wfn.org | United Methodists Increase Giving

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (207
notes).

Note 207 by UMNS on July 10, 1997 at 15:59 Eastern (4587 characters).

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                       395(10-21-71B){207}
          Washington, D.C.  (202) 546-8722           July 19, 1997

United Methodists give more
for churchwide ministries

                 by United Methodist News Service

     Six months into the new quadrennium, United Methodists have
increased giving to churchwide ministries compared to the previous
year, according to reports of the denomination's finance agency.
     "United Methodists contributed over one-half million dollars
more in apportionments and special Sundays in the first six months
of 1997," said Sandra Kelley Lackore, treasurer and general
secretary of the United Methodist General Council on Finance and
Administration (GCFA).
     Apportionments are the amounts of financial responsibility
for the churchwide ministry budget that are allocated to the
annual conferences and through them to individual congregations.
The overall budget is determined for a four-year period at General
Conference, the denomination's highest legislative body, which
last met in April 1996 in Denver.
     GCFA took a recommendation to General Conference last year
that included no increase in the apportionments for the first two
years of the quadrennium. Passage of new initiatives, rolled
together for budget purposes as "Vision 2000: Mission
Initiatives," caused the final allocations for 1997 to be about 1
percent more than in 1996.
     "Our goal in keeping the budget increase as low as possible
was to encourage the annual conferences to increase the percentage
paid and generate more dollars for the mission of the church,"
Lackore said. "We hoped this would allow the annual conferences
some breathing room."
     She observed that the increase in dollars and in the
percentage of apportionment paid for World Service -- the church's
fund to support its global ministry -- and for all the apportioned
funds and special Sunday offerings "is very positive."
     Those totals increased by 1.41 percent to $37.1 million
compared with $36.6 million on June 30 last year.
     Giving to World Service -- which encompasses most of the
churchwide agencies, including those that provide services and
resources in education, advocacy, missions, spiritual development
-- stood at $18 million on June 30, a .86 percent increase over
the $17.8 million for 1996.
     In addition to World Service and Vision 2000, apportioned
funds include three outreach funds -- Africa University, Black
College and Ministerial Education funds -- and three
administrative funds -- Episcopal, General Administration and
Interdenominational Cooperation funds.
     Receipts for most of those other funds were down slightly,
with the notable exception of the Episcopal Fund, which had risen
by 1.28 percent to $5.1 million.
     The new Vision 2000: Mission Initiatives had received
$336,600. That figure represents 28.3 percent of the $190,000
budgeted. This fund includes money for an Asian-American Language
Ministry Study; a Korean-American Task Force; the Connectional
Process Team, which is developing a plan for the future ministries
and structure of the denomination; and Focus on Young People.
     Traditionally, the bulk of income for apportioned funds is
received during the second half of the year.
     Churchwide giving to the six special Sunday offerings at $3.1
million is up 8.2 percent over the 1996 six-month total of almost
$2.9 million.
     Of these offerings, One Great Hour of Sharing, which supports
the work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), the
denomination's relief and development agency, rose by $150,000 to
$2.1 million.
     The traditional generosity of United Methodists has been
encouraged by new strategic marketing initiatives of United
Methodist Communications over the past six months to produce
increases in the special Sunday offerings, commented Kent McNish,
director of marketing for program and benevolence interpretation.
     Additional giving to mission and relief work through advance
specials, a form of designated giving with 100 percent of the gift
going to the named project or cause, is not compared to previous
years because it varies with need. Gifts for Bishops' Appeals,
$142,100; Mission Program Areas, $6.5 million; and the United
Methodist Committee on Relief, almost $5.3 million totaled just
under $12 million.
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