Heard it at Council: October 2026

By Kate Silfen, Church Historian | October 13, 2026 Council Meeting Report

Council gathered for a hybrid meeting on a beautiful October night. The Reverend Ashley Popperson opened our meeting with a prayer from the late Harry Emerson Fosdick, the former pastor of Riverside Church in New York City.

Finance Committee Chair Paul Kuenstner provided Council members with an update on budget planning for the coming fiscal year. The Finance Committee anticipates a budget overage for 2026, but it will be less than they originally projected to the special one-time gift Old South received earlier this summer. Paul said that the Committee is working with Reverend John Edgerton on developing a 2027 budget that plans for a smaller deficit than the 2026 budget with the aim of achieving a balanced budget in 2028. Paul plans to come to our November Council meeting with proposed strategies to make that happen. While we were able to reduce some expenses this past year with reductions in staff positions, costs were higher than anticipated related to utilities and staff health insurance. The Stewardship Committee is also working on a campaign to increase giving from the congregation.

Lisa Loveland reported on the HR Committee’s benchmarking study. As part of the study, committee members surveyed twenty-five peer institutions to learn more about their governance, financial structure, small groups, personnel, and volunteers. The study confirmed that Old South’s staffing and financial operations look quite similar to similar churches. What makes Old South distinct from our peers is our costly, historical building and the large endowment that helps to support the building’s needs. Old South also spends proportionately more money on staff benefits than our peer institutions. The HR committee also learned that our peers organize capital campaigns about every ten years.

Larry Bowers provided Council with a brief update on the work of the Associate Minister Search Committee. The search committee has met four times, and they are planning listening sessions to give OSC members the opportunity to share the qualities they are looking for in our next settled associate pastor. After the listening sessions, they will prepare Old South’s profile. The UCC Area Conference minister believes that we can anticipate that the search process will take about seven to nine months after the profile is posted.

The Reverend John Edgerton closed our meeting with a word of prayer. He acknowledged that this is a difficult season for our country, and he asked that God help us stay faithful during these challenging days.