Stronger than usual: OCWM giving continues to outpace last year
Written by J. Bennett Guess Oct 19, 2007 12:00 AM EDT
With three months remaining in the year, financial reports are showing promising signs for Our Church's Wider Mission, the UCC's common purse for shared ministries at the national and international settings of the church.
At the end of September, OCWM National Basic Support stood at $4,756,553 or an increase of $491,740 over last year's total at the same point.
Twenty-four of the UCC's 38 Conferences have remitted more money to date this year over last year. Thirteen are reporting less financial support. One Conference is reporting an equal amount.
Since June's report, the positive financial comparison has grown from a $316,705 net increase to $491,740, another promising sign.
The Rev. William Green of the UCC's Stewarship Ministry says that, typically, the end of September has represented "the half way point" for the year, since many churches and Conferences hold remittances until later in the year. Entering the year's final quarter in a more-favorable position is an encouraing sign, he says, and something the national setting has not experienced in recent years.
In contrast, at this point last year, the UCC's national setting was looking at a negative comparison of nearly $500,000.
OCWM National Basic Support is the amount that ultimately reaches the UCC's national offices in Cleveland. Congregations first submit OCWM contributions to one of 38 Conferences which, in turn, retains an average of 65 percent before passing along the remaining 35 percent to support national and international ministries. Therefore, the national setting's received-to-date $4.67 million represents just one-third of the amount UCC congregations have contributed to OCWM basic support so far this year. In addition, OCWM's special mission offerings have raised roughly $4.4 million thus far for earmarked programs.
Church leaders have long been cautious about year-to-year comparisons, since Conference payments to the denomination's Cleveland offices can fluctuate significantly.