wfn.org | United Methodists Boost Giving

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3421 notes).

Note 3420 by UMNS on Feb. 6, 1997 at 15:56 Eastern (5453 characters).

SEARCH:   funds, annual, giving, offering, United Methodists

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

Contact:  Joretta Purdue                          66(10-71B){3420}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722            Feb. 6, 1997

United Methodists in 1996 boost giving
to churchwide funds by $2.5 million

     EVANSTON, Ill. (UMNS) -- United Methodists gave more --
approximately $2.5 million more -- to the apportioned funds of the
church last year than in the previous year.
     Contributions to these churchwide ministries topped $100.38
million in 1996, compared with $97.87 million in 1995, according
to the denomination's financial agency, located here.
     The annual totals needed for World Service, the general
ministry fund, and designated outreach and administrative funds
are included in apportionments, amounts allocated to annual
(regional) conferences on the basis of a formula that includes
number of members and certain financial data.
     In sessions held every four years, General Conference fixes
the totals that comprise the apportionments for the next four
years.
     Because the apportioned amounts for 1996 were larger than
those for 1995, more dollars were given but the percentage of the
apportionments paid during 1996 was fractionally less than in
1995.
     The percentage of the apportionment remitted went up for
every fund except World Service, observed Sandra Kelley Lackore,
general secretary and treasurer of the General Council on Finance
and Administration (GCFA). 
     In some cases the percentage increased by a few hundredths of
a point but for the Africa University, Black College and
Ministerial Education funds, the percentage was at least a whole
percentage point larger than that of the preceding year. 
     The percentage of apportionment paid to the fourth designated
outreach fund, Mission Initiatives, increased a half of 1 percent
to 84.7 percent, but this is a larger percentage than that of the
other three funds except for Africa University. Mission
Initiatives giving supported a variety of programs authorized by
the 1992 General Conference.
     Lackore said she looked at the 1996 World Service giving of
the annual conferences. "All of the jurisdictions were down in the
percent of payment of World Service; however four of them were up
in the dollars they gave," she reported.
     "We had a change in financial position in a couple of
conferences and this isn't necessarily a denomination-wide trend,"
Lackore said.
     In her analysis of World Service giving, Lackore observed
that at least one annual conference, which in the past regularly
has paid 100 percent of its apportionments by using reserves, was
not able to do that this year because of some difficulties the
conference had experienced, Lackore said. 
     Substantial increases in World Service giving were evident in
some areas, Lackore said. She cited Central Pennsylvania
Conference, which gave 103 percent, up from 100 percent the
previous year.
     In all, 11 conferences paid 100 percent or more of their
World Service apportionments. Five of them -- Detroit, Minnesota,
West Michigan, Wisconsin and South Indiana -- are located in the
North Central Jurisdiction. The other conferences giving to World
Service at that level were Peninsula-Delaware, Troy, Oklahoma
Indian Missionary, Rio Grande and Red Bird Missionary.
     Other significant increases in funding World Service included
Oklahoma Conference up from 88 percent to 90 percent; North
Georgia, from 87 percent to 90 percent; Rocky Mountain, from 72
percent to 83 percent; and Desert Southwest, from 91 percent to 95
percent.
     Total giving to all apportioned funds in the New York
Conference rose from 67 percent in 1995 to 79 percent of the 1996
apportionment, without counting $435,000 in prior year receipts.
     Lackore said 1996 was the first year in which money given in
a previous year was reported separately to provide a more accurate
assessment of current giving.
     Administrative funds, which include support of the bishops
and their offices, churchwide events such as General Conference
and interdenominational cooperation, also increased in both
dollars and apportioned giving.
     "Ministries supported by special Sunday offerings are very
important; therefore, I am disappointed to see that the receipts
for those offerings are down," Lackore stated.
     Of the six special Sunday offerings only the smallest, Peace
with Justice Sunday, experienced growth. Giving to it was $172,831
in 1996, nearly 12 percent more than the previous year.
     Giving to One Great Hour of Sharing, which supports the work
of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) dropped from
$3.28 million in 1995 to $2.77 million in 1996.
     Total contributions to the other four in 1996 were Human
Relations Day, $534,820; Native American Awareness Sunday,
$245,205; United Methodist Student Day, $468,175; and World
Communion sunday $936,544.
     Donations to the denomination's program of emergency global
ministries, the Advance Specials, totaled $24.91 million in 1996.
     When all the general church funds, including World Service
Special Gifts and the Youth Service Fund, were tallied for the
year, giving totaled $131.85 million.
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