The process of developing the proposed 2012 budget has been challenging. The draft budget presented at out November 20th congregational meeting made it clear that we, as a congregation, had to "sharpen our pencils". To explore ways of mobilizing additional resources, reducing expenses, and to make sure our resources are going towards our mission priorities, the Finance Ministry held meetings on November 27th and December 18th so gather additional input from the congregation.

These were both well-attended and productive. I was especially impressed by the creative thinking around stewardship, volunteer work, and fundraising. Thanks to everyone's thoughtful comments, we've been able to significantly reduce the projected shortfall in a revised proposal.

Unsurprisingly, a few recommendations from the two sessions stand in conflict. Consequently, the Finance Ministry will meet on January 7th after the Calendar Planning Meeting to choose among the conflicting recommendations, and to verify that our 2012 estimates still make sense based on the actual 2011 expenditures rather than projections. All interested members are invited to attend. Of course, the budget proposal offered at the annual meeting in January will be open to further discussion and amendment.

I still fully expect the budget we present for approval to exhibit an unsightly (and dangerous!) gap that predicts serious financial trouble within a year or two. This gap is a direct consequence of the difference between what we say we want to accomplish (given the ways we're willing to accomplish it) and the resources (whether in volunteer-hours or in dollars) we are willing to commit. My sincere hope is that everyone will prayerfully consider their giving commitments of time, talent, and money for 2012, and make it possible to not only eliminate the gap, but for this congregation to actually grow in service and outreach.

Randy has graciously put the supporting documents up at his site, but they can also be found here.

• version -05 Presented to council 11/15
• version -06 Discussed at Congregational meeting 11/20
• version -08 Discussed at "Resources and Mission 2012" on 11/27
• version -09 With comments from discussion on 11/27

Dear Members and Friends of Christ the Good Shepherd:

As it stands now, there is a significant gap between our proposed ministry goals for 2012 and the funding for these ministries. During the recent congregational meeting the council instructed the congregation to address this gap, and to answer the following two questions:

1. How important are the various ministries and budget line items we are proposing?
2. How will we fund them?

Consequently we have set aside the following two dates to work out these questions:

• Sunday, November 28 after worship
• Sunday, December 18 after worship

In each case we will make arrangements to provide for some type of lunch, so that we will have adequate time for an in-depth and constructive meeting. We hope that you care about the ministries of the congregation and will participate in one of these meetings.

The documents outlining the budget discussion can be found at here. Please feel to review and print them up. There will be study questions on the site as well, so check back often for updates.

Pastor Bea Chun and Finance Committee