Title: ELCA Bishops Told of Positive Churchwide Financial Results for 2006 ELCA NEWS SERVICE
March 16, 2007
ELCA Bishops Told of Positive Churchwide Financial Results for 2006 07-037-JB
GALVESTON, Texas (ELCA) -- Increases in total receipts, including mission support funds, plus a record year for contributions to the World Hunger Appeal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), contributed to overall positive financial results for 2006 for the ELCA churchwide organization, based in Chicago.
Christina Jackson-Skelton, ELCA treasurer, presented the results in her report to the ELCA Conference of Bishops when it met here March 1-6. The conference is an advisory body of the church, consisting of the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary.
"We really do have much to be thankful for," Jackson-Skelton said, adding that the leadership of the ELCA bishops was a key factor for the 2006 results.
Total current operating revenue to the ELCA churchwide organization was $82,904,000 for 2006, an increase of $900,000 over 2005, she said. Expenses totaled $79,934,000, up $1.8 million from 2005.
Mission support funds -- income to the churchwide organization from congregations through synods -- increased $180,000 to $65.7 million in 2006. This exceeded mission support levels for the previous two years and was the first increase in annual mission support since 2001, Jackson-Skelton said. Thirty- seven ELCA synods increased their mission support giving in 2006, she said.
Other temporarily restricted and unrestricted funds available for the budgeted operations of the church amounted to $17.2 million compared with $16.5 million in 2005. Significant sources of income in these categories included missionary sponsorship, bequests and trusts, investments, endowments, support from the ELCA Mission Investment Fund for new ministry starts, the Vision for Mission fund, fraternal grants and other sources.
Another bright spot for the churchwide organization was giving to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal, which reached $20.1 million in 2006, Jackson-Skelton said. Of that a record $19.1 million went to the general hunger appeal, compared to $17 million in 2005. About $1 million was designated income to the World Hunger Appeal, and most of that was given to the church's Stand with Africa campaign.
"This is the largest single increase in World Hunger receipts since 1999 and brings us well within reach of the goal established at the 1999 Churchwide Assembly of $25 million in World Hunger income," Jackson-Skelton said. "It was maybe the best news of the 2006 fiscal year."
ELCA members contributed $5.1 million in 2006 for disaster response, and an additional $3.4 million was received in federal grants for hurricane relief, for a total of $8.5 million. The disaster appeal that received the most donations was for response to 2005 hurricanes, at $2.4 million. Other disaster income of about $900,000 was given primarily for the general domestic disaster fund, and the general international disaster fund received about $400,000, Jackson-Skelton said.
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