Dear First Church Family, October 12, 2021
Our First Church worship committee chair, Peter Jabin, recently shared a translation of Psalm 78 that described the faithful as “companions through the impossible and the unimaginable.” This description seems to mirror the story of First Church during this pandemic, doesn’t it? You have walked with our church through a season we couldn’t have imagined just two years ago!
I want to write today to share how we are doing and how you can be a partner in responding to the story of First Church as we walk through this unprecedented time.
First Church strives to make wise financial decisions, following Joseph’s advice in Genesis 41 to save during good times for seasons of famine to follow. When the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, First Church was on a good financial footing, with a large cash reserve to weather the pandemic without reducing missions or ministry.
- Staff continued to support all of our vital ministry and missions teams, even expanding some offerings to better suit the need for online programming. We paid all of our staff, even when the church building was closed.
- After a brief hiatus, Shared Breakfast began serving meals again, and began delivering meals to local shelters. As a result, they now serve or deliver approximately 230 meals each Sunday.
- Volunteers continue to lead First Church in worship, advocacy, spiritual growth classes, and LGBTQ+ fellowship—though we continue to have significant volunteer needs at Sunday worship.
However, 18 months later, our financial reserves have reached their limit, and we now depend more on individual gifts than we have ever before.
- Before the pandemic, 33% of our operating budget was covered by parking garage income. Since April 2020, our garage has not contributed any income to our budget. Your giving has literally sustained the church this entire time! What a story of dedication!
- First Church has a dedicated fund that we use to pay our mortgage. This fund reached a $0 balance as of July 2021. We need $45,000 to pay our 2022 mortgage payments in addition to operating fund pledges.
- We are hopeful that events at Seattle Center and Climate Pledge Arena will increase our parking garage revenue, but we are not yet able to project exactly what this increase might be.
As our “companions through the impossible,” this is a time for you to respond to the story of First Church as we weather this unprecedented time. In 2022, we invite you to help us meet the following goals:
- Our operating fund stewardship goal for 2022 is $425,000. In 2021, $416,000 was pledged. By meeting our stewardship goal, First Church can provide more resources for children, youth, music, and our ministry teams for advocacy and spiritual growth experiences.
- This year we are making an additional stewardship goal of $45,000 to be added to the Mortgage Reduction Fund. By meeting this goal First Church would be able to pay 100% of our mortgage payments for 2022 without cutting into our program budget.
I invite you to evaluate your current giving, update it as you are able, and consider making an additional or new gift to the mortgage reduction fund. If you aren’t currently pledging, consider how you might be able to be part of First Church’s story in 2022. Finally, given how well the stock market has done this year, we’ve updated our information about stock donations for those of you who are in a position to make this kind of gift.
As a member of the First Church community, you are called to prayerfully and joyfully consider responding with your financial generosity. With your gifts, First Church will continue our story of advocating for the homeless and hungry, and creating a refuge of inclusive Christianity. We are the first church that Seattle ever saw—and Seattle needs us now more than ever.
Blessings,
Rev. Jeremy Smith
on behalf of the First Church Stewardship Committee