From the Worldwide Faith News archives www.wfn.org


Council provides funds for clergy salaries in Eastern Europe


From NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>
Date Thu, 25 Apr 2002 14:49:17 -0500

April 25, 2002  News media contact: Tim Tanton7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.  10-71B{187}

NOTE: For further coverage of the General Council on Ministries' meeting,
see UMNS stories #183-186.

OKLAHOMA CITY (UMNS) - Faced with more than $1 million in funding requests
but holding only $232,000, a United Methodist agency decided to designate
all of its money to pastors' salaries in Eastern Europe. 

"It was a struggle because all of those requests deserved funding," said
Darlene Amon of Suffolk, Va., who led a group of General Council on
Ministries members in determining how to allocate the funds.

The council's duties including administering the denomination's World
Service Contingency Fund, supported by apportionment dollars from across the
church. Amon's group, the Agency Relationships Work Area, had 10 requests to
review when it met during the council's April 19-23 gathering.

Realizing that the requests exceeded the funds in hand, the group said it
would fund the one so compelling that it required "a bold, extraordinary
response," Amon said. Instead of ranking the various requests as originally
planned, the group decided to allocate all of the funds to the salaries for
Eastern European pastors.

"The need is there, and that's what we're to be about," Amon said. "It was
very clear. There was no wavering."

The move will help about 150 pastors, she said. Average clergy salaries in
the region range from $140 a month in Hungary to $414 a month in Poland,
according to the Board of Global Ministries.

United Methodist congregations and ministries are expanding throughout
Eastern Europe and about $320,000 is needed annually to supplement pastors'
salaries. The need has been met in the past by the central conferences, the
Fund of Mission in Europe and the Board of Global Ministries. European
congregations have been stepping up their financial support, but the need
exceeds contributions.

"They're working toward bringing their own contribution up, but that's a
slow process ... because of the economic conditions in those countries,"
Amon said.

The Board of Global Ministries' financial problems have added to the
difficulty. As a result, the board requested $325,000 over a three-year
period from the World Service Contingency Fund.

The council approved a grant of $232,375 to the board for the salary
support. By reallocating funds already granted by the church's General
Council on Finance and Administration for 2002, the agency will designate an
additional $17,625 for the pastors' salaries, bringing the total to about
$250,000. It also will ask the finance and administration agency for
$136,750 to restore the World Service Contingency Fund. 
# # #

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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