Online Worship Continues
On Monday, the Province of Ontario announced that places of worship may reopen as of June 12th at 30% capacity as long as physical distancing can be maintained.
The moderator of the Presbytery of London has asked that no church worship in-person until at least the first Sunday in July, following a meeting of the Presbytery on June 30th.
The Session will meet in the days ahead by Zoom to consider what these announcements will mean for our congregation, and what protocols and procedures will be necessary to ensure our congregation’s safety when we do return to our building.
It is our understanding that the Province will be releasing guidelines, that are expected to give additional and specific guidance to churches regarding such things as: cleaning protocols, wearing of masks, no congregational singing, seating capacity, or stock piling PPE.
Once Session has met, we may establish a team (of both Session and congregation members) to work on a detailed plan for re-opening. We expect this will take some time so please be patient. Online Sunday worship will continue until in-person worship in our building resumes, and until the majority of our membership feel safe being back in a public place.
If you have specific feedback about re-opening or a desire to be part of a small team who may work on this task, please reach out to your elder or Rev. Jeffrey in the days ahead.
Our firm commitment is to the safety of our members, the local community we serve and outside groups that use our facilities.
WPC Stewardship Update – June 2020
Good News
We have a deficit of only $1,668 after 5 months this year. Last year to May 2019, we had a deficit of $18,709.
We had a terrific donation month in April of $35,755. It appears that many people “paid ahead.”
In May, we also had donations of $16,381, higher than any of the first 3 months, January to March of 2020.
Monthly PAR donations have increased from $7,874 in January to $9,129 in May – a $1,255 increase (16%).
We have received $2,579 in e-transfers from mid March to end of May.
We have received $3,609 in website donations from mid-March to end of May.
We have a bank balance of $43,000 at May 31.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your terrific support during these difficult times! Your mailed cheques, your e-transfers, your website donations are so appreciated!
You asked
What do we know about the London Community Foundation? Is it a charitable organization which accepts fund donations for the betterment of the community? We had a sizeable amount deposited there. Is it our money that we can withdraw, or was it given to them for their discretionary use? If accessible, can we use it in our current financial situation?
We answered
London Community Foundation is a large local charitable organization that manages a sizable investment portfolio for its own funds and for those of other organizations, like Westmount. We are using them to manage our funds and give us a return on our investment. For more information, check out their website at https://www.lcf.on.ca/
At December 2019, we had $95,180 invested with them in the following funds:
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$48,827 – Capital Fund
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$23,353 – Chan Fund
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$23,000 – Endowment Fund
With the Capital Fund and the Chan Fund, we can withdraw funds at any time. Most of the Capital Fund dollars are needed to repay the Layman’s Extension Fund Loan of $48,000 which is owed to Presbytery over the next 8 years at $6,000 per year. Session decides when withdrawals are made according to the terms of those funds.
For the Endowment Fund, we cannot withdraw the capital. It stays invested in perpetuity. All this $23,000 was restricted in its use by the donors – i.e. they made their donation knowing the capital could not be spent. Once the fund reaches $25,000 the interest can be withdrawn annually, if desired. Investment income from the Endowment Funds can be spent according to Session’s wishes.
These funds are our funds, the London Community Foundation cannot do anything with them, other than invest them on our behalf.
Congregational Survey! Seeking your input and feedback.
This is the last week to submit your feedback.
As we have settled into online worship and church, we welcome your input about what is working well for you, and what you might desire more of. How can we help? Session is also looking to the future of church and what regathering might look like. You are invited to complete this brief survey online today. Responses are encouraged by Sunday, June 14th. Click HERE to access the survey.