Dear Friends
On Sunday, May 1st, the SouthWest United community will be presented with the harsh reality facing our church. Money problems have been in the air for years; we do not take in nearly enough to pay our expenses. We have been drawing yearly on the funds invested following the sale of the Verdun United building in 2007. 2022 is the year those funds will run dry.
At the Annual Congregational Meeting on May 1st, we will be presented with the financial reality but also with some options. The timeline is unclear but our property (which includes the church and the manse) will most likely have to be sold.
If there is a silver lining in this it’s that the real estate market is hot now. We may be cash poor but we are land rich. If we sell, a portion of the profits will be owed to Regional Council, but we would be left with a nice nest egg to start over somewhere else, probably as a renter.
Please don’t think that there is no point in attending the meeting because the future is already settled. There are several possible courses of action and several votes to be taken. We also want to hear any ideas community members have as well. Please come, whether you are an official SouthWest member or not: if you opened this newsletter and have read this far, you are a member of our community.
If you have health or mobility issues which prevent you from attending in person, but still want your voice heard, we encourage you to contact the office or Dennis Brown.
It is important to remind ourselves at a time like this that bricks and mortar are not the church; We are the church.
If you can not attend, please pray for wisdom for those who will.
Amy
SouthWest United Annual Congregational Meeting: Sunday May 1st, following the 10am service (meeting will begin around 11:15).