Publishing House feels impact of economic downturn
The United Methodist Publishing House is taking cost-saving steps,
including a slowdown of work on revising the denomination’s official
hymnal.
A UMNS file photo by Ronny Perry.
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Feb. 10, 2009 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
The United Methodist Publishing House is experiencing its greatest
sales decline in 20 years, causing it to slow down its work on revising
The United Methodist Hymnal as well as take other cost-saving measures.
The 2008 United Methodist General Conference, the denomination’s top
lawmaking body, authorized the Publishing House and the Board of
Discipleship to form a hymnal revision committee. The group is to
present a proposed revision to the 2012 assembly for adoption as the
official hymnal of The United Methodist Church in the United States.
“At the United Methodist Publishing House, we’ve seen the largest drop in year-to-year sales performance in
more than 20 years,” says Publisher
Neil Alexander.
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Before their first meeting Jan. 20-22, committee members were told that
spending on the project was being suspended for at least a year because
of the current financial uncertainty.
“At the United Methodist Publishing House, we’ve seen the largest
drop in year-to-year sales performance in more than 20 years,” said
Neil Alexander, publisher and president. “Our polling of local church
leaders reveals that they are extremely cautious about spending for
resources given current conditions and are often coping by reusing
materials or simply doing without.”
The Publishing House receives no general church apportioned funds.
The difficult global economic climate has affected the Publishing
House, causing a shortfall of 12 percent in this fiscal year and a
reduction in the value of investment reserves of 25 percent.
Store closings
Two Cokesbury stores are closing in Phoenix and Aurora, Ill., while
other stores are reducing staff and adjusting their hours, Alexander
said. Other cost-cutting measures include altering catalog production
and distribution plans and limiting overtime at the distribution
center.
“The United Methodist Publishing House is experiencing many of the
same financial challenges discussed in every newscast and newspaper,”
said Ed Kowalski, senior vice president of sales.
“The unprecedented economic conditions we face in the marketplace
are formidable, as can be seen in the United Methodist Publishing
House’s first-quarter sales performance, unfavorable (below sales
projections) by $3.2 million,” he said. “ … As responsible stewards and
leaders of a self-funded agency of the church, we must take immediate
and appropriate action.”
A
customer shops at the Cokesbury store in Nashville, Tenn. The Phoenix
and Aurora, Ill., stores will be closing and other stores will be
reducing staff. A UMNS file photo by Mike DuBose.
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The Phoenix store will close Feb. 21, and the Aurora store will close
July 18, leaving 66 stores open around the country. Alexander said both
stores have had multiyear declines in sales, despite efforts to enhance
their merchandise and control costs.
“We have regrettably reduced the ranks of staff in several
departments while providing transition pay and benefits to those
affected,” he said. “Travel has been scaled back, employee pay held
flat and plans implemented to cut the cost of building and grounds
maintenance. Members of the board of the United Methodist Publishing
House are cutting travel and lodging costs, and the work of the Hymnal
Revision Committee has slowed to a crawl.”
In the last quarter, 10 full-time staff positions were cut in the
retail stores and another 14 were cut or reduced to part-time
positions. Ten other full-time staff members elected to take part-time
positions instead of severance, and eight positions in Nashville have
been phased out.
The Publishing House continually makes changes in its staff
allocation, project timing and other areas in response to trends in the
church and society, Alexander said.
New hymnal work
The 27-member hymnal revision committee held its organizational
meeting in Nashville and agreed to continue its work this year through
conference calls and e-mail. Members will be auditing currently
available hymns, tunes and worship resources and seeking input from
local church leaders and others about use of music and liturgies. The
current hymnal was published in 1989.
A joint study by the Board of Discipleship and the United Methodist
Publishing House in 2005-2008 identified a need for a better mix of
traditional hymns and new ones, the desire for more types of music and
specific appeals for improvements, additional worship tools and
official materials in different media formats.
The study also revealed that similar types of hymnals have about a
25-year life span, and many denominations that produced hymnals around
the same time of the last United Methodist hymnal have recently
published or plan to publish new versions.
The committee said issues to be resolved include determining the
ability of local churches to buy hymnal-related products in 2013, and
whether adequate funds will be available to support development and
production. Decisions about how to proceed with the report to the 2012
General Conference will be based on the finances of both the Publishing
House and local churches.
“The circumstances are unprecedented,” Alexander said. “But the
people dedicated to serve through the United Methodist Publishing House
are gifted, deeply committed and tenacious.”
*Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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