We were instructed by the voters assembly last week that electrical usage at the parsonage should be decreased by 12% in an attempt to make the church budget workable.
I don't know how to cut it any more. We don't use the garage door opener. We turn off lights. We usually keep the radio, stereo, and tv turned off. We don't use the air conditioning. I often hang clothes on the line outdoors instead of using the clothes-dryer, even when it's pretty darn inconvenient. We don't have many appliances (hair driers, can openers, bread machines, wood-working tools, etc). We don't have decorative lighting indoors or out. We don't use those little plug-in air fresheners. We don't have electric toys, and the kids don't have tv's in their rooms. Because we've ripped out 1/3 of the carpeting in the house, we can clean that much more floor with a broom instead of the vacuum.
So I'm ready to start doing a little Christmas decorating. The first time I put up Christmas lights on our spruce, someone from church told us they were appreciative that we were finally "doing something like that" to participate in the celebration like everyone else instead of being so different. The last few years we have put four (count 'em: four!) strings of lights on the forsythias in front of the house. I don't know if that's okay anymore. I fretted about this all day yesterday. If I put up Christmas lights, I'm wasting electricity. If I don't, I'm weird and stand-offish.
We finally decided that I'd go ahead and put the lights up. If the church council decides to tell us next week that this is too wasteful, then I guess we'll know even better exactly where we stand.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
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Not being a charitable person, I would have told the council that I would reduce my electricity by 12% once each and every member of the council reduced their electricity at home by 12%. Blech, blech, blech. Hey, if every family reduced it at home, they could give their electric savings to the church and then you could put Christmas lights up guilt free.
ReplyDeleteGrumble, grumble....
My husband would simply state "We have already done everything within reason and above reason to minimize our expenses so we can continue to serve here." And leave it at that. You are letting their unreasonable expectations put you in a panic.
ReplyDeleteAnd then maybe follow Presbytera's advice as well.
This expectation is so far beyond ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be so polits as Presbytera & RPW. I guess it's a good thing I'm not a pastor's wife. :)
Are these voters coming from families with 1-2 children? Are the parsonage electric bills slightly larger than a family of 3 and therefore the voters feel that there is room to economize? Due to your frugal nature, I can't imagine that you waste a lot of electricity. Maybe they think you should store all of your refrigerated groceries at the church, so the parsonage refrigerator is not running? ;) Karen in west Michigan
ReplyDelete>> this expectation is so far beyond ridiculous
ReplyDeleteJane, they didn't say I couldn't have Christmas lights. I'm just trying to figure out how it is that I'm supposed to cut any more.
>> Are these voters coming from families with 1-2 children?
Actually, from asking around and doing some web-searches, it looks like we're using a fairly normal (maybe a little lower than normal) amount of electricity for a house the size of ours. Given that there are six people living here, and most of us are here all the time (and not away at school or work) I think that means we're doing really well on conserving energy. But I don't think they're comparing our bills to theirs; they just know that the expenses have to be cut, and so I better be economizing.
I can tell you a few things we do to conserve. We have fluorescent lights in all the fixtures except the bathroom and we have all our equipment on power strips that are turned off each night (since the TV, DVD player, radio, etc all draw electricity even when they are off). Other than that we only run 1 lamp at night and only in the main living room unless someone is in their bedroom reading. I'm not suggesting these things because I think it's right for the congregation to ask this of you but just to help.
ReplyDeleteSusan...expenses don't need to be cut (oh siamese sister of my most frugal dh)..giving needs to increase. You are expected to give (giveup) more than every other family in the congregation. You are being asked to bear your tithe and make up for everyone else's. This is the true sin..not you putting up Christmas lights or using the vacuum cleaner.
ReplyDeleteThey CHOOSE not to pay...they CHOOSE to not have God bless them with a full time Shepherd. Your dh remains faithful while they are unfaithful...like Gomer and Hosea. I wonder if they see this. God only knows. Stop beating yourself up. God blesses you despite their unfaithfulness...and He will continue to. I cannot say how, I just have experienced it myself.
Lauri
Amen
ReplyDeleteOlder refrigerators are usually the largest energy hogs in a home.
ReplyDeleteLeaving your electricity usage as-is is cheaper for the congregation than purchasing a new energy efficient ref. for the parsonage, which is probably the only thing that would make any appreciable difference in the electricity usage.
:) Just trying to be difficult, you know, just for fun.
Kim, my husband said that if we turn off power to the tv/vcr overnight, then it all has to be reprogrammed each time we turn it on. I don't understand it, but it's something to do with getting reception through the antenna (not cable) which runs through the vcr.
ReplyDeleteE's Child, the refrigerator is only a couple of years old. But we could not choose an energy efficient refrigerator. Shopping at a variety of stores, checking out a variety of manufacturers, there was only ONE fridge that would fit in the space. The kitchen is old enough that new refrigerators simply won't fit without a remodeling job first. So we took the smallest fridge available without paying any attention to how energy-efficient it was. We do keep the freezer in the garage though, so it doesn't need to use hardly any electricity for 1/3 of the year.
Our energy bills are low enough, lemme know if you want a couple hundred mile cord ran between my apartment and your house. I'm sure the cost of electricity in Ft. Wayne is lower anyway!
ReplyDeleteThis in lieu of any practical suggestions :/
Speechless at the sheer audicity of the expectations of the council.
ReplyDeletePrayerfully,
Paula