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Table of Contents and Cover Art

2009 Annual Reports

Click HERE to see the handsome, full-color flier outlining the Narrative Budget designed by Carl Westerdahl! A black and white version was included in the January Newsletter mailing.

Narrative Budget for 2010

When the Rev. Karen McArthur, Church Financial Consultant, visited our congregation last winter, she introduced the concept of a narrative budget, in which the various parts of the church’s mission are described and expenditures are depicted visually as they fall into these categories. We looked at a number of models from churches that had done this type of budget. Carrie Bail and the other staff members worked on this project at their retreat and each person estimated the amount of time (later translated into dollars based on compensation) spent on each of the nine categories:

Our Financial Secretary took each staff member’s time and then the individual expense line items and allocated them across those nine categories. For example, the pastor’s compensation is shown in the numerical budget as part of the Congregation Cluster. In the narrative budget her time is allocated among the nine categories as follows:
Congregation
• Worship and music 31%
• Education 7%
• Fellowship 10%
Community
• Programs 10%
• Mission/Giving 5%
• Wider church 10%
Stewardship
• Building 3%
• Communication 12%
• Administration 12%

We have a spreadsheet that is several pages long and shows an amount for each category, both as a dollar figure and as a percentage of the whole. The contents of the spreadsheet are shown in the narrative budget in graphic form. On the opposite side of the paper there are descriptions of the types of activities related to each of the nine categories.

This type of presentation demonstrates that we:
• Rely for support from each of us for an amount that totals $235,000.
• Are generous in our giving to the community and wider mission
• Enjoy worship and music that costs approximately $1,300 for each service.
• Have a building that is expensive to maintain and operate

If you have questions or concerns about this matter, please contact our Financial Secretary, Annie Parkman, or our Treasurer, John Craig.