The pastors are united in agreement that Clear Lake Presbyterian is called to be a church "in the community" of Clear Lake with a passion and focus of ministry "for the community." Our church has a long history of being a servant in Christ's name to the Clear Lake area and the pastors are eager to renew that vision for today, and prepare the church facilities and congregation for where that vision will take us in the near and distant future.

Each individual pastor is available to discuss how they are engaged on a more personal level with the various options we are considering. Feel free to email (jack@clpc.org, craig@clpc.org and nancy@clpc.org) or call the church office any time to connect with a pastor.

That being said, the direction of the church is not the decision of the pastors, although they play a key role in the process. The vision of the church is a collective decision, led by the Holy Spirit. The Project Lemonade task forces-with the enthusiastic support of the pastors-are taking steps right now to hire an outside consultant to help lead the entire congregation through a process of discerning the near and long term vision of CLPC. The input and prayers of every member and friend of CLPC are crucial to this process.

The Master Plan Task Force is taking into consideration the ability to expand the seating in the sanctuary for the future. We have hired architect, Bob Ambrose, to give the task force all information regarding the possibility of expanding the sanctuary with future construction. This includes cost estimates, logistics, and aesthetics. One of the options we have asked him to consider is rotating the seating and stage arrangement from the pews facing the east wall to the pews facing the south wall. We expect to have information from him within the next two weeks at which time the Task Force will recommend we stay with the current design as approved by the congregation or rotate the design. In the event the Task Force recommends a change in the previous renovation plan design and session concurs, that recommendation will come to the congregation for a final vote of approval.

NOTE: Changing the direction of the seating to the south does not represent an immediate increase in the sanctuary seating. It does however, provide us the option to add additional seating in a future expansion.

Bob Ambrose is also studying the green space requirements of Clear Lake and where we stand against that requirement. If there is room on the current site to increase parking, that option will be carefully studied and the associated costs incorporated into the current options.

The Master Plan Task Force has outlined the key steps required to move forward and identified two critical paths to pursue in the immediate future.

Regardless of which options we ultimately choose to take, the sanctuary building is key to the overall value of the CLPC property. As a result, we are looking to move forward with our renovation plans as soon as possible. With the help of our public adjustor Again, this building is important to us whether or not we decide to stay at our current location or move. Once started, we anticipate the entire process of repair, mold remediation and sanctuary building renovation to be completed in 3-4 months.

To complete the sanctuary building, we must:

Session has approved the funds to replace the roof, flashing, gutters, and downspouts that were a major cause of the water damage and subsequent mold problem, as required by the insurance company. Once these are in place, we will be in a position to remediate the mold and resume the building renovation.

We will meet with our public adjuster, Jansen & Co. next week to review the claim they have prepared for us to go to Kemper Insurance. Once the claim is submitted, Kemper is required by Texas Law to respond to the claim within 45 days. Our hope is that even if the details of the claim are not settled within that timeframe, we will still be able to get approval and secure the funds from Kemper to move ahead with the sanctuary remediation.

The Project Lemonade Task Forces have determined that a congregation-wide process for developing a long-term vision for CLPC is a critical element to discerning which option will best fit God's will for CLPC. It is essential that all decisions be driven by our sense of God's call rather than being driven by "brick-and-mortar" issues. After this discernment and vision development process, we anticipate a clear view of which option God is leading us to pursue together. This process is expected to take 4-6 months.

• Consider signing releases as individuals, conducting a cleaning & re-occupy (After living here for 30+ years I know of no one who has gotten sick from mold.)

The liability risk is too great for us to do the cleaning ourselves or to simply re-occupy without remediation. Mold has caused significant health troubles for some individuals in other places, and we do not want to expose any of our members, friends or guests to such hazards.

There is a provision in our current insurance covering the financial impact of business interruption. Our insurance company has already compensated us for the time our Dayschool was closed for us to move from the Christian Education building to the Church Life Center. Other possible coverage is being explored for the temporary loss in counseling fees associated with Shalom's move to the Zeta Building on Bay Area Blvd.

The most obvious option would be to find a smaller, local church looking for an opportunity to grow but is either worshiping in a community facility or currently growth limited and interested in buying our current facility. The Master Plan Task Force has contacted many of the areas churches to see if any are looking for a larger facility. We have also received one unsolicited inquiry from a local church.

The seeding of Presbyterian churches is usually a cooperative effort between congregations and the respective presbytery (in our case, the Presbytery of New Covenant). We have been giving funds to help launch a congregation on the west side of Pearland (near Hwy. 288). It would be possible to seed a church in the League City area, too, but that has not been explored in any detail as of this point in time.

Money is an important part of the decision to purchase Grace. Included in the financial analysis is quantifying any risk associated with the continued operation of the day care and school programs. The biggest non-financial issue associated with the purchase however, is discerning whether moving to a larger facility is the right direction for CLPC. In addition, we must evaluate the ability of Grace to fit our needs now and in the future.

We are in the process of receiving bids for the various options and compiling the estimates for comparison. This process is still ongoing and should be completed in the next month or so. As soon as we have basis for comparison, we will publish those estimates.

The Grace Christian school would be part of the purchase of the Grace facility. It has been reported to us that the school makes a substantial income each year. The continuing income from the school would be used to help pay the mortgage and other operational expenses. Also, while our giving this year has not fully met our budget, that does not mean that giving is down. It is above last year's giving, but it has not kept up with the 8% increase we had envisioned for this year.

The largest risk is clearly the expected income from the Grace schools. These schools include a day care program with just under 300 children as well as a Christian School (through High School). We are currently compiling and evaluating the financial reports and attendance records provided by Grace. In addition to evaluating any potential financial risk associated with operating the schools, we are considering our call as a church to provide this comprehensive education program to the local community.

In a broader sense, it is not uncommon for churches to diversify their income sources. Most common is the development of an endowment to provide supplemental income. Some churches build nursing homes, which can provide substantial income. Others develop schools. Organizing such programs often not only supplement the church's income but also broaden the church's ministry impact in their communities.

It's safe to say that so many of those memories are built around wonderful things God has done in your life here at CLPC. We must never forget those good memories. If God leads us to remain in our present location, then the visual surroundings will continue to renew those memories. If God leads us to another location, then we will take as many items (like stained glass) to the new location to help fuel those memories. And with God's grace, new memories will be built.

Our architect has already prepared a first draft set of drawings for the build out of the south half of the CLC 2^nd floor. That is one of the options we are considering very seriously.

We are determined not to head down that same road. In fact, one of essential reasons for contracting the help of a church leadership consultant is to help us avoid that very possibility. If we work together as a congregation talking, praying, and dreaming together to discern God's vision for CLPC, then we trust that the best answer for the future will emerge in more of a consensus-building way than in a win-lose vote. We are committed to "discerning together" God's call for CLPC.

This will take several months to do, but we believe that the result will make the wait well worth it. In the meantime, we will proceed with the sanctuary remediation and renovations soon.

While we have be dealing with some physical discomforts at the church, this is truly and exciting time for us all. We need to remind ourselves to look for God's hand in all that we do and have fun in the process!