NOTICES:
A very warm welcome to you all this morning. Please come through to the Lounge after the service for a cuppa and a time to talk.
THE PARISH OFFICE closes on Friday 20th December 2019 and will re-open on Thursday 16th January 2020.
Community Carols at Opawa Community Church, Aynsley Tce TONIGHT 6pm. All are welcome.
Singing Group resumes in February.
Meditation Group meets this Tuesday 7.00pm in the Lounge, then takes a break until 14th January.
Christmas & New Year at St Martins
Christmas Eve 7.00pm
Christmas Day 9.30am
Combined services with Beckenham Methodist Church:
Sunday 29 Dec 10am at BMC
Sunday 5 Jan 10am HERE
Sunday 12 Jan 10am at BMC
Sunday 19 Jan 10am HERE
Lawn Mowing volunteers required for January & March – add your name to the list in the foyer if you can help. Thank You.
St Martins Fund Raiser: Handmade greeting cards for sale in foyer every Sunday. $3 each. Special cards made to order. See Janette. All proceeds to St Martins.
Christmas Gifts for Waltham Community Cottage: Thank you to everyone who has donated gifts, wrapping paper, cards and edible goodies.
Giving Review..Recently Dugald outlined our current financial situation. We currently employ a minister 2/3rds time, but would like to increase this to a full time position.
With Dugald’s retirement we have to advise the Ministry Settlement Board what level of ordained ministry we are able to sustain. A Giving Review Team is currently looking at a range of options we have to increase income, but a key area is our regular offerings which need to increase by at least $15,000 per annum to meet projected costs.
You will have received a letter asking
you to review your giving and respond with your pledge to increase giving to
your church, which needs to be returned to the silver box in the foyer or
directly to our Treasurer by NEXT Sunday 22nd December.
Managers’ Report from Meeting 11th December
Gates are being erected to finish the enclosure behind the church. Thank you to Keith, David, Rob.
Menzshed have erected spouting on the office and are currently building shelving units for the upstairs store.
The consent for the Menzshed workshop is currently before the CCC. We hope to hear whether we can proceed before Christmas.
Corrugated iron roof over the kitchen will be replaced in January.
Managers have decided not to paint the church roof in the near future, but will monitor the roof.
Next Working Bee 9.00am Saturday Feb 15th
Finances…. Our accounts for payment for the last 2 months have totalled $26,000 with $4,300 spent on the Menzshed establishment. Our income was $40,400 but this includes the grant from the Alpine Mission Fund to establish the St Martins Menzshed of $22,000. Offerings totalled $10,100 for the period.
Financial Review Team reported the minister has offered teaching on giving and the need to invite others to church, presentations have been given on our current situation and the need to raise offerings by $15,000, and a letter sent to all members asking them to review their giving. Responses to the letter are asked for by December 22nd and we will then meet to assess what messages we give the Ministry Settlement Board.
Other revenue streams are being promoted. These include:
- Rental from use of buildings…. We need more weekly users and aim to lift this stream to $15,000 by June 2020. Our website has been upgraded to advertise ourselves.
- Special Appeals…. Members are encouraged to donate their charitable tax rebates to their church. There will be a ‘top up appeal’ in June.
- Bequests…Members are asked to consider leaving a bequest to their church. Without bequests in the past our complex could not have been strengthened.
- Outside Fundraising….we will have a forum after worship on January 26th to discuss other forms of fundraising. Put your creative thinking caps on!
- Increasing our numbers….
Meeting Night…Managers will shift their meeting night to the second Wednesday of the month and welcome Peter Mechaelis as the new chairperson. We expressed our thanks to Wayne Barton our outgoing chair.