Finances at the Church of the Advocate

Joan Siefert Rose, Treasurer

As treasurer, I am grateful for the opportunity to lay the groundwork for good stewardship to help the Episcopal Church of the Advocate grow. I especially would like to thank Debby Kulik of the Chapel of the Cross for helping with the seemingly mundane -- but important -- tasks of opening bank accounts, maintaining our database, and setting up an accounting system that will serve our needs well.

The Episcopal Church of the Advocate was launched with funds from a bequest to the Chapel of the Cross, along with annual contributions pledged from the Church of the Holy Family and St. Matthew's. From the beginning, however, there has been an expectation that those attending the new church would contribute substantially to its operating budget.

In 2004, the first full year of holding regular worship services, the new congregation is expected to contribute $45,000 in pledges and $15,000 in additional gifts -- 40 percent of the annual operating budget. By 2005, both actual dollars given and the percentage of the budget they represent will climb. However, expenses also will grow as the church assumes responsibility for maintaining an office and, we anticipate, a move to a larger worship space.

Our goal is to reach financial self-sufficiency at the Episcopal Church of the Advocate by the fifth year of holding regular worship services. However, unless we find additional support from beyond the Advocate's congregation, we foresee a budget shortfall developing in 2006 as the existing reserves are depleted. To that end, we have begun discussions with the sponsoring churches to continue additional financial support for several more years to help us through our transitional years as a new congregation, until that time when we expect to grow to a church roughly three times the size of our current membership.