wfn.org | LWF Council Reiterates Call to Churches to Pay Up 'Fair

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank_Imhoff@elca.org>]

LWF Council Reiterates Call to Churches to Pay Up 'Fair Membership Fees'
CHF 12.8 Million for Geneva Coordination Budget

GENEVA, 17 September 2004 (LWI) * The Council of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) reiterated its call to LWF member churches to pay up their
respective contributions of fair membership fees to the global organization. 

The Council at its September 1-7 meeting near Geneva, approved a fair
membership fee for 2005-2006 calculated on the basis of church membership
size and the Gross National Product, without fixing a minimum level. All
member churches were encouraged to pay up the expected amounts. Council
members would be informed about the status of membership fees in their region
and church.

The LWF governing body also approved a CHF 12.8 million Geneva Coordination
Budget based on the expected income. The current projected expenditure of CHF
13,049,770 shows a deficit of around CHF 200,000 thus the General Secretary
was requested to present a balanced budget to the Executive Committee by its
meeting in February next year. This year's was the first full meeting of the
Council elected at the July 2003 LWF Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada.

The Council's action were based on recommendations by the Program Committee
for Finance and Administration, presented by committee chairperson Mr Peter
Stoll, Evangelical Church in W*rtemberg, Germany. Stoll is also Treasurer of
the LWF.

The 2005 Geneva Coordination Budget, so-called A-Budget, of which 80 percent
are staff-related costs, currently includes CHF 3,425,944 for coordination of
activities carried out by the General Secretariat and its Offices for
Communication Services (OCS), Ecumenical Affairs (OEA), International Affairs
and Human Rights (OIAHR), Finance and Administration, Personnel, and Planning
and Coordination. 

The projected amount for the Department for Mission and Development (DMD) is
CHF 3,950,855; Department for Theology and Studies (DTS), CHF 1,075,550; and
CHF 4,157,422 toward the Department for World Service (DWS). A further CHF
400,000 is planned for costs related to the LWF's governing bodies. The total
amount foreseen for 2006 is CHF 13.2 million and CHF 13.5 million for 2007,
which would result in a projected deficit of around CHF 600,000 and CHF
930,000 respectively. In the Treasurer's Report to the Council, Stoll had
cautioned against falling back on the LWF's reserves to cover deficits, as
this would clearly contradict the idea of sustainability.

USD 60.5 Million for LWF Programs and Projects in 2005

The Council also approved programs and projects amounting to USD 60.5 million
to be carried out by the various LWF departments and offices in 2005. The
total amount of USD 60,451,898 is based on the Summary of Needs (SON) for
programs (B-budget) in the General Secretariat and its offices * OCS, OEA and
OIAHR; and DMD - including mission, communication and development projects
approved through the Project Committee; DTS and DWS, as well as the Lutheran
Foundation for Inter-confessional Research in Strasbourg, France. 

The breakdown for this figure includes USD 636,601 for OCS; USD 81,000 toward
OEA work and USD 156,150 for OIAHR. An amount of USD 396,200 is planned for
DTS programs; USD 3,499,850 for DMD; USD 52,497,672 for DWS, while USD
400,000 would go to the Lutheran Foundation for Inter-confessional Research
in Strasbourg, France. The LWF Project Committee allocations to projects
carried out by the member churches amount to USD 2,530,225.

The Council approved that the 2005 SON be forwarded to the member churches,
national committees, related agencies and mission agencies, commending
requests for support through undesignated and designated contributions.

As this year's was the first full meeting of the Council the programs' and
projects' plan is based on an updated version of the programs and projects
foreseen for 2005. From next year onward the LWF will have a "rolling"
three-year SON which will be revised annually, Stoll explained. 

Call for Strategic Planning Process for the LWF Secretariat

Concerning 2006-2007 projections, the committee underlined the urgency for
the Council and Executive Committee to start planning what kind of LWF was
needed and could be financed in the years ahead. In its action based on
recommendations from the finance and administration committee, the Council
called for a Strategic Planning Process with the objective of producing a
strategic plan for the LWF secretariat. 

The Council proposed that such a process consider where the work could and
should be undertaken * at the level of member churches, secretariat or with
the World Council of Churches, for example. Also to be considered is the
issue of translation and interpretation costs; spacing of the Council
meetings; LWF secretariat location, and decentralization; and what should be
discontinued because of the limited resources. 

The President, Treasurer and General Secretary were asked to develop Terms of
Reference for the Strategic Planning Process. The LWF General Secretary was
encouraged to consult with the member churches on the possibility of
seconding a consultant to assist with the planning function; and on seeking
the support of a study group for specific aspects of the process. The LWF
General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko will present an interim report to the
Executive Committee in February 2005 and a full proposal to the Council in
2005.

Council Proposes Budget Frame for 11th Assembly

Concerning fees for the 11th Assembly of the LWF, the committee expressed
concern about the sustainability of an Assembly as expensive as the Winnipeg
one in 2003, where the costs for the LWF was around USD 2.5 million. It
proposed a budget frame of USD 2.3 million for the next assembly, which based
on the fair membership fee criterion, would put the actual Assembly fees at
USD 1.95 million. Member churches were thus encouraged to start paying the
assembly fees, while the Council was asked to find other ways to reduce costs
so as not exceed the budget.

In view of the probable restructuring discussion within the LWF and the
current financial situation, which were discussed in the Treasurer's Report,
the Council agreed that a short Council meeting be held in 2006.

Slow but Steady Progress of LWF Endowment Fund

According to the finance and administration committee the LWF Foundation *
Endowment Fund had an mount of CHF 7.8 million including pledges by the end
of 2003. Although its development had been slower than expected, it had been
steady. The goal of CHF 10 million for 2004 may not be attainable as
projected, but was feasible in the near future, the committee noted. The fund
was established in 1996 with the aim to supplement financial support for the
LWF's work through investment of income received on its capital.

At its March 2004 meeting in Geneva, the Board of the LWF Foundation -
Endowment Fund allocated the annual net earnings of CHF 190,439 accrued by
end of 2003 to DMD, DTS, OCS and OEA. In its report to the Council, the
committee noted with appreciation the efforts by some of the member churches
toward adjusting to the level of fair membership fees. It however raised the
concern that some big churches were not yet paying what they could.

Business Plan for Augusta Victoria Hospital

The committee informed the Council that it had received a DWS report about
the difficult political and financial situation of the LWF-run Augusta
Victoria Hospital (AVH) in East Jerusalem. The Council thus requested DWS to
prepare a business plan for the hospital, to be received before the 2005
Council meeting.

The current unstable political situation in that region poses a major
operating and financial challenge for the AVH, the main health institution
serving Palestinians in the West Bank. These include the financial stability
of the Palestinian Authority becoming a more apparent issue, the continued
construction of the so-called "separation wall" which is increasingly
diminishing access by Palestinians (both patients and staff) to the hospital,
and the pending court case with Israel regarding a tax exemption agreement
between the LWF and Israeli Foreign Ministry. (1,296 words)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138 member
churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of nearly 65
million Lutherans. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of
common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]

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