Of Construction and Caption Contest

Dear Westminster Wonderers,

As we have completed the first quarter of 2023, I want to diverge from my usual musing topics of stuff from my head and spend a few moments sharing with you some information regarding the financial side of our congregational operations.

We’ve taken on a few projects this year, not the least of which is the complete renovation of Westminster Hall and Kitchen. Beyond adding carpet and repainting a few times over the decades, these rooms have not received a makeover since their construction in 1963. For several years, the Property Committee and Session have lamented the permanent stains on Westminster Hall carpet, and for those who have prepared for fellowship events and Communion, we’re aware that the kitchen floor was getting a little spongey (not a formal construction term, but a serious problem nonetheless). Additionally, the cabinets and countertops in Westminster Kitchen were beginning to deteriorate and were ready for replacement. We’ve also had problems with heating and air conditioning in this space; the window units in the Hall as well as the Nursery and Preschool rooms helped with summer cooling, but long neglected valves in the hot water baseboard heating system often made the rooms appropriate for few activities other than hot yoga. Opening windows in January to mediate the temperature helped, but this wasn’t exactly energy-efficient.

What makes the first floor of Westminster House valuable space is its elevation on the same grade as the Sanctuary; it is also on the same level as our handicapped restroom. Fellowship Hall is a wonderful space, and we do have six restrooms in the basement, but for those of limited mobility, it’s a long way down…then back up.

Acting on a proposal from the Property Committee, Session has approved the renovations, complete with high-efficiency electric heat pump cooling and heating for the whole first floor as well as retrofitting the circulating hot-water system with new low-voltage electric valves in the Kitchen and Hall. The kitchen floor will be replaced, including the sub-flooring; the cabinets and countertops are also being replaced. New laminate flooring will be installed in Westminster Hall, and the ceiling will be restyled with LED lighting designed for multiple configurations of illumination. Our general contractor, La Mantia Construction, has been overseeing the work. FPCLG has used them before for both the Parlor Kitchen renovation and our newly remodeled Heritage Museum space.

I know what you’re thinking, if it’s what I’m thinking—this sounds expensive—and we’re right. As you may guess, retrofitting a sixty-year-old space presents some unexpected challenges, resulting in unanticipated costs. Our best guess now is that the final expense will come in well under $250,000.

Meanwhile, back in the rest of the church, refurbishing our handbells was a long overdue project. Several octaves of our set will be shipped back to their birthplace in Pennsylvania for a reworking of their mechanisms and a good polish. The remaining bells at the extreme ends of their range are less used and will await their reconditioning for another time. This specialized work added approximately $6,000 to our musical instrument care budget.

There are other things, of course, like accidental damage to the inside north door of the elevator. Thank you to Scott Musil and Greg McDaniel for their beautiful but temporary repairs. We are researching a replacement, because we were astounded at the initial proposed expense of $8,000 and think we can do better.

Future work includes rewiring the control panel for Chancel lighting and the herculean project of replacing fuses with circuit breakers in the 73-year-old Ashland building, but one thing at a time.

So, where’s the money coming from? A little over $80,000 will come from a one-time Employee Retention Tax Credit through the CARES Act; FPCLG has qualified for the funding. The remainder, as WTTW says, will come from viewers like you.

Given major capital renovations, many congregations create an artificial debt by “borrowing” from savings and then portioning that debt over several future budgets until the savings portfolio is restored. We’ve decided against that action, mostly because it feels like financial slight-of-hand (we’re in debt but not really in debt). Fortunately, for the past seven years, we’ve retained earnings in the General Fund. In other words, we’ve spent less each year than has been received through investment income and direct contributions. These savings more than account for the remaining project expenses.

To sum it up, we’ve got the money, but right now we don’t necessarily have the cash. Our Finance/First Fund Committee will need to liquidate some of our investment assets so we can write checks. If you are in a position to “pay ahead” on your 2023 pledge, we could temporarily avoid dipping into our investment accounts.

Then there’s the other challenge—that’s the invitation for you to contribute to capital restoration. I am inviting your gift, or gifts beyond your annual contributions, to offset these twice-a-century improvements. As always, your generous contributions at any amount are deeply appreciated.  

We are blessed to have a facility unencumbered by a mortgage. We are doubly blessed to have savings from past contributions which generate investment income. But we are most profoundly blessed by the kind, generous, forward-looking fellowship guided by God’s Spirit as we share our community of faith with one another and the world.

Promising to return to less financially oriented musing next week, I remain,

 With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor

P.S. Today’s picture from the Westminster construction is also a caption contest. Please email your best caption idea to JKrogh@fpclg.org, or comment on Facebook.