As you know this year has been a historically different year in many respects for our church and our people. Nevertheless God has continued to use our church to be a blessing, to continue ministry in multiple ways, and to provide for the work He has entrusted to us. We praise Him and give Him the glory for all He has done!
Looking toward 2021, there is still some uncertainty about how things will go. Yet, we are certain that God has a purpose and a plan for our church. We are also certain that God will provide exactly what we need to do His work in terms of personnel, leaders, volunteers, finances and ministry.
When God's people in the wilderness had satisfied their thirst drinking water from a rock, they wondered if God could satisfy their hunger and provide them bread and meat in the desert. The Psalmist captures this question in Psalm 78:20-25. We are confident that the same God who gave us "water from a rock" in 2020 will give us "bread and meat" in 2021.
On November 15 we will have our Church in Conference in a hybrid format (see below). Although we have more than one Church in Conference each year, we may think of our November one as an annual meeting. It is at this time that the congregation gets to vote on next year's church budget, next year's incoming deacons, and next year's incoming committee members.
If you are a Calvary member by now you should have received a packet in the mail with the proposed 2021 budget documents and the candidates for active deacon service. If you have not received it, please contact our church office. Also the mail out electronic documents are included in this blog post for you to view and/or download.
We are so thankful for the work of the stewardship committee, the deacon screening and nominating committee, and the nominating committee in preparing their recommendations.
Budget Question and Answer Session Corrected Date:
Please note a correction to the budget cover letter that went out in the mail. Our 2021 Budget Question and Answer session will be held on Tuesday, November 10 from 7:15 PM to 8:15 PM (not on Wednesday, November 11).
The Q&A session will take place via zoom. All members are welcome to join the session. The meeting information is as follows: Meeting ID: 944 8886 7099 Passcode: 939402 or you can join directly by clicking on this link: 2021 Budget Virtual Q&A
Hybrid Format for Church in Conference
The November 15 Church in Conference will be a hybrid meeting (Student Center and Zoom). Those choosing to come in person may come to the Student Center and follow all of the health and safety protocols we observe for Sunday worship services (i.e.: wear masks, social distancing, self-screen, wash hands, use hand sanitizer, etc.). Those choosing to join via zoom may do so by using the following meeting information: Meeting ID: 944 3600 8572 Passcode: 725596 or you can join directly by clicking on this link: Church in Conference
If you plan to join the Church in Conference via zoom please make sure that your full name shows on the screen so that we can verify that only members are being counted for quorum and given the opportunity to ask questions, request the floor and vote. You may also want to become familiar with the chat feature of the zoom application. Asking questions, making motions and requesting the floor will need to be typed in to the chat before it is recognized by the moderator.
Agenda Items
During the meeting members will hear reports, get an update on personnel changes and plans to fill vacancies, vote on incoming committee members, vote on deacon candidates, and vote on the 2021 budget among other things.
Several days before the November 15 meeting, a complete digital packet with the agenda and reports will be available for downloading from our webpage.
For those participating remotely digital voting options will be offered.
Voting Options
Due to COVID-19 we will offer three options for voting. It is important to note that only Calvary McAllen members may vote. In the interest of maintaining anonymity, we will depend on an honor system where each voting member will vote only once using only one of the following options, since we will not require the person's name on the ballot.
- Vote in person on November 15 at 6:30 PM in the Student Center
- Vote digitally using this link: Digital Ballot (the digital ballot will close on November 15 at 7:45 PM)
- Absentee vote in hard copy during office hours (8:30 AM to 11:30 PM and 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM)
The nominating committee consisting of Leo Leal, chair, Tracy Hughes, Marissa Courtney, Janine Havener, Jeff Bridwell, Gilda Rios, Aurora Estrada, David Heflin and Jorge Gordillo, presentes the following nominations slate for 2021.
Budget Documents
Below you can see and/or download the budget documents:
- Budget Cover Letter from stewardship committee chair explaining the approach the committee took in preparing the proposed budget.
- Budget in Numbers showing the areas and subareas of the proposed 2021 church budget in comparison with 2020 budget.
- Budget Pie Chart showing the proportions of the major budget sections
- Budget Narrative shows describes what is included in each major section, the scope of ministry and the level of volunteers engaged.
