Update on the Well
To the Congregation of Hayes Barton UMC:
As we approach the one year anniversary of our move into The Well, it is a wonderful time to reflect on the worship, mission, prayer and community that has been made possible through your vision. Truly the living waters of our Lord Jesus Christ have been made manifest in this holy space. This anniversary is also a time to reflect on the commit- ments made by many of us to support the financial obligations required to bring this vision to reality. To date, a total of $9,575,987 has been pledged, of which a total of $6,885,965 has been given.
A few quick points: Of the 545 pledges, 219 or 40.2% are complete.
73 of the completed pledges gave in excess of their pledge.
279 members have initiated but not yet completed their pledge.
No gifts have yet been made on 47 pledges.
The open balance on pledges with a 12/31/17 due date on the pledge card is $672,000. Full receipt of these pledges by the end of this year will lower our interest expense by almost $17,000 annually (our current interest rate is approximately 2.4%). As you can see, all efforts to fulfill these pledges in a timely manner will have a meaningfully positive impact on the operating budget of the church. The remaining pledges with later due dates have open bal- ances of $1,931,000.
As you are aware, the total cost of the project exceeded our original projections. The total of all building expenses excluding interest, was $14,557,209. Through careful stewardship of church resources, the resulting unfunded liability (total building costs less pledges) is approximately $3,979,000. While this is larger than originally projected, the increased debt was meaningfully smaller than the extra building cost would suggest. Regardless, this also points to the importance of timely fulfillment of our pledges.
On a final note, we have received 11 new pledges in support of The Well this year. If you have not yet financially supported this project, I encourage you to reflect on the visible difference The Well has made in worship, mission, prayer and church community at Hayes Barton and con- sider making your own commitment of financial stewardship of The Well.
Kevin Anderson, Finance Committee
