wfn.org | Task Force Seeks "Fair And Equitable" Formula

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23-February-1999 
99076 
 
    Task Force Seeks "Fair And Equitable" Formula 
    For Funding of PC(USA) Racial-Ethnic Schools 
 
    by Evan Silverstein 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.  - Roberto "Beto" Delgado recalls that when he worked for 
the Synod of the Sun, its members considered higher education a vital part 
of mission for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). 
 
    Delgado, now chair of the National Ministries Division Committee 
(NMDC), shared his recollection during the General Assembly Council's (GAC) 
recent winter meeting here. 
 
    "We talked about the relationships with our colleges and universities 
as being a mutual affirmation of one another's ministries," he said after 
an NMDC report on the denomination's racial-ethnic schools and colleges was 
presented to the GAC. "These children of the church have grown up to be 
peer institutions." 
 
    The GAC approved action that will help shape how the church's 
educational mission is carried out and how money will be channeled to the 
needy racial-ethnic schools. 
 
    The GAC approved the committee's report and endorsed its naming of a 
task force to develop a formula and criteria for distributing funds from 
the Christmas Joy Offering to the eight Presbyterian-related racial-ethnic 
institutions. Money from the offering also supports programs administered 
by the Board of Pensions for the emergency needs of former church workers. 
 
    The funding formula is envisioned as "a fair and equitable means of 
distribution," said Delgado, who was re-elected during GAC to serve another 
term as chair. 
 
    The GAC affirmed as a "work in progress" the General Assembly's mission 
strategy for working with the racial-ethnic institutions. That plan is 
being developed by the National Ministries Division in partnership with 
Mission Support Services. Refinements will be presented during the GAC's 
June meeting in Fort Worth, Texas. 
 
    "The work in progress (defines) our way of sharing and structuring the 
racial-ethnic schools," said Mary Newbern-Williams, PC(USA)'s associate for 
racial-ethnic schools and colleges. "It's how we work with them, and how 
our partnership will be comprised." 
 
                                  New Formula 
 
    The denomination's Office of Racial Ethnic Schools and Colleges has 
consulted with a small group of education professionals in the early stages 
of developing a spending formula for the Christmas Joy Offering. The task 
force's assignment is to see that each institution is treated fairly, 
taking into account its unique situation and any special circumstances. 
 
    "The make-up of each school is different, and how they go about their 
mission is different," Newbern-Williams explained. 
 
    In the past, a church committee has been responsible for divvying up 
the Christian Joy money, Newbern-Williams said, adding that the eight 
schools will receive standard amounts this year. Five colleges will receive 
$330,000 each, while Cook College and Theological School in Tempe, Ariz., 
and two secondary schools will receive $210,000 apiece. 
 
    The task force, which has met in Louisville three times since May 1998, 
is developing several possible formulas for presentation to the presidents 
of the racial-ethnic schools and colleges for discussion, and eventually 
will present a final plan to the NMDC. The task force expects to complete 
its work before the GAC's June meeting. 
 
    The task force members are former General Assembly moderator Patricia 
G. Brown, Mabel McLean, Judson McConnell, Cordell Winn, William Chapman and 
special consultants Sylvia Galloway and Sam Robinson. 
 
                            Shaping a new mission 
 
    Reconsidering the GA's mission strategy for dealing with institutions 
of higher education is nothing new. The church's commitment to the 
institutions, "as strong now as ever," has taken different directions at 
various times through the years, according to the NMDC's report. 
 
    Every new situation has required a "contextual strategy," one 
appropriate for the particular circumstance of the institutions, the people 
served, and the priorities and resources of the church. One consistent part 
of the context has been awareness that racial-ethnic populations have been 
denied access to majority institutions, both private and public, the 
committee said. 
 
    "The institutions founded by the Presbyterian Church were an attempt to 
correct this situation," the report noted. "The agenda remains unfinished, 
as racism continues to be (a) negative force in our society." 
 
    The report said that some members of the GAC and its staff and some 
leaders of the racial-ethnic schools have contended that "we are in time 
when the mission strategy of the church with its partner institutions 
should be reviewed and articulated anew for the current situation." 

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