You are here: Home > News > The Harvest September/October 2005 > Budget background

Mission-oriented budget to be key decision at conventiuon

By Melodie Woerman

Editor, The Harvest

When faced with a potential shortfall in the 2006 diocesan budget, or mission plan, the Council of Trustees did a decidedly Anglican thing — they went right down the middle. And they vowed to do more with less in a budget that stresses mission and growth.

The “via media” approach was made necessary by the loss of $200,000 in income to the diocese with the departure of Christ Church, Overland Park from the Episcopal Church in April 2005.

Rather than pass all that shortfall onto parishes, or absorb all the cuts in the budget, the Trustees cut the budget by about half that amount and are asking parishes to make up the rest.

The increase in parish apportionments, while spread in varying amounts among parishes of varying sizes and income levels, will amount to a 1 or 2 percent increase on average, according to Doug Anning, diocesan treasurer. A nearly $100,000 reduction in the diocesan budget represents a 7 to 8 percent cut from 2005 budget levels.

“One of our themes is shared sacrifice,” Anning said. “We’re doing this together. We’re taking on part of the sacrifice at both the diocesan level and the parish level.”

Emphasis on mission

Bishop Dean Wolfe, in comments to convocation meetings in mid-September, said that this budget truly is a mission plan for the Diocese of Kansas. “Our priority, and make no mistake about it, is mission and growth,” he said. “Mission and growth. Mission and growth. Spiritual growth, the journey inward. Community growth, the journey together. Mission and outreach growth, the journey outward.

“We are trying to become better configured to do mission in this diocese.” To do that, Bishop Wolfe is planning to emphasize three areas:

• youth and young adults, including campus ministry
• stewardship and development
• starting new churches

Campus ministry

Work already is underway to implement a new model for campus ministry, designed to make the church accessible to more students on more campuses in the diocese than ever before.

Instead of resident chaplains at the two major universities, the University of Kansas in Lawrence and Kansas State University in Manhattan, the diocese already is searching for a campus missioner who will oversee work on those campuses, as well as Wichita State, Emporia State, Pittsburg State, Washburn University in Topeka and major community colleges.

The plan also would put in place a number of young interns and peer ministers on campuses, with an emphasis on cooperation between local parishes and campus ministry.

“I am very excited about this model.” Bishop Wolfe said, “It is a very fresh approach for the church.” The bishop also told convocation meetings that the potential exists for a significant gift for increased work on college campuses. Details of that gift still are being formulated.

Stewardship and development

Bishop Wolfe said he was stunned recently to hear an active member of the diocese confess that the United Way was in his will but the Episcopal Church was not. “I asked why,” the bishop said. “He replied, ‘The United Way asked.’”

With a full-time stewardship and development officer, Bishop Wolfe said, the church will be in a position to start asking. “It is my experience that only Episcopalians will support Episcopal churches and the mission we have,” he said. “I think it is very important to have a person who helps us gather those resources.”

But in keeping with the more-with-less theme of the budget, this new position won’t come from money generated by parish apportionments. Instead, the budget for this position will come from proceeds from the diocesan endowment. That method had funded the quarter-time position of planned giving officer held by Frank Connizzo until his recent retirement.

That will continue, with more of the endowment income earmarked for this expanded position than in years past, since the job will include stewardship development in parishes.

Start new churches

“When did we think we could stop growing the church?” Bishop Wolfe asked delegates at convocation meetings. “Why would we stop planting churches in areas we know will grow?”

This budget includes the position of church missioner, whose job will be to start a new parish in Johnson County, the western suburbs of the Kansas City metropolitan area. But as with the stewardship position, this job won’t be funded by parish apportionments.

Instead, income from closed parishes (especially Christ Church and St. Andrew’s, Fort Scott) will pay for this position. And once this person gets a new church established, Bishop Wolfe said the diocese won’t stop there. “We hope in three to four years to have this new church at a level we can go do another one.”

He noted that the last new church start in the diocese was 14 years ago, with the creation of St. Margaret’s, Lawrence.

A decade of flat budgets

Bishop Wolfe said he knows it is hard for parishes to vote themselves a higher diocesan apportionment. “I was a parish priest once, too,” he said, “and I know there is a limit to what parishes can give.”

But he also noted that the diocesan budget has remained essentially flat since 1995, at about $1.3 million. During the past decade, inflation has gone up 24 percent, leaving the diocese at a net loss as costs go up but income has remained constant. Cuts for 2006 would add another 7 percent reduction to the effects of inflation over time.

In spite of that, the bishop said the proposed mission budget for 2006 represents a positive change for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. “What we are doing here is of great value,” he said. “If we can turn this diocese into an organization focused on mission, planting new parishes and establishing a vibrant campus ministry, we will have done a huge thing.” He said increased accountability on the part of the diocese, coupled with clarity of purpose, will reap great results.

“It’s easy to be involved in things in the church that don’t feel like they mean something, like long vestry meetings sometimes,” he said. “But I believe that what we are doing in the Diocese of Kansas is something that will make a difference. Our plan is to put more and more mission on the ground in this diocese. And it points to a direction and gives an indication of all we will do over the next five to 10 years.”