Minister plays down cash deficit

Stonelaw funding plea

The minister of Stonelaw Parish Church has reassured parishioners over their financial future.

A church newsletter warned they are facing a deficit by the end of the year.

A statement from the church’s treasurer asked the congregation to contribute more, as they currently had a £ 6,000 deficit in their general funds which they use for almost all of the expenditure on the building, such as electricity, gas and council tax .

It also stated that if the deficit continued then the situation would be “unsustainable”.

However, the Reverend Alistair May said a situation like that would be some way off.

He said: “We have had deficits like this before and made it up by the end of the year.

“There will be absolutely no effect on anything that the church is involved in, and the statement was simply part of an ongoing dialogue with the congregation and keeping them informed because we need to communicate with them.

“Nothing is threatened in terms of anything that we do and there is no sort of public appeal going on. It’s simply about letting the congregation know the situation.

“It would be unsustainable but only if it continued for another 20 years or so.”

The statement to the congregation said: “It is clear that donations in 2016 have not matched the expenditure requirements.

“I am projecting a deficit – a loss – of around £6000 in the general fund.

“We started 2016 with approximately £13,000 in the general fund.

“We’ll end 2016 with approximately £7,000 in the general fund, assuming our income in November and December remains consistent and our expenditure is what has been budgeted. “This is not sustainable.” The church’s general funds are drawn from the congregation’s donations.