Well I spent yet another full day doing finances for the church. Our church has been without a treasurer for about 3 months and I’ve “temporarily” taken over the duties until someone else fills in the position. Problem is…being the perfectionist that I am I’ve been not only doing the day to day stuff with the books but also “fixing” things that could be done better. All of this of course takes time…time that should be done in other things (shrugs shoulders). Ordinarily I really wouldn’t mind doing this stuff (in fact I love working with numbers) but nagging at the back of my mind while I’m doing it is all the other important stuff that I should be doing as a Pastor that isn’t getting done. Especially when it comes to planning.

Another thing that has been taking me a lot of time is the charity return I have to file. Arrghh…my sympathy goes out to all treasurers for charities in Canada (and especially to our past church treasurer) who have trudged through the mire and clay to file this really “easy-to-understand” form lol. Think income tax return on steroids and you’ll have a glimpse into the wonderful world of charity returns. Oh well, a learning experience I suppose but since the church’s status as a registered charity can hinge on correct filing of this return it can be a bit stressful. And of course there are yet more things I’m correcting in the way the church does accounting as a result of the things I’m discovering through doing the charity return. I’m planning on getting it verified before I send it away.

If any of my church family is reading this – have you considered taking on the treasurer position… – It would help out a lot! (hehe)