wfn.org | Budget process at Episcopal convention

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2000-103

Budget process at General Convention to be mission driven

by Joe Thoma

     (ENS) Whoever first said that democracy is messy might 
have had the Episcopal Church's General Convention in mind-
-especially in the area of budgeting for programs.

     One constant strain that runs through convention 
resolutions is that of unfunded mandates. Programs are 
approved but the money isn't. That leaves some projects on 
hold, others partially fulfilled and some competing for 
outside grants whose source might influence the direction 
of the work.

     "General Convention is a legislative body, and so it 
is a political process--hopefully in the best sense of the 
word," said the Rev. Ernest Bennett, canon to the ordinary 
in Central Florida and a member of the Joint Standing 
Committee on Program Budget & Finance.

     "But it also means that General Convention will pass 
legislation that sounds good, but doesn't consider budget 
ramifications," he said.

     This summer's convention must act on the proposed 
budget of $136,444,000 for the next triennium. Excluding 
the cost of the migration ministry program, which is almost 
completely funded by government grants, the overall budget 
is up by 13.5 percent, said Treasurer Stephen Duggan. About 
9 percent represents inflation over three years and the 
rest is made possible by better than expected investment 
income. 

     Major changes in spending include ecumenical 
relations, youth ministry, aid to overseas dioceses, 
communications, Title IV legal provisions involving the 
process for formal ecclesiastical complaints against 
clergy, and continued upgrading of computer systems. The 
communications and computer increases are primarily to 
increase service to dioceses and congregations, Duggan 
said.

Tied to mission and vision

     Duggan said he and others are working to make the 
church budget less a sum of disparate funding agendas and 
more a tool of the Church's mission and vision. 
"Traditionally, we've started with the budget as a planning 
tool," Duggan said. "We'd like to make it more mission and 
vision driven.

     "We also recognize that the budget is the sacrificial 
giving by people, so it's not the Church Center's budget, 
but a budget of the people of the church," he said.

     To make the process more flexible and responsive, 
programs would be evaluated according to how they "fit" the 
church's mission and vision. 

     In the past, programs that were approved but not 
funded sometimes sought outside grants. That practice could 
make the overall focus on mission and vision less cohesive, 
Duggan said. If adopted, funding for General Convention-
mandated programs would come entirely from the church 
budget. Non-church grant writing would be prohibited.

     But flexibility would be fostered by an annual review 
of the budget. Some commissions that need additional 
funding in years between General Convention might receive 
help from an annual reallocation, he said.

     "A reasonably detailed budget will come from General 
Convention," Duggan said. "But facts change, people change 
and conditions change."

     So the Church Center staff will take the budget 
approved by General Convention and, based on the actions 
taken at convention, present a revised 2001 budget to 
Executive Council in the fall of 2000. Similar adjustments 
would be made each fall for the following year.

     Where the money is coming from is fairly predictable - 
most dioceses response to the church's "asking" of 21 
percent of diocesan budgets, after the first $100,000.

     "As to diocesan giving, it remains strong and is again 
over budget for 2000," Duggan said. About a dozen dioceses 
are significantly below the asking, and the reasons vary 
greatly. Some have made internal growth and evangelism a 
priority; others hold a philosophical "10-10-10" view that 
people in the pews should tithe 10 percent to their parish 
or mission, churches 10 percent to the diocese and the 
diocese 10 percent to the Episcopal Church. In a few cases, 
withholding funds is an expression of disagreement with 
church policies.

     "We remain in close contact with [dioceses sending 
less than the asking], and where visits or other 
involvement by 815 personnel might help, we make ourselves 
available," Duggan said.

     In the meantime, some dioceses are urging a more 
efficient General Convention.  Colorado, for example, is 
proposing that the convention meet less frequently, with 
fewer deputies, and make better use of technology to cut 
costs.

Looking into the future

The future mission and vision of the church is addressed in 
a number of resolutions. Some deal with evangelism efforts, 
the role of youth in the life of the church, and even the 
best structure to carry out the church's ministry.

     The Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and 
Evangelism, formed by the 1997 General Convention, aims to 
make the structure of the Church more clearly reflect its 
mission. And its centerpiece proposal is a call to double 
the baptized membership of the church by 2020.

     "The commission was genuinely concerned with real 
evangelism and not just superficial numerical growth to 
make ourselves feel better," said the Rev.  John Guernsey 
of Virginia, secretary of the commission.

     One rationale for the evangelism effort is the 
Zacchaeus survey, produced by the Episcopal Church 
Foundation last year. That survey of church members 
nationwide found that Episcopalians are committed to church 
work at the congregational level, they feel an attachment 
to their Anglican heritage and that they would welcome the 
opportunity to work together more at the diocesan and 
national levels. The survey also said many of the 
Episcopalians interviewed expressed an openness to 
diversity.

     "I think we realize that the only way we will be able 
to accomplish the movement forward is if we have the 
leadership to do it," Guernsey said. "And that means 
reaching not just the next generation but two generations 
forward, and raising up more people of color and people 
whose first language is not English."

     Another resolution proposed by the commission would 
send 10 percent of the church's national  budget back to 
the dioceses and parishes for church growth. That proposal 
underscores the point that evangelism must be intentional 
and sacrificial, Guernsey said.

     Several efforts on the diocesan and regional level 
have begun addressing the question of bringing more young 
people into the church--both as laity and clergy.

     In February, about 400 people met in Maryland with 
Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold to explore ways of 
bringing young people into the faith. And a group of young 
clergy has begun a network that would help define 
"Generation X's" contribution to the church.

Provincial structure

     Two seemingly opposite proposals at this year's 
General Convention will raise a discussion about the future 
of the Episcopal Church's nine provinces.

     The Standing Commission on the Structure of the Church 
has filed Resolution A124, which would "Discontinue the 
existing system of provinces …" in favor of other networks 
not based on geography.

     "For many years the church has viewed the provincial 
system with concern as to the effectiveness of the 
provinces," the commission's Blue Book report says. "Some 
provinces are very active in programs enhancing the mission 
and ministry of the church, while others are not."

     On the other hand, a resolution that emerged from a 
recent meeting of the Provincial Leadership Conference, 
representing provincial presidents and vice-presidents, as 
well as coordinators and national staff, supports a 
resolution (B005) that "reaffirms the current system." It 
argues that provinces can be "ties that bind" together 
several aspects of the church's ministry and that it is too 
early to abandon the provincial system.

Elections for the future

     Unlike some other churches, the Episcopal Church 
elects its leaders and, in doing so, expresses its hopes 
about the future. And those leaders appoint all the 
committees, commissions of the church, shaping the future 
of the church's deliberations--and its dreams. The General 
Convention itself is the product of a whole series of 
elections at the diocesan level. Bishops are elected in 
diocesan conventions and the dioceses choose deputies, half 
lay and half clergy, to send to General Conventions.

     In 1997 the House of Bishops elected a new presiding 
bishop--and the  House of Deputies ratified the election. 
This time the House of Deputies will elect a president to 
succeed Pamela P. Chinnis, who served as vice president and 
has been president of the house since 1991. She completes 
over 20 years of elected leadership in the church and she 
will be feted and honored at several points during the 
convention.

     Church tradition usually elects the vice president of 
the House of Deputies to the presidency, and alters between 
lay and clergy. Several candidates have announced their 
availability but the slate won't become official until 
convention convenes and their names are put in nomination.

--Joe Thoma is director of communications for the Diocese 
of Central Florida and a member of the ENS news team at 
General Convention.