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By Rich Peck*
1:00 P.M. EST May 13, 2011 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
Wisconsin Area Bishop Linda Lee (left) offers Holy Communion to Mary
Brooke Casad, executive director of the United Methodist Connectional
Table, during a budgetary meeting in Nashville, Tenn. A UMNS photo by
Rich Peck.
View in Photo Gallery
While the U.S. Congress is hammering out a 2012 budget, United
Methodists are engaging in a yearlong effort to craft denominational
budgets for the years 2013 to 2016.
Unlike protracted budget debates on Capitol Hill, two groups
responsible for denominational budgets concluded their scheduled May
9-12 meeting one day early.
The 40-member General Council on Finance and Administration and the 60-member Connectional Table
quickly accepted proposed “realistic” overall budget reductions of 6.04
percent presented by a GCFA committee and line-item recommendations for
denominational agencies worked out by their top staff executives.
The two bodies voted to reduce World Service, the fund that supports the ministries of the general agencies, by 6.6 percent.
After the two bodies approved the provisional budget of $603 million
for all seven general apportionments, they agreed to meet again July
27-29 in Nashville to review the budgets before sending them to the 2012 General Conference, the top legislative body of the 12 million-member denomination.
In the meantime –– in consultation with agency executives –– three
GCFA members and three Connectional Table members will consider the
financial implications of proposals expected from the Interim Operations Team and the impact on provisional budgets approved at the May meeting in Nashville.
Reduced funds
Reductions in the number of members in U.S. congregations and
declining revenue already have forced general agencies to eliminate some
staff positions and programs. The number of staff positions in 13
general agencies has decreased every year, from 3,139 in 1971 to 1,384
in 2010.
The Rev. H. Eddie Fox (left) and West Ohio Area Bishop Bruce Ough listen
to a presentation during a meeting of the Connectional Table. A UMNS
photo by Mike DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
While budgets for the agencies have increased over previous years,
the income has not kept pace with inflation. Now, for the first time in
the history of the denomination, even the best-case budget projection
called for a reduction in the actual dollars available for the seven
general church apportionments for the 2013-16 quadrennium.
Agency staffers were asked to prepare detailed budgets for pessimistic, realistic and optimistic amounts.
Factors that go into budget projections include: church membership,
inflation, per-capita disposable income, “giving elasticity” (percent of
giving from increased revenue), net spending and the U.S. gross
domestic product.
During the previous week, a finance committee of the Council of
Bishops proposed asking GCFA and the Connectional Table to recommend the
most pessimistic projection calling for a 14.8 percent reduction in
World Service monies. Some bishops, who struggle to get their churches
to pay 100 percent of their apportionments, favored the lower budgets.
After considerable debate, the proposal was defeated.
There were also recommendations at the GCFA and Connectional Table
meeting to propose the 14.8 percent reduction and to save the balance
for emerging ministries. With the understanding that the proposed budget
will again be reviewed in July, those recommendations were defeated by a
sizeable margin.
Some reductions already in place
Some agencies have already agreed to reduce future costs by: 1)
sharing finance and human resources personnel; 2) freezing salaries; 3)
reducing staff and programs; 4) asking staff to pay a higher percentage
of health-care insurance; 5) holding virtual board meetings; 6)
publishing electronic newsletters; 7) printing only on demand; and 8)
utilizing online tools and websites.
Agency staff and officers say that proposed budget cuts in the
2013-16 quadrennium will reduce: 1) disaster-recovery funds; 2)
diversity and justice ministries; 3) interfaith relations; 4)
communications; 5) the number of new churches; 6) revitalization efforts
in existing congregations; 7) efforts to improve global health; 8)
scholarship and education funds; and 9) leadership training and
spiritual-development opportunities.
A Connectional Table review of the agencies found that they have been
working together to provide resources to local churches and annual
conferences in spite of reduced financial resources.
Change proposed for apportionment system
An Apportionment Structure Study Group asked the two organizations to
consider recommending a single United Methodist Fund to replace the
present seven apportionments. The group proposes listing all agencies
and ministries supported by the one fund and their percentage of the
total.
“Giving to multiple funds does not increase transparency or lead to
better payouts,” said Andy Langford, secretary of the study group and
pastor of Central United Methodist Church in Concord, N.C.
The group also recommends that GCFA be asked to work with other
agencies to emphasize “generous financial stewardship” and drop the word
“apportionment” in favor of establishing a specific percentage of
current income of a local congregation. “This income-based model shifts
the discussion from the budget of the general church to the percentage
of income coming from each local congregation,” Langford said.
Perhaps the most far-reaching proposal from the study group calls for
the right of General Conference to empower a unit of the denomination
to make budget adjustments between conference sessions. At present,
after General Conference adjourns, no entity can make changes to the
allocated budgets.
“The current system cannot adapt to provide flexibility in ministry
and mission,” Langford said. This proposal requires two constitutional
amendments that must be approved by a two-thirds vote of General
Conference delegates and ratification by two-thirds of all voting
members of all annual conferences.
In other business, the Connectional Table and GCFA:
- Allocated $170,500 from the World Service Contingency Fund to the Global AIDS Fund.
- Learned that the Worldwide Nature of the Church Study Committee will
ask the 2012 General Conference to provide one hour for delegates in
four geographical areas (Africa, Asia, Europe and Eurasia, and North
America) to meet. The committee uses the name “continental conferences”
for these gatherings.
- Learned that the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters
will recommend the establishment of a fourth Episcopal Area in the Congo
Central Conference.
*Rich Peck is a retired clergy member of New York Annual (regional) Conference.
News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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