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PRESS RELEASE			FOR IMMEDIATE USE                 12
JULY 1996

            WCC GENERAL SECRETARY SOUNDS ALERT OVER
                        COUNCIL'S FUNDS

"Income is no longer sufficient to pay for the present activities
in which the Council is engaged."  That is the warning given by
Dr Konrad Raiser, General Secretary of the World Council of
Churches (WCC) in a special letter sent out with the WCC 1995
Financial Report which has just been published.

Normally, the WCC Financial Report is accompanied by a letter
from the Assistant General Secretary for Finance and
Administration.  However, Raiser says he has decided to write
personally to WCC member churches, "to draw your attention to the
serious financial situation in which the Council finds itself and
to seek your direct help".

Raiser reminds the WCC's 330 member churches that last year's
financial report indicated financial difficulties and the hope
that this was the result of a periodic fluctuation which would
correct itself before long.

"Such a belief was over-optimistic", Raiser says, and, because a
deficit is again forecast for 1996, "By the end of this year,
despite strict expenditure control and savings, the general funds
and reserves available will have been used up."

Raiser explains that "drastic action" is required in order to
achieve the balanced budget in 1997 for which the WCC Central
Committee has called.

He announces he is taking "active steps to review both the
programmes and the services of the Council" and that "sadly... a
further substantial reduction in personnel... is required in
addition to the 20% reduction in 1991/2".  (Staffing levels will
be reduced by about 16% during the current year, and by 1 January
1997 the WCC's staffing levels will be about one-third less than
they were in 1991 at the time of the Seventh Assembly.) 

Raiser says it will cost CHF 2m to provide a "just and adequate
separation package" for those whose jobs will disappear and he
appeals for special contributions from member churches to meet
these costs.

The 1995 Financial Report shows a total income for the WCC of CHF
80.4m which is down CHF 9.3m on the previous year.  WCC total
expenditure in 1995 was CHF 101m compared to CHF 114m in 1994.

A seven-page summary, "The Year in Review", forms part of the
Financial Report.  The range of WCC work outlined, and to which
the financial figures refer, is extensive and includes: 
theology... church unity... spirituality... prayer... Bible
study... mission... evangelism... ethics... justice... peace...
integrity of creation... humanitarian aid... racism... uprooted
people... HIV/AIDs... overcoming violence... violence against
women... people of other faiths... climate change...
international affairs.

While such programmes reflect the stated concerns of the member
churches, they are being reviewed as to timelines and available
resources for continuing them.

For a long time, the WCC has made clear one of its major
financial problems is in the area of "undesignated" income (UDI). 
This comes mainly from membership contributions plus some
interest and investment income on the Council's reserves and
general funds.