I’m Not Father Brown.
You may have noticed in my last article that I was complaining about insurance. Well, that’s true, and I was very upset with an insurance company about the way in which they had communicated with us and not been upfront with their intentions. We had been in the process of switching and they led us on for 6 weeks believing that a policy was coming our way any time. That was not the case and they kind of left us in the lurch. I pointed out in my last article that God did, indeed come through for our prayers and took care of us by sending our way a completely different insurance company who literally, just walked in the door and took care of us in short order. Absolutely fabulous. Praise God!
What I didn’t mention was that the previous insurance company who eventually didn’t offer us a policy did, in fact, have some genuine points. They sent us photographs of things in our building which are in need of attention. Some of them were fairly trivial and we can fix them with just a little elbow grease and a few dollars, but some aren’t. So, we, as a leadership team took note of them. One of the things which really needs to be taken care of right away is the soffit just outside of the main front hallway. The ceiling and beams on the inside continue right outside and are exposed to the elements. This has not been kind to them over the 40 or so years they have existed.
So, this past week I called the construction company which did our siding. They came and looked at it and took measurements. We expect a quote from them soon.
The other main thing, which is not imminent but will need attention in not too awful long, is the roof on the South side of the building and the wing over the bathrooms. It is the only section of roof which has not been replaced in the 12 years I have been here, and it is showing its age. It really needs to be done in the next few years. (Why is it that church roofs, even in popular culture, are always needing to be replaced? In the BBC mystery series “Father Brown” he is always asking for donations to the church roof fund.)
We have known that this portion of the roof is older and we have been slowly replacing sections of the roof every few years, as we can afford it, with the intent of eventually replacing all of it. But we only notice what we see with our eyes. The photos they took used a drone to get a really good bird’s eye view of the place and it’s a bit worse than one would think when you are just glancing up at it.
So, what I am asking of you is this; will you please consider giving a little extra every month to the building fund? We have a few thousand in it currently but probably not even half what we need for these much needed repairs. And I hate to have to point this out, but I am asking for giving over and above your regular amount. We still need the general fund financed to pay all the week to week and monthly bills. Any amount will help but it would be great if you could give a decent amount. I have decided to give $50 every month. If you can do that also we would have the funds in short order. If you can do more, hey, all the better!
Thank you, folks. I have always known this congregation to be a generous one for all kinds of needs, from missions in Africa to mundane things like the church building’s roof. (Just call me Father Brown. No, actually, don’t!)
You can donate here.