As I sit at our kitchen table watching our bird feeders and the beauty of nature, I thought it was a good time to reflect on the past year. In January 2020, I accepted the church council presidency for Bausman UCC. At that time there was talk of Covid-19 entering the United States. This virus soon became a pandemic and changed our everyday lives.
The consistory voted and approved the closing of our indoor services of church, starting March 22, 2020, due to the Covid-19 virus. Starting in May 2020, a taskforce was formed to come up with Policy and Procedures for the reopening of Bausman UCC church services. This taskforce was chaired by Mike Ritter, who accepted the position of Policy and Procedures Administrator on March 20, 2020. This taskforce hit the ground running with a final approval by council to reopen the church for indoor services. On August 2, 2020, Bausman UCC was reopened for indoor church services.
As summer and fall rolled by, another surge of the virus took hold. At a special council meeting it was decided to again close Bausman UCC services due to the anticipated surge of Covid-19. This was a very difficult decision due to the upcoming Christmas season, but the entire council felt it was best for the safety of the congregation. Indoor services were again suspended on November 29, 2020.
Also, on May 1, 2020, the Finance Committee applied for a PPP Forgiveness Loan to Mid Penn Bank. Approval was granted on May 24, 2020, in the amount of $24,000. On November 6, 2020 an application for forgiveness of the PPP Loan was submitted and on November 18, 2020, was approved for complete forgiveness. For the year, Bausman UCC ended up with approximately a $1,000 surplus and added seven new members to the congregation. I thank the Lord for helping us get through the year as well as we did.
I would like to give thanks to Bausman Church Consistory, all the various church committees and the Taskforce for all the hard work in dealing with this very difficult year.
Also, a special thank you to Pastor Mark for his leadership, dedication and all the work involved in his virtual services and Christmas Eve outdoor services. The biggest thank you is for the Bausman UCC congregation for their patience, understanding and financial support during these unusual times.
Looking back, I realize how fortunate Sandy and I are for being a part of the Bausman UCC family.
Stay Safe and God Bless
Terry Gerhart
Consistory President