Dear Saints,
As your Pastor, I have had the opportunity to do a variety of exciting things. This Summer, we hired a part-time director for Sparks of Hope and saw exciting ministry developing there. I have been blessed to see exciting signs of spiritual growth at the Hamburg Church, and in partnership with Gowanda, Four Corners, and Versailles. Sometimes, God does things that seem unbelievable—miraculous circumstances occur and offer us opportunities to provide for the future of ministry in exciting ways.
Saturday, we received three bequests at Charge Conference, augmenting the principal of the General Endowment and, surprisingly, paying off our indebtedness to the Parsonage Fund! Many thanks to the gracious gifts from Dick Bish, Bob Montgomery, Donna, and Edwin Tomaka to provide for the future of ministry!
In a wondrous turn of events, a property that can be made to meet parsonage standards according to ¶2544 of the 2016 Book of Discipline is available in the Village of Hamburg, and we are pre-emptively negotiating with the owners who would like to see it become the parsonage for Hamburg UMC. However, even if this property falls through, the Church Council, in discussion with the Board of Trustees and SPRC would like to move forward in finding an appropriate parsonage. We can do this with funds on hand that are restricted to purchasing a parsonage, likely with a residual fund to assist with future maintenance. Once necessary renovations are completed and your pastor is housed, likely reduce the annual budget by a non-trivial margin. We can afford to do this, and with the gifts and skills within the congregation, we may be able to reduce the cost of contractors by working together to do the work.
With the authorization of the District Superintendent, I am announcing a Church-Charge Conference for Hamburg UMC at 6:00 PM on December 27, 2023, to be held in the Sanctuary under ¶247 and ¶248 of the Book of Discipline for the sole purpose of authorizing the Board of Trustees to comply with all provision of ¶2544 in the purchase and, if necessary, renovation of a parsonage for the use of the Pastor of Hamburg UMC, utilizing whatever portion of the Parsonage Fund is necessary for that purpose.
God is doing amazing things among us and through us—and I hope you will join me in being excited about God’s miraculous provision!
In Christ’s Service, with You,
Pastor David Nicol