Letter from Bishop Paul Marshall regarding
the budget shortfall
Friday, January 31, 2003
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
With a record number of parishes facing shortfalls in their own budgets, commitments
to the work we do together have dropped. Council has been forced to trim $361,000.00
from our diocesan budget.
Along with minor adjustments, we have had to cut our giving to the national
church, and at home we have had to dismiss half of the diocesan staff as well.
It is the implications of this latter act that prompt me to write to you. With
the skeleton staff with which we are left, we have to change the model on which
staff operates. We adopted the model of having program leaders for the diocese
about a dozen years ago, but now must return to the more limited model in place
before that change.
We will continue to have staff persons as liaisons for all the diocesan ministries,
but we are not able provide staff leadership for these committees or their
events, as each remaining member of staff has essentially had their areas of
ministry doubled. The one exception is the Children's Missioner, whose position
is underwritten by a grant, but she has voluntarily accepted additional areas
of responsibility. The practical consequence of this shortfall is that
we have made what amounts to a philosophical change for financial reasons.
The result is that whatever happens in any area of our work together will happen
because volunteers do it. This will be a challenge and also a kind of blessing,
as it will become clear to us what our commitments actually are. We will meet
ourselves in a new way.
By resolution of Council I am thanking departing staff members for their efforts:
Charlene Horst and Lura Schmoyer (Planned Giving/Development), Diana Marshall
(Health Advocacy and Social Ministries), Fr. Ed Erb and Josephine Goldberg
(Youth), Daniel Charney (Stewardship). I am also grateful, and Council joins
me here as well, to the remaining staff, each of whom has agreed to take on
additional burdens.
There has been a bright moment as well. Without anyone asking, we have received
two very large gifts to underwrite continued work with the Diocese of Kajo-Keji
in Sudan.
We are directed by Convention to form a task force to review the funding of
common ministry, and I am pleased to report that the Rev. Howard Stringfellow
has agreed to chair the group. He and the Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely (the Vice
President of Council) will work with me to form a truly representative group
to report by September 1 of this year. Their report will be included in the
pre-print materials you receive for our 2003 Diocesan Convention.
Again, a record number of our parishes face financial shortfalls this year,
so each of us will be challenged to reexamine our stewardship of the abundance
of God's gifts to us. It may be that, having gotten our attention so dramatically,
the Holy Spirit will now lead us into new perceptions of and response to the
Lordship of Christ.
Faithfully yours,
Bishop
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