Dear Members & Friends of First Congregational Church,
In addition to serving God through our mission and ministries, providing a venue for community groups to do good work has long been important to First Congregational Church of Bellingham. It’s become clear in recent years that, in order to continue this service, we needed to revise our building use policies and fee structure. The revisions, and the reasoning for them, are detailed below. We want to be sure that you, a regular member or Church User, have the information you need.
DEFINITIONS
User or User Group can be used interchangeably.
Church Users are groups whose members attend or belong to First Congregational Church, such as Council, Boards, and Groups (like Green Team, Glee Club, etc.). These Users may use the Church facilities free of charge, but they still must schedule their room use ahead of time. Church Users do not need to sign any contracts since they are covered under First Congregational’s insurance policy should an injury or damage to the Church arise from their use. They do need to abide by the Church Use Policy.
Outside Users are all external organizations or individuals that are not part of First Congegational’s internal structure or immediate community who have events or regular meetings on the church premises. An Outside User group may contain church members. Examples are Vox Pacifica, NWYS, AA, Tax Aide, etc.
USER FEES
The attached rates for Church Use Fees are in the mid-range for similar church facilities. Although we have one of the nicest church venues in town, we are not the most expensive. Due to the extreme rise in the costs of maintaining, repairing, and insuring our facility, our previous rates were inadequate. While the new User Fees will still not cover the actual costs of providing the venue, they’re intended to lessen the gap, ensuring the future availability of our building.
All Outside Users shall pay for use of our facilities. Any exception to User Fees will be determined by the Church Council.
INSURANCE REQUIREMENT FOR EVERY OUTSIDE USER
First Congregational Church’s Insurance won’t protect the Church should an Outside User’s event or presence result in an accident, injury, or damage to the Church. We must be vigilant in protecting our Church, as it allows us to fulfill our mission and many ministries.
All Outside Users must sign our Church Use Agreement with indemnity clauses and hold harmless language.
Every Outside User of the Church must present proof of a $1 Million liability insurance policy naming the Church as additional insured. This is industry standard. There can be no exceptions. Our Insurance company offers a rider program for those Users who don’t have insurance. The User will fill out a short application, and we will receive a quote within a couple of business days. The premium for these policies depends on factors such as the type of activity, the number of attendees, and how often the group meets. For a standard year-long policy where the group meets weekly, the cost typically ranges from $300 to $400 annually.
CONTACT PERSON
In the interest of treating everyone equally, we now require that all Outside Users make their Contact Person a non-Church member/attendee. The Contact Person is the one who reserves, pays, provides insurance, and is responsible for the space used by the User Group.
EXCEPTIONS TO USER FEES
Exceptions to the User Fees for any Outside User Group must be approved by the Church Council, as Council is tasked with determining the mission of the Congregation. For example, sponsoring Tax Aide may be so important to the Congregation that Council may vote to grant them the space they need free of charge or at a reduced rate. However, the Outside User must still sign the Church Use Agreement and provide liability insurance.
If a Church Board desires a discount or waiver of User Fees for a specific Outside User, we recommend that they financially sponsor that group by paying part or all of their User Fees. By providing a paid venue for the Outside User, the Board is fulfilling part of their mission and using some of their budget to help maintain the Church facilities where the event takes place.
We’d like to remind the Congregation and all Users that we make our building available to many non-profit groups at a significantly discounted, non-commercial rate as we see this as part of our mission and support to the communities we serve. However, we’re also entrusted with stewarding this property so it may continue serving, and that takes financial responsibility.
These policy and rate changes result from many months of discussion, consultation, and revisions. They have been approved to take effect on October 1, 2025.
We appreciate your understanding that our church building is both a gift to the wider community and a responsibility of our members.
Sincerely,
The Board of Trustees and Church Council
