wfn.org | Daily Wrap-up: Budget items, nominations and a lot of spuds

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

April 29, 2004	    GC04-021

By Linda Bloom*

PITTSBURGH (UMNS) - When it comes to church finances, the buck stops - and
starts - with each individual giver. 

That's why Sandra Kelly Lackore, the United Methodist Church's chief
financial officer, reminded delegates to the denomination's top legislative
gathering that their budget decisions are "not just about dollars" but about
gifts to God.

In her April 29 report, Lackore told delegates to use the $585 million
proposed quadrennial budget by the church's General Council on Finance and
Administration as a starting point for their decision-making. She advised
them to look to the future and preserve what is worthwhile, eliminate what
isn't and be "innovative" in the process.

The final budget, she said, must reflect what the delegates believe are the
missional and financial priorities of the church. "Do not think of it as a
budget of dollars, think of it as a sacred trust."

Action items during the April 29 morning session included 24 nominations for
four openings on Judicial Council and 17 nominations for four posts on the
University Senate.

The nine-member Judicial Council is considered the supreme court of the
United Methodist Church. Two clergy and two lay members are elected for
eight-year terms. Voting is scheduled for May 3, after brief biographical
sketches of the 24 nominees are printed in the Daily Christian Advocate.

The University Senate is a body of professionals in higher education that
determines which academic institutions meet the criteria to be affiliated
with the United Methodist Church. Four senate members will be elected by
General Conference on May 3; the remaining 21 members are selected by other
groups.

One church member, Eunice Jones Mathews, was singled out during a 90th
birthday tribute. The wife of Bishop James K. Mathews, she is the daughter of
E. Stanley Jones and Mabel Lossing Jones,  Methodism's premier missionary
couple of the 20th century, and a longtime activist for mission herself.

The day also included a hands-on demonstration of putting mission into action
as bishops and delegates transferred 50-pound bags of potatoes from a
tractor-trailer in the convention center loading zone to a Greater Pittsburgh
Community Food Bank truck. The "potato drop" was sponsored by the Society of
St. Andrew, an ecumenical nonprofit organization, and United Methodist Men.

The salvaged potatoes were shipped from a company in Maine and are expected
to help feed 120,000 Pittsburgh-area residents served by the food bank.
General Conference participants were asked to fast for one meal and donate
money to help cover the shipping cost.

# # #

*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer.

News media contact: (412) 325-6080 during General Conference, April 27-May 7.
After May 10: (615) 742-5470. 

 
 

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United Methodist News Service
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