November 12, 2019
Rev. William Bills

Pam Baker is the treasurer for our building fund. On Sunday Pam updated us on the status of our mortgage. Pam encouraged us to embrace the challenge in 2020 by continuing to be faithful in paying down the mortgage.

In 2002 the church took out a mortgage for a building project. That project added the balcony and Sunday school rooms upstairs. It also allowed for other improvements and modifications to our building. The original loan amount was 1.8 million dollars. In 2012 the mortgage was restructured to lower the interest rate. In 2015 that mortgage was retired and a new one secured to purchase the Wesley Foundation building. It looks like our church is all one big building but originally it was two separate buildings. After the buildings were joined together the Wesley Foundation still owned their half and the church owned its half. The church paid $200,000.00 for the Wesley Foundation wing and Asbury Hall. $300,000.00 more went to new boilers and other renovations.

The current loan amount was originally just over 1.2 million. It is now down to $760,000.00. Our monthly payments are $9,633.42. Up until December 31, 2018 we were paying an additional $3,000.00 per month on the principle so that we could retire the mortgage early. In January of this year we decided to pay the $9,633.42 monthly because building fund commitments were down slightly some this year. This was due to church member deaths and members who had moved away. Currently 93 giving units pledge a total of $120,000.00 per year to pay the mortgage.

We have a great facility. It is large, though, and ageing. Heating, cooling, other utilities and maintenance require significant funding. So, too, does paying the mortgage each month. Thank you for embracing the challenge to maintain our church building and pay off our mortgage.

 At University United Methodist Church, we affirm that as disciples of Jesus Christ, we are an open and inclusive congregation and welcome all persons into full participation regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic situation, age, ability, education, background and whether single or partnered.