Annual Report for 2025
Accessible text version of the Annual Report for 2025 PDF. The wording is the same as the printed document.
BREMEN-BETHEL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
142 PURVIS AVENUE
BREMEN, OH 43107
740-569-7320
bremenbethelpc@gmail.com
2025 REPORTS TO CONGREGATION
JANUARY 25, 2026
Annual Report of the Clerk of Session
Bremen-Bethel Presbyterian Church
For the Year 2025
The duties of the clerk of session are spelled out in the Book of Order under Section G-3.0104. The clerk and moderator must be familiar with the contents of the Book of Order in order to assure that the church operates within the parameters of the documents and rules of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Presbytery of Scioto Valley.
Locally, your session held a total of 8 regular meetings. Attendance was good with only 2 unexcused absences. Elder Scott Bergreen, elder Kerry Boyd, Sue Henwood, and Cinda Keller had perfect attendance at all session meetings. Moderator, Rev. Larry Hoffmann had a perfect attendance record. Retiring Elders, whose terms expired in 2025 were Cinda Keller, Carri McCandlish, David E. Mowry, Corey Riley. The Class of ’28 will be Cindy Cullumber, Ron Cullumber, Carri McCandlish, and David E. Mowry. Our thanks go to the retiring members for their service to the church.
Your session operates under the committee structure with four committees, Christian Education, Mission, Operations and Service. Other (non-elder) church members may be co-opted to any committee as the need arises.
The phone-in option is still available and is being used.
Support was offered by Bremen-Bethel to the Samaritan’s Purse, The Big Book Nook, Missionaries in Costa Rico, Grace Haven House, Bremen Community Food Pantry, Bremen Swimming Pool, Bremen Elementary School breakfast program as well as the One Great Hour of Sharing and the annual Joy Offering.
Many upgrades to the church building were finished under the direction of the Operations Committee.
It has been a busy but productive year for your session as well as the members of Bremen-Bethel.
Corey Riley,
Clerk of Session, 2025
Necrology Report 2025
#192 Thomas Lee Ankrom died December 18, 2025
Confirmed April 3, 1949
Ordained as an Elder January 5, 1986
Friends of the church:
- Juanita Gummere died April 1, 2025
- Max Wildermuth died April 25, 2025
- John Graham died December 19, 2025
| Item | Members |
|---|---|
| Active Members on the Roll December 2024 | 48 |
| Member Gains | |
| Member Losses | -1 |
| Total Active Members December 2025 | 47 |
Food Pantry Report 2025
The Bremen Food Pantry held 5 open pantries during 2025. An open pantry is when we prepare boxes of food items for families who are in need. We served an average of 48 families per open pantry.
If a family needs food at times other than our open pantry days, they contact 211, Information and Referral. They are referred to our pantry to make arrangements to pick up food items. During 2025 we helped 70 families from 211 calls.
This year we helped 64 families at Christmas time. In 2024, we assisted 52 families.
In August, we also gave backpacks and school supplies to children at the August open pantry.
Our church members have been very generous with donations needed to fulfill our food pantry.
Mission Committee Report 2025
The mission committee is Tracy Embrey, Kerry Boyd and Judy Turner, Chair.
This year we promoted the One Great Hour of Sharing and Christmas JOY Offerings.
Scheduled the return of yoga classes, which are open to the public.
Worked with Bremen Community Methodist Church and Lifewise to provide free snacks for swimmers at the Bremen pool on free swim nights.
We have collected and delivered books, magazines, and cds to the Big Book Nook in Lancaster. Proceeds from the sale of the items donated go to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southeastern Ohio. Thanks to Kathy Mowry for delivering the donations to the Big Book Nook.
Our committee assisted with the community play dates held this past summer.
We made the following donations:
- $100 to The Tree Church for support of Tazz Ashbaugh's mission trip to Cambodia.
- $200 to Grace Haven Ministries in Lancaster. Their mission is to help with rescuing women with addiction issues so they can return to family and community.
- $200 to Presbytery of Scioto Valley to help fund the missionary work of Mark Hare in Costa Rica.
- $250 to Bremen Food Pantry.
- $100 to Samaritan's Purse to provide postage for the Shoebox Mission.
We also provide Breakfast to Go Bags to Bremen Elementary students for the weekends. Thanks to Susan Henwood for managing this project.
Judy Turner
Mission Committee Chair
Zeta Alpha 2025
Zeta Alpha met monthly in January through May to complete the Bible Study, Let Justice Roll Down. In September, we started a new Bible Study, Finding Resilience, Joy, and our Identity in Jesus Christ.
Zeta Alpha made donations to the Montana de Luz Organization to benefit children and families in Honduras affected by HIV/AIDS and the Lower Lights Ministry in Columbus which helps families impacted by addiction.
Zeta Alpha meets on the 2nd Sunday at 9:30am in the church basement September through May. All women are welcome to attend.
Personnel Committee Report 2025
The personnel committee consisted of chair members Judy Turner, David Mowry, Cinda Keller, Susan Henwood and Brenda Winegardner as a member from the congregation.
Joyce Turner will receive an increase in her pay from $14.50 to $14.75 per hour.
Loretta Dawson will receive an increase in her pay from $16.00 to $16.50 per hour. Loretta will also receive one additional week of vacation. This will be three weeks of vacation for her.
A $100.00 bonus was approved to Loretta and Joyce.
Operations Committee 2025
The Operations Committee for 2025 were Scott Bergreen, Gene McCandlish and Susan Henwood.
These projects were accomplished this year regarding the maintenance of the church.
- Fire extinguishers were inspected by Fairfield Fire Protection. This is an annual prevention inspection.
- The yearly inspection of the elevator with paperwork from the State of Ohio and Moseley Elevator were completed with no problems.
- The boilers were inspected by the State of Ohio. According to them, there were no problems. Inspection by Enervise, after the State’s inspection, found numerous problems. These will be addressed in January of 2026.
- Front and side steps as well as the sidewalks were power washed in August.
- LED lights were installed in the lights in the sanctuary.
- The hot water tank in the kitchen was drained and cleaned as well as other maintenance.
- The garbage disposal was repaired in the kitchen.
Christian Education Committee Report 2025
Reporting Date: January - December, 2025
Committee Chair: David Mowry
Committee Members: Carri McCandlish, Corey Riley
2025 has been a busy year for the CE committee. The committee offered a number of educational programs during the past year.
Budget: Christian Education was budgeted $2275 for 2025. We did not use the full amount of our budget. Further details are contained in the Treasurer’s report. The same amount has been requested for 2025.
Programming:
Children’s Sunday School classes are offered during morning worship services. The new smart TV and Blu-Ray player continue to be used for the children’s Sunday School program and are available for use by members of the congregation. Carri McCandlish has been teaching the class, with assistance from her daughter, Abigail. The committee would like to thank both of them for their hard work.
With help from the other church committees and volunteers, we hosted three community play dates during the summer. These featured a program by Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action about recycling, a presentation including live animals from the Columbus Zoo, and the Kona Ice Truck. More play dates are being scheduled for 2026.
Our church again assisted the community Vacation Bible School this year, which was hosted by the Calvary United Methodist Church and coordinated with the Bremen Community Methodist and Jerusalem Churches. Many church members volunteered to help create a successful program. Over 60 children were served this year during the course of the week.
The CE committee also put on a short children’s Christmas program during the last Sunday morning service of Advent. Carri McCandlish coordinated this for us with assistance from Deanna Burdett.
The CE committee has scholarships available for 2026 camps and other upcoming youth activities. A copy of the scholarship guidelines is available on request.
For 2026, we would like to focus on increasing the number of CE opportunities available for the adults in the congregation. Topics are being explored for possible evening and Sunday morning adult programming.
Respectfully submitted,
David Mowry
Chair, Christian Education Committee
Service Committee Report 2025
- January 3: Took Christmas decorations down
- January 25: Light refreshments prepared for elder training
The schedule was set up for Ushers, Lay Readers, and Communion Servers.
Communion was prepared and served Feb 2nd, Mar 2nd, Apr 20th, May 4th, Jun 1st, Jul 6th, Aug 3rd, Sep 7th, Oct 5th, Nov 23rd, and Dec 21st.
Ministers who filled the pulpit were:
- Cynthia McKay: Feb 16th, May 11th, Jun 8th
- Liz Tietz: May 18th
- Taylor Barner: Oct 12th
- Jimmy McNutt: Dec 28th
Mother’s Day, May 11th, and Father’s Day, Jun 15th, were celebrated.
Vacation Bible School meal was served on Jun 22nd.
Served meals for the Bremen Chamber of Commerce luncheons on Jul 24th and Oct 23rd.
With the help of the congregation, a meal was served after church on September 14. This was in honor of Rev. Hoffmann’s 40th year as a minister.
Sally Spangler,
Chair
Fairfield County Foundation Fund
The Fairfield County Foundation Fund is a designated fund to provide support for purpose(s) related to the mission of the Bremen-Bethel Presbyterian Congregation, Scioto Valley Presbytery, Synod of the Covenant or General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, USA, as determined by the Session (Governing Body) of the Bremen-Bethel Presbyterian Church.
The balance as of 12-31-25 was $ 14,551.67. This is a 12% increase over 12-31-24. The average monthly growth was $ 134.79.
For more information about this fund contact Kathy Mowry.
Breakfast to Go Report 2025
This project is located in the Mission Committee budget.
Students who received bags do so with the permission of their parents by enrolling through the school for us. This is open to any students attending Bremen Elementary School. Beginning January of 2025, we were serving 245 students per week. By the end of 2025, we were serving 298 per week.
Volunteers for 2025: Dean and Judy Ackerman, Ron and Cindy Cullumber, Sue Burnworth, Marilyn Boyd, Cinda Keller, Scott Bergreen, Kathy Mowry, Madelyn Shick, Josh Henwood, Rose Ann Elliiott, Sue Henwood
This group set up and packed bags on Wednesday mornings. It averaged thirty six weeks this year or about an hour and a half each week. With the ordering and delivering items to the church and unpacking, this made the total about three hours per week.
Total Bags Packed: 7900
Breakfast to Go Expenses for 2025: $10,460.73 (includes in-kind donations)
Throughout the year we had individuals who donated to this fund. We greatly appreciate your kindness.
Kroger Reward Points were also added to this fund. If you are not enrolled, you may do so at any time. This is automatic from your Kroger Card. It is no expense to you.
All cardboard from all packaging was recycled.
With the higher price of breakfast items, we have changed the name of this project to Blessing Bags. There will still be breakfast items occasionally, but it will become less often.
The committee appreciates all the help from all of you. This is a very large, time consuming project, but we all work together to provide a valuable blessing to the students.
This section was submitted by Susan Henwood
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Balance in the Breakfast to Go Fund January 1, 2025 | $ 0.00 |
| Contributions to the Breakfast to Go Fund Jan. 1, 2025 - Dec. 31, 2025 | $ 3,657.85 |
| Amount Spent from the Breakfast to Go Fund | $ 3,057.85 |
| Breakfast to Go Fund Balance December 31, 2025 | $ 600.00 |
| Amount Spent from the Mission Committee Budget: (This was 60.87% of the total budget amount as approved by the congregation meeting) | $ 7,304.72 |
| Breakfast to Go Expenses for 2025 | $10,362.57 |
| Kroger Reward Checks added to the Breakfast to Go Fund | $ 127.85 |
This section was submitted by Kathy Mowry, Treasurer
Bremen-Bethel Presbyterian Church Checking Account Activity for 2025
Balance 12/31/2024: $ 40,528.12
| Month | Expenses | Deposits* |
|---|---|---|
| January | $8,690.21 | $5,676.68 |
| February | $8,454.08 | $9,167.37 |
| March | $12,780.93 | $9,237.35 |
| April | $7,719.55 | $5,099.33 |
| May | $10,797.00 | $3,834.67 |
| June | $6,882.17 | $4,451.31 |
| July | $9,001.42 | $6,365.93 |
| August | $7,056.63 | $3,844.73 |
| September | $7,256.16 | $4,019.89 |
| October | $9,379.59 | $16,165.67 ** |
| November | $6,951.89 | $6,905.78 |
| December | $11,092.55 | $6,042.22 |
| TOTAL | $ 106,062.18 | $ 80,810.93 |
$(106,062.18) $ 80,810.93
Balance 12/31/2025: $ 15,276.87
* Includes Interest
** $10,000 Deposit from Stifel Investment Account
Treasurer’s Report 2025
- Report on checking account is attached. As of December 31, 2025, the checking account contained “General Fund” money and “Breakfast to Go Fund” money.
- A report of the General Fund (money used for regular operating expenses) and Permanent Improvement Fund expenditures are also attached.
- Fund Balances 12-31-25:
Fund balances December 31, 2025 Fund Balance Memorial Fund $221,468.03 Mission Fund $8,098.84 Permanent Improvement Fund $29,0860.24 Manse Sale Proceeds $239,154.82 - Special Offerings:
Special offerings by year Year One Great Hour of Sharing Joy Offering 2025 $979.79 $ 800.00 2024 $835.93 $ 330.00 2023 $ 320.00 $ 665.00 2022 $ 465.25 $ 590.00 2021 $ 450.00 $ 501.00 2020 $ 345.00 $ 605.00 Special offerings collected in 2025 were 53% higher than in 2024.
- Validated Mission Giving (Benevolence) $ 728.73
Validated mission giving by year Year Amount 2025 $ 728.73 2024 $ 1,293.49 2023 $ 1,693.00 2022 $ 1,557.00 2021 $ 1,592.00 2020 $ 1,642.00 - Our assets exceed the 2.0 years of budgeted expenditures required by Session Policy.
Please contact me if you have any questions or need further information.
Respectfully submitted:
Kathy Mowry, Treasurer
Income and Expenditures Detail
Bremen-Bethel Presbyterian Church
142 Purvis Avenue
Bremen, OH 43107
740-569-7320
Transaction Date Jan 1 2025 to Dec 31 2025
Income
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Local Offering 2025 | 57,996.27 |
| Loose Offering | 558.46 |
| Interest Checking | 12.65 |
| Regular Income Total | 58,567.38 |
Total Income: 58,567.38
Expenditures: Administration
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Misc. - General Fund | 0.00 |
| Year End W-2/1099 Processing | 27.99 |
| Accounts Without Sub-Categories Total | 27.99 |
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Secretary/Finance Clerk | 13,505.16 |
| Custodian | 6,887.76 |
| Musician Supply | 555.00 |
| Personnel salary Total | 20,947.92 |
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Social Security | 2,760.22 |
| Medicare | 645.52 |
| Workers Compensation | 120.00 |
| RITA | 222.59 |
| Staff Bonuses | 200.00 |
| Personnel Other Total | 3,948.33 |
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Pastor Salary | 32,363.52 |
| Pulpit Supply | 1,079.00 |
| Pastor Bonus - Gifts | 100.00 |
| Minister Total | 33,542.52 |
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Copier | 54.28 |
| Office Supplies | 126.46 |
| Computers | 1,344.03 |
| Other Office Equipment | 201.70 |
| Website | 750.00 |
| Office Total | 2,476.47 |
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Materials and Supplies | 299.09 |
| Elevator & Boilers | 2,744.00 |
| Outside Vendor | 1,629.10 |
| Real Estate Taxes/Assesments | 172.54 |
| Church Total | 4,844.73 |
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Gas | 3,954.00 |
| Electric | 2,850.28 |
| Water, Sewer & Garbage | 1,043.78 |
| Phone & Internet | 1,604.86 |
| Insurance | 5,612.00 |
| Utilities & Insurance Total | 15,064.92 |
Administration Total: 80,852.88
Expenditures: Programs
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Worship Supplies | 91.23 |
| Misc. | 189.80 |
| These Days | 137.10 |
| Flowers/Memorial Gifts | 50.00 |
| Service Committee Total | 468.13 |
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| Per Capita | 2,568.00 |
| Local Mission | 2,776.44 |
| Breakfast to Go | 7,304.72 |
| Mission Committee Total | 12,649.16 |
| Account | Amount |
|---|---|
| New Baby / Toddler | 71.59 |
| Christian Education Committee Total | 71.59 |
Programs Total: 13,188.88
Total Expenditures: 94,041.76
Produced on Jan 14 2026 at 12:04 PM by Loretta Dawson