Church of Our Father – Meeting Minutes Nov 1, 1893 (Pastor Salary Package Scheme)

Atlanta, Ga. Nov 1, 1893
A special meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Church of Our Father at 8 o’clock pm.
Present: Crafts, Currier, Behre, Dixon, McCutcheon and Winslow.

Mr. Crafts in the chair.

Minutes of last meeting read and approved.

Currier from special committee to move sink to the gallery reported that he had found objections to the plan and it was ordered to refer the whole matter to the Committee on Church Property with power to act.

Mr. Dixon presented a statement of the financial affairs of the church with an estimate of probable receipts and expenses. This showed that while the church was practically out of debt at this date, extra exertions would have be made in order to raise the Pastor’s salary.

The following estimates were presented.

Income Amount Total
   Subscriptions $500.00
   Collections $130.00
   Woman’s Alliance $200.00
Total Income $830.00
Expenses
   Music $130.00
   Janitor and Sundries $125.00
   Light and Fuel $65.00
   Printing $40.00
   Library $20.00
Total Expense  $380.00
Balance  $450.00

The above estimate is made with the item of rents set apart to cover the items of interest, insurance, repairs and taxes.

Mr. Dixon then presented a plan for the arrangement of the Pastor’s salary for the coming year as follows:

Rev. Wm. Cole
Dear Sir,

The Board of Trustees after due deliberation as to how they may be able to carry out their pledges to the A.U.A. and at the same time meet the unanimous wish of the congregation to secure you as their pastor for another year have decided to make you the following proposition based upon reasonable expectancy of assured income and a hope that this expectancy may be so increased as to admit of coming up to the full extent of the provisional salary named.

It being considered sound business policy to set apart all receipts from our real estate as a reserve fund until all real estate expenses have been paid therefore we eliminate for the present from our estimated income the items of rents and from our estimated expenditures the items of interest, insurance, repairs and taxes.

Our estimate then stands as follows.

Income Amount Total
   Subscriptions $500.00
   Collections $130.00
   Woman’s Alliance $200.00
Total Income $850.00
Expenses
   Music $130.00
   Janitor and Sundries $125.00
   Light and Fuel $65.00
   Printing $40.00
   Library $20.00
Total Expenses $380.00
Balance $450.00

The proposition of the Board is to guarantee you for the coming year:

Salary based on this statement $450.00
In addition thereto the recurring fourth of the A.U.A. appropriation for 1893 $125.00
Making $575.00

And in addition thereto all the appropriation that may be made by the A.U.A. for 1894 accruing up to October 1st.

It is expressly understood in connection with this proposition that if the income of the Church upon all sources for the coming fiscal year shows a surplus after paying all expense, including the items of insurance, interest, repairs and taxes, the said surplus shall be applied to increasing the pastor’s compensation until he shall have received in all for the year fourteen hundred dollars or as much thereof as the said surplus will admit of.

It is the earnest desire of the Board that the maximum salary will be reached and it is hoped that by action (of) cooperation on the part of the Trustees, Congregation and Pastor a much larger membership may be attained.

Without such increased membership, the church cannot expect to reach the point of self-support or to attain to the desired measure of success.

Respectfully submitted by Order of the Board,

<signed> H.M. Currier

On motion, the above letter was adopted and special committee of three was appointed to present the same to Mr. Cole. The chair appointed Messrs. Crafts, Winslow and Dixon.

On motion, the Board adjourned.

<signed>
H.M. Currier, Clerk

Physical Archive: UUCA   Box: 26   Folder: 02 Book: 02 Pages: 104 – 106
Citation: Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta Records, RG 026, Archives and Manuscripts Dept., Pitts Theology Library, Emory University, Atlanta GA