How to decide what to cut

Matt is absolutely on the mark with his plea that we endeavor "to avoid turning this debate into church constituency versus church constituency. " The reality is that all of us almost certainly support nearly everything that could be funded, from children's music to pastoral care.
But, as both Matt and the Policy Board have made clear, there's not enough money to do it all.
The necessity of balancing the books is pretty obvious, so the question becomes, how do we do the least harm possible as we bring spending in line with revenue?
My own view -- which I firmly believe is widely shared -- is that children come first.
Whatever else we do, we should not take steps that make our church less friendly, available and helpful to our young people. From the high school youth group to the children's choir, we need to preserve an atmosphere on Fern Street that embraces the dreams and talents of the people who are going to take over this church, and this world, someday. If cuts must be made, and I'm convinced we have no other options, then let's have them hit hardest on those of us who aren't still looking forward to graduation. Let the young people have it all even if the rest of us must accept less.
At this point, I don't really know all of the cuts that are being eyed. But the two most glaring examples of something that can't be axed without doing harm to our children are the proposals to slice away the directors of the youth and children's choirs. Do that and we've gutted something crucial. It would send a powerful message to our youth that the church doesn't look out for them. And, believe me, they're already watching to see whether we put them first or whether we don't.
I'm not sure what among all of the programs we offer is most deserving. I don't even want to try to guess. All I know for sure is that we can't sacrifice our youngest.
I don't think championing the children's cause is dividing the congregation because it's something we can all agree on. After preserving what we do for the young, let's do what we must, even if it's painful. But spare the kids.