Church Council met twice in January. Here is a recap of business addressed.
January 12
The focus of this meeting was reviewing the 2026 Funding Plan proposal. The Funding Plan Team presented the proposal they had developed, which Council reviewed carefully and approved. Next steps: After the Funding Plan Team meets one final time on January 22, the proposal will be shared with the congregation via email on January 23, and reviewed at an informational meeting after worship on January 25. This is in preparation for the vote at the annual meeting on February 1.
January 26
Follow-up from January 25 Meeting: Council discussed the topics that arose in the January 25 meeting, based on our participation and the Clerk’s meeting notes. Key ideas included these: There was rich discussion about several financial topics, in addition to the 2026 funding plan. There is strong interest in how to best use our endowments to support our mission, and how to become informed about them. A graph showing our revenue over the past few years would be helpful at future congregational meetings.
2026 Funding Plan: Council gave final approval of the 2026 Funding Plan proposal for the Annual Meeting.
2025 Surplus: FCCB ended 2025 with a surplus of approximately $94,000. Council discussed options for using and/or saving the money. This proposal was approved to present at the annual meeting: Maintain the funds in the Operating Reserves, to be managed at the discretion of Council. At next year’s annual meeting, share the record of how the funds were handled. In keeping with the principle of transparency, share the record of the 2024 surplus at this year’s meeting.
Faith in Action: Several congregants, along with Pastor Sharon, attended a virtual meeting on January 25 hosted by Faith in Action. An action is being planned for Washington DC on January 29, when the Senate is scheduled to vote on a major funding bill, which includes funding for ICE. Clergy are invited to participate. Council voted to make $1,000 of the remaining 2024 surplus available to support someone from this region to attend the action.
