Fern Creek United Methodist Church
Policy for Use of Facilities and Reservations
To Include Church Affiliated Groups, Church Members, and Outside Groups
Effective: July 25, 2017
Church Affiliated Groups:
Those groups known as “church affiliated groups” are (1) Fern Creek United Methodist Men; (2) Fern Creek United Methodist Women; (3) Choir and Music Ministry; (4) Children’s Ministry; (5) Youth Ministry; (6) Church School Classes; (7) Senior Citizens Group, (8) Quilters, (9) Ladies Card Group, (10) Stephen Ministry Team, (11) any Church Committee and/or Board.
These groups need to complete the Facilities Reservation Request (below) in its entirety. The Administrative Assistant can also accept an e-mail from a Church Affiliated Group to make a reservation as long as the e-mail contains all the information requested on the Facilities Reservation Request form. The e-mail will serve as the party’s electronic signature. Once all information is provided, the Administrative Assistant will then confirm the reservation to the Contact Person that is given on the form. To avoid overbooking or double booking of a room or rooms of the church, and to ensure that reservations for use of the facility is given to a church group or member before given to an outside entity, only the Administrative Assistant will be completing the church calendar.
If the church group has a monthly meeting, one form at the beginning of the year can be given to the Administrative Assistant and this information will be confirmed for the entire year (meeting on the first Tuesday evening of the month, Class meeting on the second Saturday of the month, etc.). If a church group or committee doesn’t necessarily meet on the same day every month or meets every other month, they should confirm with the Administrative Assistant the meeting date(s), time(s), and room requested at least 2 weeks ahead of the meeting date.
Outside Groups or groups not listed above:
Those groups known as “outside groups” are those which may or may not include church members, but also include non-church members attending the event or community groups and would include: (1) Anniversary celebrations; (2) Weddings; (3) Birthday parties; (4) Boy Scouts; (5) Girl Scouts; (5) Neighborhood Associations; and (6) any other non-church related group requesting to use Church Facilities.
These Outside Groups will need to complete the Facilities Reservation Request Form (below) in its entirety. Once your reservation is approved, the Administrative Assistant will request the completion of the User Agreement, in his/her presence. The Agreement should be returned to the Administrative Assistant, with any monies due.
Other:
A church group or member’s request will take precedence over an outside group’s request (if received at the same time). If an outside group’s request was previously confirmed, then that reservation for that group will be honored.
Requests will be considered in the order in which they are received.
Should a rental/security fee be assigned, this information should be included on the User Agreement. A rental fee will be applied to the Church’s General Budget or Building Maintenance accounts. Should security be required for an event, then a portion of the monies will go to the Security budget account.
Should security be requested, this information should be noted on the Facilities Reservation Request and Security should be notified by the Administrative Assistant prior to confirming that Security will be available for the request. Once security is confirmed, then the Administrative Assistant can confirm the same to the entity making the request.
If any event utilizing the facilities of Fern Creek United Methodist Church will be placing the care of children or youth under the age of 18 by persons other than their own parents or guardians, the group/committee using the facility must comply with Fern Creek United Methodist Church’s Safe Sanctuaries Policy for the prevention of child abuse.