| 1. | A description of proposed
plan and how it relates to the church's basic purpose:
The Bible is not silent on the importance of presentation when it comes
to music (2 Samuel 6:5 describes it as being "played before the Lord;" 1
Chronicles 25:16). As worshipers called to make music before our
great God, it seems incumbent upon us to make sure our tools are in
proper repair.
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| 2. | Why is this ministry needed?
As with all machines, musical instruments and choir robes wear out.
Much of this deterioration can be stemmed by proper care and
maintenance, but repair services are occasionally necessary to keep
these tools in good use. As God has entrusted us with the talents and
resources to obtain these gifts, we ought to honor Him by taking proper
care of them.
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| 3. | The Costs to the church (in
detail):
Last year: $3,000.00![]()
This year: $3,100.00
The organ and all pianos will be maintaining quarterly. This includes
sanctuary instruments as well as studio and classroom instruments.
Keyboards, handbells and orchestral instruments will receive
maintenance as needed. Choir robes will be professionally cleaned each
year in November (before the Christmas pageant). This increase is due
to the rising cost of dry-cleaning.
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| 4. | What this will mean to the church in
opportunities and costs in 1--3 years:
Maintaining instruments and addressing repair issues now, while they
are small and addressable for a modest charge, demonstrates better
stewardship and care for the quality of our worship than allowing
instruments to deteriorate to the point of needing major overhauls and
re-builds, which are unnecessarily expensive (Luke 16:1, 2).
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| 5. | Alternatives:
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| a. | Reduce the number of piano/organ
tunings to two or three times a year.
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| b. | Have choir members clean their own robes. As
some will not be able to afford this service, the quality and variation of
robe repair will vary from one member to another, giving a poor
impression to the congregation and discouraging participation in the
music ministry.
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