wfn.org | Midyear churchwide giving totals resemble last year's

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TITLE:Midyear churchwide giving totals resemble last year's

July 19, 2001 News media contact: Joretta Purdue ·(202) 546-8722·Washington
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By United Methodist News Service

Giving to the churchwide mission and ministries of the United Methodist
Church during the first six months of this year is about the same as
donations for the comparable period last year.

According to figures released by the denomination's financial administration
agency, contributions to the seven funds through apportionments paid by the
annual (regional) conferences are running on a par with June 30 figures last
year. Combined donations to these outreach and administrative funds totaled
a little under $38.4 million so far in 2001 - less than $6,000 under their
total at this time last year.

Giving to Special Sunday offerings was up 6.9 percent this year, so total
churchwide giving for apportioned funds and the special offerings during the
first six months was up half of 1 percent to almost $41.5 million.

Additional donations in the form of Advance Specials, given without any
administrative costs, added more than $15 million in designated money for
bishops' appeals, mission programs, and relief and development work. Giving
to two other outreach funds added almost $250,000.

Total giving beyond the local church and annual conference was $56.9 million
at the end of June.

Among the seven churchwide apportioned funds, World Service, the largest
single fund, showed a 1.8 percent increase in income for the first six
months of this year. Giving to World Service totaled $20.5 million at the
end of June.

Donations for the smallest apportioned fund, the Interdenominational
Cooperation Fund, grew 12 percent - a greater percentage increase than any
of the other funds. At the midyear point, this fund had received $644,989 as
opposed to last year's comparable amount of $575,838.

Receipts for some of the six Special Sunday offerings showed substantial
increases over the six-month period, and some are down. Peace With Justice,
traditionally the smallest of the special offerings, received $25,504 so far
this year, an increase of 44.2 percent over last year's $17,692. One Great
Hour of Sharing, which supports the church's relief and development agency,
grew 10 percent or about $210,000 from $2.1 million last year to $2.3
million this year.

Bishop Alfred Norris, president of the church's General Council on Finance
and Administration, and Sandra Kelley Lackore, treasurer of the
denomination, co-signed a letter stating that the 2001 budget projects "the
largest increase in missional giving in 10 years" and changes in the
apportionment formula - both authorized by the church's highest legislative
assembly last year.

"The bulk of the increase in apportionments goes to Igniting Ministry, a new
and exciting initiative aimed at putting an inviting public face on the
denomination," they said in the letter, which was released with statistics
relating to giving. Igniting Ministry is a four-year national media campaign
for the church. The letter urged church leaders to support the church's
financial mission and to join in declaring September as United Methodist
"Open House Month."

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United Methodist News Service
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