start to name a few) are very concerned about the lack of available funds this year.

The benevolence giving system at Mayflower, established in my first year as pastor in 1985 is unique, and has been a source of great pride to me over the years. All funds designated for benevolence go to projects approved by the board; 20% supports our wider work in the Kansas Oklahoma Conference of the UCC, and the remaining 80% is available for discretionary giving for charitable work. This year, the board again agreed to my request that 10% go to the new church start in Norman, a mission of Mayflower Church. This board has quietly, and effectively, given amazing support to people in need over the years and supported organizations that reflect our values as a church community.

The decline is puzzling to me, and I'm trying to figure it out. I know that there are many other requests for money for various projects at Mayflower, but those are intended to be in addition to, not in lieu of, basic pledge support for benevolence. Perhaps we need to do a better job of letting the congregation know what happens to benevolence funds, and so we are planning a campaign to share that information more frequently and with a pie chart on the main bulletin board.

It may be the case that as the church struggled over the years to meet its operating budget, members decided to reduce or eliminate their benevolence designation. Or perhaps people decided that to help us pay off the mortgage on the new Christian Education wing, they would shift their giving temporarily from benevolence to debt reduction.

It might be that other offerings for the work of the UCC, for example, left the impression that we were supporting the denomination in this way and did not need to do it through benevolence giving. Again, special offerings are designated for special purposes and are not meant to replace the regular support of our conference.

Whatever the reason, and it may be a combination of reasons; we need to reverse this trend. I'm anxious to have the new wing paid off (something we plan to accomplish well ahead of schedule), and then ask members to increase their support of the benevolence fund. It is the heart and soul of Mayflower Church.

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