Our present church home—the third in our 214-year history—has witnessed nearly 100 years of worship, weddings, baptisms and funerals; choirs glorifying God with their voices and instruments; young and old enjoying meals and fellowship in Smith Hall; children learning about Jesus’ love and young people eagerly climbing the steep ladders to the top of the church tower; and organizations of many kinds attending to the needs of the broader community.
Today, our beautiful building serves our congregation and the community well, but its systems are aging and maintenance expenses are outstripping the ability of the church to cover these needs out of annual operating funds.
The Building Faith in the Future Fund is dedicated to preserving our church as a safe worship space, community center, and Second home for future generations.
View our video:
Why Do We Need a Fund Now?
For several years, the Trustees and Session have discussed the important issue of how to deal with the increasing cost of ongoing building maintenance and projected capital expenditures. Building and capital needs will continue to take up a greater percentage of our operating budget and negatively impact our core ministries —worship, music, Christian education, congregational life, and mission outreach. (Please see the chart below). A committed group of Elders, Deacons, Trustees and staff have worked hard on these issues and concluded the following:
- Current annual giving levels are not sufficient to meet the maintenance needs of the church, falling short by about $300,000 last year alone.
- Continuing to defer maintenance that has already been long deferred will result in even higher costs of repair.
- Tapping more of our existing endowment’s principal could threaten the future financial stability of the church, and saddle our children and grandchildren with substantial financial burdens.
- Seeking additional income-generating uses of the building and reducing operating expenses will not fill the gap, though the
Trustees continue to seek opportunities for both.
Following a year of discussions and discernment with Elders, Trustees and many of you, the idea to create a $3 million “Building Faith in the Future” Fund dedicated to preserving our church as a safe worship space, community center, and Second home for future generations met with unanimous support.
The Building Faith in the Future Fund will achieve the immediate and long-term goals to free up funds for important ministry and mission work.
Currently, Second Presbyterian serves as the spiritual home for a membership of nearly 500 people of diverse backgrounds. Additionally, the church is an important anchor to the community, housing many community groups including: Acts4Youth, Alcoholics Anonymous, Baltimore School of Music, Baltimore Youth Alliance, Boy Scouts, Community Concerts at Second, the Guilford Association, the Inspirit Pastoral Counseling Center, and the REACH tutoring program.
Our impact extends far beyond the building. Our extensive mission program links the congregation with partners in local, national, and international communities in need.
Mission Component for the Building Faith in the Future Fund
In keeping with our tradition of giving, we will dedicate ten percent of total gifts to Acts4Youth. Our support will allow this Christian mentoring organization, based at Second, to reach more at-risk youth in our community.
Give Now
Click here to make a donation to the Building Faith in the Future Fund now.
Make Your Pledge (payable over three years)
[gravityform id=”30″ title=”false” description=”false”]