2024 Ministry & Mission Budget Allocation

Editor’s Note: At our congregational meeting in February, Treasurer Lou McKeage presented our 2024 budget and reported on our income and investments. He also presented the pastors’ proposed Terms of Call (compensation packages), which are a covenant between the pastor, the congregation, and the presbytery that must be renewed each year. The Terms of Call were unanimously approved by the congregation.

The information presented in this newsletter is the “Narrative Budget”, the story of how our ministry and mission impacted the community in 2023 and our aspirations for 2024. Further details on our income sources, investment values, and the pastors’ Terms of Call are available from the office upon request.

United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton is an active community-focused congregation. We have been blessed through the years with dedicated and committed membership. As such, our endowment has steadily grown through the years. At the same time, membership has not experienced the same growth. Because of this, for the last several years our budget has relied more on endowment funds than membership contributions to engage in the work of the church. The economic market conditions of the past have led to solid gains in the investment arena.

Current conditions in the financial markets are best described as very uncertain, but most investments have experienced real declines in value, and it has affected our ability to rely on our investment income. While our endowment value remains substantial, we have carefully evaluated our spending for the coming year to ensure that it is in line with our mission and our ability to serve the community.

In 2023, we received several grants that reduced our reliance on the endowment slightly, and our partnership with ACBC in creating the UPCenter helped to offset our building costs. But we know that the market decline has been more aggressive than our cutting has been.

As we continue to explore the possibilities for how we can extend our ministry in the community in light of these conditions, we would like to challenge friends and members of United to help “close the gap” by increasing your support for our work in the world as you are able.

Narrative Budget

The charts and brief descriptions we provide to the congregation every year have been chosen by the Session to reflect the priorities that guide our decisions about finances, the building, the staff, and the community. We have crafted the report in order to show readers the impact of our spending in each of the five areas we have established: Nourishing Worship, Radical Hospitality, Challenging Conversations, Transforming Mission, and the Ties That Bind (congregational connections and fellowship).

It has been suggested elsewhere that it would be helpful in understanding the cost of our ministry to provide breakouts of the specific administrative categories under which bills are paid, like “property” and “personnel”. If you would like to see those breakouts, they can be found in the detailed budget report, available upon request.

During our first ten years together, we have been focused on developing a clear understanding of who and whose we are, and this year we are beginning a strategic planning process with the Presbyterian Foundation. So we would like to hear from you as you consider the information in this presentation: Do you believe that the priorities that we have identified are still the priorities for the congregation in the next ten years? What would you continue to support, and what would you change?

Nourishing Worship

The vital center of our life as a congregation is the Sunday morning worship service, when we gather as a family of faith. This is where our work begins and is nurtured — in the love and worship of God, and the community we are building to glorify God.

We welcome people of all ages and cultures, and are open and affirming of LGBTQIA+ families and of neurodivergent adults and children.
We share the Word in a range of styles and experiences, striving to accommodate special needs.
The preaching is practical and focused on understanding and living the gospel in our world.
The music is varied and inclusive, featuring instruments from organ and piano to shakuhachi and drums, with a bell choir as well as a talented vocal choir to lead our singing.
As we pray for each other in good times and hard times, we grow together in faith.
Children are encouraged to participate in the conduct and leadership of the worship as they are able from an early age. A “Pray Ground” offers a space to play and participate in age-appropriate activities within the context of the worshipping community.

This year we had fun on the fourth Sunday of Advent, when we staged a “no-rehearsal Christmas pageant” and hymn sing — participants and watchers alike agreed that we should do it again.

Radical Hospitality

Early in our life together as United Presbyterian, the Session decided that we will welcome anyone who shares our vision of a place to grow, to gather, and to build each other up. Every encounter is challenging, and every day we learn more about how to be God’s people and provide a safe place for people to come together and grow together.

Training programs for community activists in the housing crisis and the work of anti-racism in Binghamton.
A chance to start again for adults who did not finish high school at the usual time and the alternative high school for students who need a different environment.
A community coming from all walks of life, to serve and share a meal around tables every Tuesday night.
A community garden and food pantry that help to supply nourishment for those in need.
A venue for arts groups such as LUMA and Tri-Cities Opera to share their work in the downtown area.

This year, we partnered with the Addiction Center of Broome County to open a 42-bed overnight shelter for unhoused people. The Library Lounge, Terrace Room, and Chapel are dedicated spaces for this program, which is open Sunday night through Friday morning each week. There are laundry machines installed in one of the former Sunday school rooms, and a shower is being installed in one of the first floor bathrooms.

Challenging Conversations

Our growth as Christians begins in the worship of the living God, and is grounded in common prayer, study, and conversations with each other and with those who can teach us more about our world and how we can respond to it.

Conversations during worship and at potluck luncheons that focus on understanding our diversity and our values as a congregation.
Sunday morning mission speakers that bring social justice to the forefront of the conversation.

Bible study that focuses on the meaning of the texts in their time and context, then considers what they mean in the 21st century.
Maintain a presence and a witness at Binghamton University through the Interfaith Council, participating in campus events and conversations about faith and life.
Monthly education packets are sent to families with children, including activities and materials to enhance understanding of Christian practices and stories.
Monthly service projects and craft activities that are accessible to all ages and abilities, coordinated with mission and worship themes.

Transforming Mission

We work to transform our community through alliances and outreach to people at risk in our society: the formerly incarcerated, the unhoused, people with addictions. We share space, support PC(USA) mission programs and offerings, and:

Support a case manager in the “Walk with Me” program in partnership with the Family Enrichment Network, helping people returning from incarceration.
Support community cultural programs such as Tri-Cities Opera, LUMA, and PorchFest. This year we also supported Juneteenth and the Black Excellence Awards.
We partnered with Pax Christi and Veterans for Peace on Hiroshima Day, folding paper cranes and praying for an end to violence and especially nuclear escalation.

Participate with VINES, CHOW, and the Food Bank of the Southern Tier to ensure that everyone has access to nourishment. This year we are participating in the FBST “Healthy Food” initiative.
Through our pantry, we offer hygiene products not covered by government assistance as well. We have been able to add children’s diapers and adult protective wear to our pantry, and we maintain a small clothing closet that always has tube socks available and other items as they are donated.
We continue to support the Whuti-Sgroboe congregation in Ghana, sending gifts each year and listening to the stories of their school and congregation.
This year, we joined Transnational Friends (Tri-Cities, NY and Nairobi) in funding menstrual hygiene products for schoolgirls in low income communities in Nairobi.
We continue to support Dave Ruston and Greg Patinka in working with immigrants at the Mexican border, and created a “Corner of Hope” in the sanctuary to educate and inform community members.

Ties that Bind

The old hymn begins, “Blessed be the ties that bind our hearts in Christian love…” By God’s grace we have continued to welcome new people even as we have said goodbye to old friends. We hope that in 2024 we will be able to expand these offerings:

We have begun a strategic planning process with the Presbyterian Foundation, to explore our values, mission and ministry as a congregation and community. We gathered for the first working session in November and additional conversations are planned.
We continue to expand our ministry of presence, building on the work of the prayer ministry and the card ministry to make sure that no one gets left behind, whether homebound, traveling, or going through a season of struggle and difficulty.
A popular gathering was a Christmas cookie party, held after worship in the sanctuary. Many brought cookies to share, and we all enjoyed decorating sugar cookies together.

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