St. John’s Episcopal Church
Treasurer’s Report for The Chronicle
February 23, 2021
Finance Committee

With the addition of new members Andrew Bird and Fawn Hacker, regular monthly meetings of the Finance Committee will resume in March. We would still like to add one or two additional members to continue the work of this important committee. If you are interested in serving on the Finance Committee, or know someone who may be, please contact me.
 

Our Current Financial Condition

Our Budget Report for January 2021 may be found by clicking here, or by going to our website, www.stjohnsoly.org, clicking on “About Us”, then clicking on “Our Vestry” and scrolling to the bottom of the page. As of January 31, 2021, our year-to-date operating deficit was -$2,394.74, a positive variance to budget of $8,895.79 attributable primarily to the timing of the payment of some recurring bills in February rather than January. Pledge payments in January were $19,193.00, ahead of budget by $318.00.

We are still awaiting documents from Bessemer Trust in New York City regarding a $10,000.00 unrestricted cash bequest. We have two additional sources of funds for operating expenses: the EIDL loan proceeds and our (endowment) account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust.

The EIDL funds, $134,900.00, are currently invested in an Investment Advisory Account with Edward Jones. Currently, the market value of the account is $140,592.07.

With Vestry approval, we have withdrawn $115,000.00 from the General (Unrestricted) Account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust to apply to the cost of the asbestos abatement currently underway in our sanctuary. The current balance in this account is approximately $35,000.00.

Capital Campaign Update

Exciting work continues on our capital campaign! We have completed the writing and creative design work for our brochure, pledge card, and envelopes and delivered them to the printer. I hope you are enjoying our “Campaign Corner” updates each week in The Messenger.

I’d like to acknowledge and thank the members of our “Capital Campaign Team” for giving so generously of their energy, insight, time, and talent: Andrew Bird (Gift Worker), Caitlin Bird (Communications, Gift Worker), Jerry Campbell (Consultant), Michael Clifthorne (Gift Worker), Fawn Hacker (Gift Worker), Anne Hall (Campaign Coordination, Database Management), Lou MacMillan (Gift Worker, Photographer), Bob Peck (Campaign Prayer), Barbara Scheppele (Creative Design, Print Materials), and Tieran Sweeny- Bender (Administrative and Technical Support, Communications).

Early gift solicitation will begin on Sunday, March 7; our campaign kick-off will be on Easter Sunday, April 4, and we will celebrate the conclusion of the campaign on Pentecost, May 23.

We are accepting gifts to the capital campaign.  If you would like to make your gift online, please go to our website to our website, www.stjohnsoly.org, click on the “Give Online | Done aqui” button, and select the new “Capital Campaign” option. If you prefer to make your gift by check, please make the check payable to “St. John’s Episcopal Church Capital Campaign” and mail it to St. John’s Episcopal Church, PO Box 977, Olympia, WA 98507. If you would like to make a gift of stock, please contact me at bobleroy05@gmail.com for instructions on how to transfer the stock to the St. John’s | San Juan account.

As always, I welcome your comments and questions about our financial condition and capital campaign.

Respectfully submitted…
…Bob Le Roy, Treasurer (bobleroy05@gmail.com)

RENOVATION COMMITEE – For the February 23, 2021 Chronicle
Asbestos Abatement
Abatement work in the Sanctuary is proceeding on schedule, with no surprises encountered so far. Advance Environmental (AE) reports the ACM texture is coming off the walls fairly easily. They expect to finish on time, around March 8th. After that, volunteers can begin moving pews and audio/visual equipment back into the Sanctuary in hopeful preparation for in-person worship during Holy Week.
I hope you saw the time lapse video on the website of the contractor raising the huge plastic curtain wall to finish the enclosure. It made me appreciate just what creative problem-solvers contractors are! AE has never worked in a space quite as voluminous as ours, and they were awed at the interior space and architecture. Incidentally, two members of AE’s abatement crew, Carlos and Armando Guzman, are members of our San Juan congregation. In the coming weeks, as part of the capital campaign’s publicity and outreach, we hope to interview them on what it means to work on the renovation of their own church. Stay tuned!

Part I Construction
No news to report on the construction front, though behind-the-scenes FORMA continues to study the detailed construction documents and plan for construction work. Expect more news next month.

Solar Power Array
Today Tom Loranger and I attended an informational webinar hosted by Interfaith Power and Light to help congregations better understand and navigate the many different financing options available for affordable solar power. We have many new questions and need to gather more information, but we could use help. Would you be interested in joining an informal “study group” on solar options? This will likely involve learning more about the solar market in our state, contacting lenders or vendors for information, then analyzing and helping translate all this data into an understandable format for later presentation to the Vestry and congregation. Please contact me at 360-485-7128 or lou.d.macmillan@gmail.com if interested. Previous experience preferred, but not required!

Respectfully submitted,
Lou MacMillan, Chair
Sanctuary Renovation Committee

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the January issue of The Chronicle. This month is often a slower time in the life of congregations, but it has been anything but slow at St. John's. We're moving pews and other fixtures out of the sanctuary right now, so we can have a contractor come in and remove all the asbestos from the walls (and there's a lot of it). There's also Lent coming up in the middle of February, and preparations for Holy Week and Easter. All this takes quite a bit of planning in usual times, and it's doubly so during a pandemic, when every plan needs a "Plan B," and we're often reinventing how we do things to accommodate the realities of life these days.

One of the particular challenges of planning for Holy Week and Easter is that we're not only planning for remote services for those holy days, but we're also beginning to think about what it might look like to begin resuming in-person worship by that time. It's too early to say conclusively that we will reopen by then, but I'm hopeful that vaccinations will continue to help bring the number of new cases down, and we will be able to resume worship in person (though it will still be socially distanced, and it probably won't feel "normal" yet). We will decide in early March, based on the data available at that time. In the meantime, we will continue to stream services from our building (though starting February 7 it'll be from the Chapel instead of the main Church), and our programming will continue by Zoom for the rest of the program year.

My sincerest thanks to each of you for your patience and understanding as we have navigated this pandemic together. It brightens my day every time one of our members announces they've been vaccinated; it puts us that much closer to being able to be together again, the church gathered at our building, not each in our individual homes. In the meantime, I pray you all stay safe, and continue to be patient. Soon and very soon! 

Blessings,

R.C.

The feast of the Epiphany: God’s beautiful revelation to all human beings.

Every year the Church celebrates the Feast of the Epiphany. This is a memorable celebration that reminds us of those endearing Magi who came from the East to venerate baby Jesus. The Epiphany, as the Greek word indicates, is the feast of the manifestation of the child God to the world; it is a manifestation full of tenderness and sensitivity. The Epiphany also reminds many of us of those days back in our childhood when we expected the Wise Men to bring some gift for us on that special night.

Today’s Gospel tells us that those Wise Men decided to follow a star that would lead them to the presence of the world’s savior, a child named Jesus. This Gospel account shows us the impact that the mystery of Christmas has on us; it affects our imagination, our sensibilities, and our whole person. The birth of the Son of God is so important that the liturgical tradition of the church celebrates it on two occasions: Christmas and Epiphany. It is the same event: Christ is born and manifests Himself to all humanity.

The perspective of each Feast is diverse. Christmas mainly evokes the birth of Jesus as the Messiah announced to Israel and made known to the humblest of the people. The Epiphany focuses on the universal projection of Jesus presented as the Savior and Light for all nations.

For this reason, a star was born and is born this Christmas, and it will be reborn the following Christmases. That Star is what we call Jesus. We should ask ourselves the following questions today:

Have we found that star as we go on our daily way?

Have we found the star that fills our lives with joy when we are with our neighbors, with family, at work, and at church?

Have we found the star that invites us to leave our routine and discover new opportunities in this new year?

At the center of the Epiphany is the revelation of Jesus as the Savior of the World; to recognize him, we must start the path towards Him as the Light of the world. The child of God is presented by Mary, with the presence of Joseph, who is indispensable despite not uttering any words. God makes Himself present in the world through those who show Him through attitude, rather than with words.

The feast of the Epiphany of the Lord encourages us to recognize the Lord. It is not enough for God to reveal Himself to us; we must know how to see Him where He manifests himself: in a child, in poverty, in weakness, in innocence, in the son of a woman, and in the son of the carpenter. And that encounter with God requires a profound change from us. If we are believers, we cannot continue to hide our faith. If we believe in the incarnation of the Son of God, we do not have to go looking for God where He surely is not. And God is not in our prejudices, in our interests, on our side, or on the side of the powerful, but on the side of the weak, of the poor, of those who seek peace, respect, reconciliation, and a fraternal world for all.

To find God, like the Magi did, we have to allow ourselves to be led by the star, to go out of ourselves – of all that is ours, to go out to meet others, all others. If we decided to love our neighbor as ourselves, it would not be so difficult for us to believe in God. But, as long as we keep our eyes and our hearts turned towards ourselves, we cannot see our neighbor, nor can we discover God in a child in the arms of his mother.

In this Gospel of the Epiphany of the Lord, the liturgy focuses on the revelation of God to those who do not belong to the Jewish people, to those who are not among the people of the Covenant. In the letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul reminds us that “the Gentiles are joint heirs…of the Promise,” and in the Gospel it is the Magi from the East who came and “worshiped the child.” All this speaks to us of the universality of salvation: Jesus, the Messiah, has come for all peoples.

This is God’s lesson for all of us today: He has no exclusivity; He is not owned by anyone. The Jewish people believed that salvation was only for them, and today many Christians face the same temptation. God comes into our world for everyone and all peoples. We are the ones who set borders and create differences. We are the ones who distinguish between us and others, between natives and foreigners. But for God, we are all welcome to His kingdom.

Making us aware that God has chosen everyone is what can help us consider how to respond to Him with our faith and with our way of life.

The Magi allow themselves to be questioned by the star. They leave their comfortable corner of the world and set out. They search, they ask, and they are not discouraged. Finally, they are able to complete their journey and recognize the significance of what they found.

They saw the Child with Mary, His Mother. Falling on their knees, they adored Him. Faith must be seen as a wonderful adventure, as a call to get out of our corner, as an invitation to seek and accept the bits of truth that others are giving us, and as a reminder not to be discouraged when the star hides and when God is silent. Faith is opening one’s eyes from within and seeing things differently, with a different depth: God’s way. Faith is a learning to decipher His Word, which comes to us in another key–to discover His face in the other, His mark in life, His love in suffering.

The Christian feast of the Epiphany is the announcement of God’s salvation for all peoples and, at the same time, an invitation to open borders to live the faith in a more universal way. The Church must contribute effectively to promoting a world without selfish and unsupportive borders.

Today we celebrate the Epiphany. Jesus, by receiving the pagan Magi according to tradition, reconciles them with God, breaks the barrier of enmity, inaugurates the era of peace, and creates a new human being. Today God manifests Himself as He is: the God of peace and love, a diaphanous manifestation of a Kingdom without borders.

How do we recognize others as members of the one Body of Christ and discover in them the fruits of the Holy Spirit?

How do we achieve a friendly dialogue even with those who develop their life plans outside of Christianity?

We no longer doubt that the Epiphany is more than a feast and that it requires a hard commitment. We no longer doubt that we know how to carry out our commitment as Christians, as members of a single Body that encompasses all human beings without any distinction.

May the Light of Christ enlighten us all and accompany us in this new year.

The Epiphany is the feast of joy – the joy that Mary, Joseph, and the wise men felt; That is why it is good to remember that the joy of faith can overcome any moment of sadness and darkness.

And let’s remember the words of Jesus: I am the Light of the world; whoever believes in me will never walk in darkness.

St. John’s Episcopal Church

Treasurer’s Report for The Chronicle

January 23, 2021

Please note: This report includes actions taken by the Vestry at its meeting on January 21, 2021.

The Finance Committee remains on hiatus pending the recruitment of additional members. We also need to stand up a small Audit Committee, ideally comprised of three members with a background in finance, which would meet only twice a year, before and after the annual audit. I welcome suggestions from the congregation of individuals I might approach about serving on these committees. Please contact me at bobleroy05@gmail.com.

Our Budget Report for December 2020 is available on our website (click here). We closed the year with an operating deficit of -$70,347.40, a positive variance to budget of $15,736.26. The deficit would have been far greater had we not withdrawn a total of $191,000.00 from our General (Unrestricted) Account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust to apply to operating and capital expenses. Our shortfall in pledge payments to budget in 2020 was -$19,512.20 or 7.4%, a tribute to the faithfulness and resilience of our pledging members in a year unlike any other. 

It is also worth noting that we were able to stay current on our assessment payments to the Diocese of Olympia in 2020, creating an opportunity for us to petition for forgiveness of all or part of assessment payments still owing from 2018 and 2019 totaling approximately $77,000.00.

We are still awaiting documents from Bessemer Trust in New York City regarding a $10,000.00 unrestricted cash bequest and hope to receive the funds in February. We have three additional sources of funds for operating expenses: a second round of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) funds, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) proceeds and our (endowment) account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust.

We have just submitted the paperwork to request forgiveness of our first PPP loan in the amount of  $54,577.00. Since we have fully complied with the requirements for the use of the funds, we are confident the loan will be forgiven. Our application for a second PPP loan in an amount not to exceed $63,367.50 has been accepted and is currently in process. We hope to receive approval next week.

One of the conditions for Diocesan approval of our acceptance of the EIDL loan is we would not spend any of the proceeds until completion of an independent audit, currently planned for some time in the first quarter of 2021. However, with Diocesan approval, we withdrew $15,000.00 of the EIDL money and applied it to operating expenses within the guidelines of the loan program. The remaining EIDL funds, $134,900.00, are currently invested in an Investment Advisory Account with Edward Jones. To-date, the market value of the account has increased $6,290.03 to $141,190.03.

To conform to SBA requirements, the Vestry adopted an updated Resolution on the Acceptance and Use of Proceeds from the EIDL Loan. 

As of December 31, 2020, the balance in our General (Unrestricted) Account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust was approximately $150,000.00. The Vestry approved the withdrawal of $115,000.00 from this account to apply to anticipated expenses for asbestos abatement.

The Vestry accepted the 2019 Report of Audit prepared by Cynthia Knapp, our Bookkeeper and reviewed in the absence of an Audit Committee by members of the Executive Committee (R.C. Laird, Mark Hampton, Ric Weatherman, and me).

The Vestry approved the 2021 Budget which will be presented at the Annual Meeting on January 31, 2021, following which, it will be posted to our website.

Respectfully submitted…

…Bob Le Roy, Treasurer

Renovation Committee Update for the January Chronicle

"What’s past is prologue." – William Shakespeare

All we’ve accomplished since 2016 – water infiltration investigation, property development study, seismic condition study, design, financing feasibility study, hazardous materials survey, permitting – began with a collective decision to renovate the Sanctuary. We’ve consulted with architects, structural engineers, the Episcopal Church Foundation, and environmental health specialists to thoroughly investigate the condition of the building and guide our planning. It’s a daunting task, given the building’s age, scale, and range of deficiencies, but with God’s help, here we are at last – ready to begin construction!

Asbestos Abatement
At its January 21, 2021 meeting, the Vestry approved engaging the Olympia firm Advance Environmental (AE) to abate 9,000 square feet of asbestos-containing material on the east, south and west interior wall texture of the Sanctuary. The contract value with tax is $114,870. That computes to less than $13 per SF, about 1/3 the price of the second lowest bid, and far cheaper than a phased approach.

Beyond the economics of doing it all at once, the Vestry chose to eliminate for good the health risk and potential liability posed by friable asbestos to building users and renovation workers. Even if we were not renovating the building, we should do this.

The next step is to draw up and sign the contract, then prepare the Sanctuary space for abatement work. All the pews will be moved out so AE can erect a negative pressure enclosure to control air flow and maneuver scissor lifts around in the nave to access the high walls. We expect work to start on or about February 8th and take four weeks to complete. For safety reasons, the Sanctuary will be off-limits to everyone except the abatement crew during that time. Our goal is to complete the work by mid-March in the fervent hope that, if public health conditions permit, we may safely return to in-church worship by Palm Sunday and Holy Week in late March.

Part I Construction
Pending the outcome of the upcoming capital campaign, we will contract with FORMA Construction of Olympia to replace the roof and make structural improvements over the summer. Construction cost is $1.001 million, bringing the total Part I budget for design, hazmat, permit and construction to $1.322 million.

Respectfully submitted,
Lou MacMillan, Chair

Dear friends,

Welcome to the first issue of The Chronicle for 2021, though not the first issue for the month of January. There will be a second issue at the end of the month, in advance of our Annual Meeting, which will be January 31, 2021.

The last month still feels like a blur to me; our parish life has been busy, as has my personal life, working with my sister to attend to the estate of my father who died in December. I continue to be grateful for the outpouring of love and support from so many in our community. You have helped me immeasurably, and I am eternally grateful.

The last month also feels like a blur because of the level of conflict in our nation. I continue to ask your prayers for our country as we all grapple with the chaos in Washington DC and around the country. I ask your prayers for the members of the outgoing Trump Administration, as well as those of the incoming Biden Administration. I ask your prayers for the elected members of our state legislature, who have begun meeting this week, and for the leaders of the other branches of our state government. Pray for the medical professionals who are working to stem the tide of COVID-19 infections, and for those who recover from it.

The world needs our prayers, our care, and our hope, which we have through Christ Jesus our Lord. Let’s keep doing our part, in Jesus’ name.

Blessings,
R.C.+

St. John’s Episcopal Church
Treasurer’s Report for The Chronicle, New Year's Edition  |  January 11, 2021
 
Finance Committee

The regular monthly meeting of the Finance Committee for December was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. With the resignation of Gerry Apple, the retirement from the Vestry of Mark Hampton and Ric Weatherman at the end of this month, and the demands on Sarah Clifthorne’s time with the legislative session which begins on Monday, we need to recruit new members to continue the work of this important committee. If you are interested in serving on the Finance Committee, or know someone who may be, please contact me.

Our Current Financial Condition

Our Budget Report for November 2020 may be found on our website (//n.b5z.net/i/u/6141178/f/SJOLY_Budget_Report_November_2020.pdf). As of November 30, 2020, our year-to-date operating deficit was -$73,499.51, a positive variance to budget of $15,726,71 attributable primarily to our receipt of $60,000.00 from our General (Unrestricted) Account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust. Pledge payments were down significantly in November to $14,002.90, -$7,978.10 (36.3%) below budget. Our year-to-date shortfall in pledge payments to budget is -$23,760.30 (9.8%).

Unfortunately, given the current levels of giving, personnel costs, and unbudgeted expenses related to buildings and grounds and the upcoming capital campaign,  we continue to generate less than half of what we need to sustain our operations.

We are awaiting documents from Bessemer Trust in New York City regarding a $10,000.00 unrestricted cash bequest and hope to receive the funds by the end of this month. We have two additional sources of funds for operating expenses: the EIDL loan proceeds and our (endowment) account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust.

One of the conditions for Diocesan approval of our acceptance of the EIDL loan is we would not spend any of the proceeds until completion of an independent audit, currently planned for some time in January 2021. However, with Diocesan approval, we withdrew $15,000.00 of the EIDL money and applied it to operating expenses within the guidelines of the loan program. The remaining EIDL funds, $134,900.00, are currently invested in an Investment Advisory Account with Edward Jones. To-date, the market value of the account has increased $4,731.53.

As of November 30, 2020, the balance in our General (Unrestricted) Account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust was approximately $149,500.00. 

We have begun work on our Operating Budget for 2021. Again this year, we are engaging leadership of various ministries to provide input on their anticipated revenue and expenses.  We will present a draft of the Budget for Vestry review and approval at the Vestry Meeting on January 21. We will share the Budget Report for December 2020 and the Operating Budget for 2021 with the congregation at the Annual Meeting on January 31.

Capital Campaign Update

We are finalizing plans for our upcoming capital campaign. In early March, we will share a new case statement with you laying out an exciting vision for the future of our church home along with updated information on the scope and cost of the work to be done on the sanctuary, including removing asbestos from the walls, replacing the roof, completing seismic upgrades essential for public safety, and enhancing our worship space. Early gift solicitation will begin on Sunday, March 7; our campaign kick-off will be on Easter Sunday, April 4, and we will celebrate the conclusion of the campaign on Pentecost, May 23. 

Also, we want you to know that we are now accepting gifts to the capital campaign.  If you would like to make your gift online, please go to our website (https://www.stjohnsoly.org/home), click on the “Give Online | Done aqui” button, and select the new “Capital Campaign” option.  If you prefer to make your gift by check, please make the check payable to “St. John’s Episcopal Church Capital Campaign” and mail it to St. John’s Episcopal Church, P O Box 977, Olympia, WA 98507. 

Respectfully submitted…

…Bob Le Roy, Treasurer (bobleroy05@gmail.com)

Dear Friends,

Last year a friend loaned me a copy of the book Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas by Jan L. Richardson. It's described as "a devotional guide for pilgrims awaiting the birth of hope." It's a wonderful, little book. It impressed me so much I asked if I could borrow it again when I thought about writing this letter after our last Vestry meeting on December 17, 2020.

As Richardson says, "The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before. It is not possible to keep it from coming, because it will. That's just how Advent works."

She ges on to say, "So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon."

As I reflect on the different aspects of work your Vestry has done over the past few months, I think we (your Vestry) did just as Richardson said about pondering, waiting and wondering. We know more about the condition of our building than we ever have. Through the tireless efforts of Lou MacMillan and his Renovation Committee, we have a greater understanding of the significant challenges of an aging structure as we prepare to address those physical needs. We continue to explore options regarding financing possibilities as we edge closer to seeing the renovation come to fruition.

Difficult, yet essential, steps were taken to address the instances of abuse that have taken place over the years at St. John's | San Juan. Those unpleasant, but necessary, first steps toward healing have been taken. That healing, unfortunately, will not come quickly and is likely to take some time, but we have begun a journey toward restoring health; your Vestry is thankful and proud of all those survivors who willingly shared their stories. Now it is time to move forward with rededication and recommitment to supporting each other.

As we look forward to 2021, your Vestry would like to remind to please return your Annual Pledge Commitment, if you have not already done so. If you have misplaced your Pledge Card, please contact the office for another one, or you may submit your pledge online. Our Capital Campaign will be launched on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021 and will conclude on Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2021. Look for more information from Treasurer and Capital Campaign Chairperson Bob LeRoy.

"The season of Advent is a season of preparation, a time of getting ready for what lies ahead." Even though Advent is past, I think Richardson's words are a perfect way to wish you a Happy New Year!

In faith,
Mark Hampton, Sr. Warden