ASBURY FIRST MONDAY READER | OCTOBER 5, 2026

CONTENTS:

FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE by DAWN RIEDY and TIM MAHAN

WEEKEND TO END HOMELESSNESS by DAVID STITH

Financial Sustainability Update: Proposed 2027 Operating Budgets

What you will learn:

• How budgets are developed
• 2027 budget highlights
• How you can help

Budget Development

Budget planning is a collaborative effort between the Finance Committee, Director of Finance (John Ormsbee), pastoral and lay staff leadership, work area staff, the Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC), the Outreach Committee and other committees and teams, with oversight by the Governing Board. These volunteers and staff work together on behalf of the entire congregation, and their work is guided by the following principles:

• To approach this effort with faith, hope and a shared commitment to the future of Asbury First
• To present solid, balanced budgets that support our vital ministries and mission
• To build budgets based on predictable, repeatable income
• To carefully steward the congregation’s resources
• To care for our staff and compensate them fairly
• To appropriately budget for care of our campus, including fixed asset replacements
• To finalize 2027 budgets based on pledges received by Dec 15, 2026

Proposed 2027 General Budget

• Personnel expenses will decrease by 4.2% (compared to the 2026 budget, a savings of $50,000)
• Continues funding for all current staff and positions
• 2027 expenses decrease made possible by mid-2026 staffing reconfiguration
• Non-personnel expenses will increase by 9.6% (an increase of $86,000)
• Cost drivers are Ministry Shares (apportionment) and Facilities & Custodial expenses
• Total expenses (personnel + non personnel) will therefore increase by 1.7% ($36,000)
• For a balanced budget, total revenue must also increase by 1.7%
• General pledges of $1,500,000 are needed by Dec 15 to fund the proposed 2027 General Budget

Proposed 2027 COC Budget 

• Budgets for increasing costs (e.g. food) and the increasingly complex needs of our neighbors
• Meaningful hourly rate increases for DCC part-time staff
• Commitment to continuing our recently expanded Grocery Bag Ministry (now 150 grocery bags/month)
• Additional services (e.g. 5th meal per week, cooking and nutrition classes, additional food access)
• COC pledges of $320,000 are needed by Dec 15 to fund the proposed 2027 COC Budget

How You Can Help

• Stay informed, ask questions and share your ideas
• Prayerfully consider how you will participate in our stewardship campaign, Faithfully Together 
• Pledge to the General and COC budgets by December 15, 2026

For more information about the budget planning process: October Financial Sustainability Update FAQS

We welcome your questions, ideas and feedback. Please reach out to finance@asburyfirst.org.

With gratitude—

Dawn Riedy, Finance Committee Chair 

Tim Mahan, Financial Sustainability Task Force Chair

On October 10-11, congregations across the country will observe Weekend to End Homelessness, a nationwide faith-community effort to bring attention to the people in our communities who have no home.

Many of us carry a quiet concern for our unhoused neighbors without knowing where to take it. You may have more power than you realize. Individual members have often been the ones to start conversations, bring ideas to leadership, and open doors that no organization could have opened alone. Sometimes the most important move a congregation makes begins with one person saying, "I think we should pay attention to this." This has been the motivating energy behind the Community Outreach Center from its humble beginnings. But even with an organized approach to the cause, homelessness can feel like a daunting foe.

It helps to start with shared convictions. The coalition behind Weekend to End Homelessness has named the core values that guide its work. They offer a way to think and pray about how our faith speaks to the reality of homelessness, perhaps helping us to see through the noise of this issue:

We affirm the dignity and inherent value of all people, unhoused and housed, as created in the image of God and called beloved.

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We acknowledge the interconnectedness of all God’s people, and that we find our own flourishing in the flourishing of our neighbors.

We believe that everyone deserves a safe place to sleep, surrounded by supportive community and resources, and all the things that make us at home. 

We embrace data, research, and evidence-based practices as critical to understanding the causes and solutions to homelessness

We recognize the lack of access to affordable and dignified housing is the primary driver of homelessness, complicated by broken systems that leave vulnerable populations especially susceptible to losing or never obtaining such housing. 

We hold spirituality as a core aspect of humanity that is often neglected for those experiencing homelessness, but one that is not measured by religious adherence or performance. 

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We trust that people who experience homelessness are the experts of that experience and are worthy of investment and partnership when it comes to their needs and the services intended to meet them. 

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We confess the role that racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia play in dictating who becomes homeless and who is more likely to end their homelessness.

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We resist the criminalization of poverty in any form, and any philosophy that encourages punishment or coercion as a means to addressing homelessness. 

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We reject the notion that those who experience homelessness need to undergo a transformation of behavior, spirituality, or treatment to be worthy of housing, care, or participation in community. 

We know that homelessness is solvable, and that the Church has a critical role to play in bringing everyone home.

Would you like to submit a story for inclusion in a future Monday Reader? Please do! 
We'd love to hear from you. Email David Stith at dstith@asburyfirst.org to get started.