wfn.org | NCC responds to United Methodist funding freeze

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TITLE:NCC responds to United Methodist funding freeze

Oct. 13, 1999 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-21-71B{534}

NEW YORK (UMNS) - Responding with "utmost seriousness" to a temporary
suspension of funding by United Methodists, the top staff executive of the
National Council of Churches (NCC) has promised to address the
denomination's concerns.

"We understand this suspension to be a prod to swift action born of the
United Methodist commitment to Christian unity and a secure future for the
NCC," said the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, general secretary.

NCC officers are working on a "financial transformation process" that was
begun in 1997, she noted. "We are well aware of the need to bring this work
to completion."

During its Oct. 7-10 meeting, the United Methodist Commission on Christian
Unity and Interreligious Concerns decided to suspend funding temporarily to
the NCC from the denomination's Interdenominational Cooperation Fund (See
UMNS story #523). The suspension is in place until the commission receives
answers to questions about "past and future fiscal policies and management"
and is assured that a viable financial recovery plan will be implemented.

That particular funding affects the council's Ecumenical Commitment Fund,
which provides the core support for its work on Christian unity. This year,
United Methodists were expected to contribute $670,000 of $1.5 million and
have actually allotted a little less than half that amount so far. The
council's total budget is $60 million.

In a formal statement released Oct. 13, Campbell said the council was
"distressed but not surprised by the United Methodist action." Because the
council's executive board already has taken steps to address many of the
issues, "We fully expect that the NCC will be able to respond to the United
Methodist concerns in a timely manner."

Campbell and her staff cabinet met Oct. 12 with the Rev. Bruce Robbins,
chief executive of the Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious
Concerns, and his staff to discuss specific concerns and how they can be
resolved. Both groups called it a "constructive meeting."

Campbell told United Methodist News Service that her staff already is
working on recommendations for the Oct. 20-21 meeting of the administration
and finance committee, a standing committee of the council's executive
committee.

The recommendations will include a year 2000 budget that generates a 10
percent surplus in income over projected expenses to help rebuild operating
reserves, as requested by the United Methodists. The budget also will
reflect closing out the national ministries unit and cuts in receiving units
of the Ecumenical Commitment Fund, which includes Faith and Order,
Ecumenical Networks, Interfaith Relations, Public Witness, the Office on
Christian Unity and the Office of the General Secretary.

Recommendations from the administration and finance committee then would be
forwarded to the executive committee and General Assembly for adoption.
Those groups meet during the NCC's 50th anniversary celebration Nov. 9-12 in
Cleveland.

Robbins said he expects the action of the executive committee to be "very
important for the future of the council."

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United Methodist News Service
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