By Kevin Zemanek, Chairman, Leadership Board

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our God is a God of new beginnings, evidenced so strongly through the resurrection of our Savior and through the new life each of us has received as a born-again believer.  It is also a time of new beginnings at Calvary – although admittedly it seems like our new beginnings have been going on continuously for the past 2 years.  Recently, we held our annual congregational meeting at which several brothers completed their terms of service on our Leadership Board, several new brothers were elected to the Board, a new Board chairman was affirmed, a new fiscal year was set, and a new annual budget was voted on and accepted.

New Board Members and Chairman

First, I’d like to thank outgoing Board chairman Brad King, Aaron Moeckly, and Pete Pederson for their many years of devoted service to Calvary through their leadership and participation on our Board.  Each of them has run up against Calvary’s term limits of 2 consecutive 3-year terms and thus is required to take at least a 1 year off.  Gentlemen, to paraphrase Matthew 5:16, thanks for “letting your light shine before men, that they could see your good deeds and praise our Father in heaven.”

Next, I’d like to welcome our new Board members, Steve Ansell, Dave Johnson, and Kurt Knodel.  Serving on Calvary’s Board is a ministry calling that can be both a joy and a burden.  I sincerely appreciate these brothers stepping forward and accepting  the baton and look forward to serving with them.  My thanks also to their families for supporting their decision as I know that this commitment does take time away from them.

I was affirmed as the new Board chairman.  It is humbling and an honor to be asked to serve our church in this capacity.  Please keep me in your prayers.  If you’re not sure who I am, I can frequently be found playing tuba during the 1st or 2nd services.  My family and I typically attend the 3rd service and I’ve been told that I am recognizable by my shiny head.

New Fiscal Year

The fiscal year for Calvary had previously been aligned with the calendar year.  While convenient in some aspects, it has been very inconvenient in others.  The most notable problem with calendar year alignment was the requirement to work on the budget for the next year during the holiday season – when much of the church leadership is already very busy.  The Leadership Board, following the recommendation of Financial Director Dick Bjerkaas, decided to change our fiscal year to run Oct 1-Sept 30.  There is little effect to most of us other than our next annual meeting will be in the fall of this year rather than next winter.

2008 Budget

From a business perspective, the most significant item dealt with at the annual meeting is typically the budget and the 2008 budget was no exception.  Determining a recommended budget is one of the responsibilities of the Leadership Board and one with which we really wrestled.  As you may be aware, giving in 2007 was $73,000 short of budgeted income.  Primarily because of under runs in some budget areas, we ended up $39,000 short, which was made up by funds carried forward from 2006.  As the Board considered the 2008 budget and the shortfall in income in 2007, many hard discussions were held.  All ministry budgets were kept flat.  The new budget only includes $17,500 for salary increases for salaried and hourly staff in 2008, which is effectively a cost-of-living increase.  Much of the rest of the budget increase is due to operations costs (heating, cooling, benefits, etc.) which are beyond our control.  In the end, the recommended budget represents a 5% increase over the 2007 budget, but because of the 2007 shortfall it represents an 11% increase in income.  That is, general fund giving needs to increase by 11% in 2008 in order to cover the budget.  Prior to the vote on the budget, I asked that everyone personalize this, considering their personal commitment to increase their giving by 11%. The budget was passed unanimously.

Beneath Christ, the membership of Calvary is the governing body. I appreciate and thank everyone who made the time to attend and participate in our annual meeting.

Kevin Zemanek, Leadership Board Chairman