Please make your plans now to participate in the Called Church Conference this Sunday, June 8, upon the conclusion of worship.
This brief meeting will be held for the purpose of voting on two projects that have been underway in our church’s life for some time now — our Life Together building project and proposed governance restructuring. Read below for details about the motions to be voted upon, the process by which we will vote, directions for absentee ballot requests, and additional resources for your review.
Motion for Vote
The motion for the ballot vote reads as follows:
(1) The Building Project Task Force moves to approve its recommendation of proceeding with completion of the back half of the church’s lot, which includes the following: site preparation and grading for work to begin; addition of covered pavilion with related mechanical room, walkway, and driveway; addition of columbarium and courtyard; addition of new playground and related equipment; addition of landscaping, hardscaping, electrical, fencing and handrails, and new dumpster enclosure; addition of new parking lot.
(2) The Finance Committee moves to lift the church-restricted limit on the use of the Anniversary Endowment Fund of $1.25M, to permit funding flexibility as needed; and to approve a $1M borrowing limit through either a line of credit or other financing options under exploration and guidance of the Finance Committee.
(3) The Governance Task Force moves to approve its recommendation of changes to the church’s governance structure, which includes the following: clarifying the role and function of a Deacon; form a Leadership Council for collaboration across committees and ministry teams; streamline the work of committees by assigning the current work of Policy and Scholarship to the Deacons, and the current work of House & Grounds to staff and the Leadership Council; align the work of ministry teams by adding ministry teams each for Young Adults, Fellowship, and Pastoral Care, shifting responsibilities of the Hospitality Ministry Team in response to church growth, and renaming the Communications/Outreach Ministry Team to Community Engagement Ministry Team. If approved, these changes will begin in January 2026, and will be assessed each year by the church in the first quarter of the year.
History of Conversations & Further Details About the Motion
After a year and a half of work within the Deacons using feedback from 2023 congregational conversations, the Governance Task Force recommendations were offered in the April 29 Quarterly Church Conference and discussed in a Zoom Q&A on May 27.
The Building Project Task Force was formed by the Deacons in March 2024, and have been presenting regularly to the church since August 7, 2024 in called and quarterly church conferences. They presented the final scope of work and pricing on May 21, followed by a Zoom Q&A on May 28.
In our May 21 called church conference, the church learned that the cost for our back lot project to finish what we started eight years ago is higher than initially projected. Over the past 10 months, pledges and actual gifts to the campaign have come in strong! In order to connect the dots between all that has been pledged and what remainder is needed, Life Together Capital Campaign chair, Terri Yates, asked the congregation to consider increasing our gifts to this project to close the funding gap, either with offering an additional one-time or lump sum donation, or extending the duration of one’s regular gifts one additional year to conclude in December 2027. You can do so by calling or emailing Sally Barbour in the church office (sally@firstonfifth.org, 336-722-2558) or filling out the form linked here.
Since May 21, an additional $221,638 has been pledged to the project, representing 39 individuals or families who increased their initial pledge and four individuals or families who have offered new pledges. To date, our church has pledged generously and faithfully $2,387,093 to our Life Together building project efforts. Every dollar given strengthens our church’s capacity for long-term presence and witness among our downtown neighbors. Thanks be to God and to you for your faithful stewardship of our beloved community!
After committing $250,000 of church funds to the project, the Finance Committee is working tirelessly to address the remaining gap of $703,362 needed. Unless this gap is met fully by donations, the project cannot take place without the capacity to either utilize money from the Anniversary Endowment Fund or potentially borrow money up to $1M through either a line of credit or other financing options. Therefore, motions 1 & 2 are intertwined and will be voted on together. Upon the establishment of the Anniversary Endowment Fund in 2022, the church self-imposed a floor of $1.25M. With this restriction removed, the church offers greater financial flexibility for our work. Because over 75% of dollars pledged have already been given, we will be able to meet our construction payment obligations through the end of 2025. Should this motion pass, the Finance Committee will have the church’s approval to carefully research and recommend the best option for the church’s long-term financial health.
Directions for Absentee Ballot Requests
Absentee ballots can be requested by calling the church office at 336-722-2558. A team of volunteers will hand-deliver these ballots. They either can be returned to the church with the volunteer, postmarked by Friday, June 6, or hand-delivered back to the church house by 5:00 PM on Monday, June 9.
Process for Voting
- The Church Moderator will call the meeting to order and then read the motions that are scheduled for a vote from the Building Project Task Force, the Church Finance Committee, and the Governance Task Force.
- The Moderator will announce that the vote is being held for church members only and guests and other non-member parishioners are free to leave if they wish to do so.
- Deacons will distribute ballots to church members only for voting. Members should raise their hands to signal a Deacon for a ballot if necessary.
- Following time to mark your ballots, the Moderator will tell voters to fold their ballots in half, and pass them to their right where a Deacon will receive them.
- The Deacon will take all ballots in their possession to the front of the Sanctuary and place them in a ballot box.
- After all ballots are collected, the box will be sealed with tape.
- The Deacons will sign the box across the tape to ensure that the ballot box cannot be tampered with until the election count to be held on Monday.
- The count for the election will be held at 5:00 PM on Monday, June 9, 2025 on Zoom and conducted by Deacons.
- All Absentee ballots that have been received by 5:00 PM Monday, will be opened from the sealed envelope they are in, and the ballot will be mixed with all other ballots to be counted.
Additional Resources
Should you be interested in reading more about the proposed building project, proposed governing restructuring, and Life Together capital campaign, here are links that can help!
Here is the link where you can update your pledge to the capital campaign.
Here is the Zoom recording of the May 21 Building Project Task Force meeting.
Here is the Building Project Task Force’s visual presentation from the May 21 meeting.
Here are the four contractors who have been working on the project and whose companies are proposed to complete it.
Here are new renderings of the building project.
Here are pictures and videos from the launch of the Life Together capital campaign.
Here are the Governance Task Force recommendations as discussed in the April 27 Quarterly Church Conference.
Zoom Information for June 9 Ballot Counting
As a practice of full transparency, ballot votes in the life of the church are counted publicly. All who are interested in watching can tune in by Zoom as Deacons count the ballots on Monday, June 9, at 5:00pm. See below for Zoom information.
Zoom information
Meeting ID: 821 5478 8742
Passcode: 346090
Dial-in: 646-558-8656