Today, we have just cut our diocesan budget, which was already cut to the quick, another 15% and are charging priests for their health insurance. The Cursillo budget was reduced to zero, four years ago. We eliminated the Hispanic Missioner three years ago. The National Church budget is in disarray. The budget of the National Church’s Office of Evangelism and Congregational Development, the agency I was most closely associated with, was slashed by GC and the head of that office was terminated, along with most of the employees. That money is now part of a $3M litigation budget. Diocesan Conventions are no longer celebrations. This year we are affecting a celebration because our bishop, who led us where we are today, is retiring. But the reality is very different. We have ceased Evangelism and church planting altogether. We have gone from a diocese of abundance to a diocese of paucity in only 8 years, and the vocal orthodox have long ago been silenced, or have left this part of the body, altogether.
Sadly, the church of John Barr, Gethhin Hughes and Keith Ackerman is dead and will never be revived. But I can say with certainty, that church was better than what we have been left with. I was told in 2004, when I was not re-elected to the 2006 convention, that I did not deserve to be a Deputy because I had “refused to put a happy face on Minneapolis”. In retrospect, we all know what has happened to the Episcopal Church since Minneapolis hasn’t been happy; it has been most disquieting for anyone who is tuned in. I am sad it has turned out this way, but I have decided to wear my exile from that prior part of my life as a badge of honor.
And the worst part is, I have no idea what to do about it in my personal life.
$3 is only a fraction of the cost of this fracture. It is sad that ministry budgets have gone the way to fund this but what is even more disturbing is the cost in human souls.
I too, who have always been active in the life of the larger church, no longer have a place or voice or even the passion or desire that I once had. I am like Peter in the gospel lesson this week. Jesus asked the 12 if they were going to leave him too. Peter’s response, “where else would we go”. My church is a part of those who left — I will stay with Jesus and who knows where that might take me.
As 815’s intellecual mentor said, you gotta break some eggs if you’re gonna make an omelette. Of course, we’re still waiting on that guy’s omelette, despite a hundred million eggs being busted…but I’m sure Kate, Bonnie, et alia are much better cooks.
A grim picture.
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If the diocese has cut its budget to the quick and then some, is it still paying tribute to 815?
I recall reading that during the last few years Bp. Henderson pleaded to have the diocese pay the full tribute so that he could better maintain his influence at 815.
Unfortunately his influence is to always finally cave toward revisionism…I don’t understand +Henderson…what’s his deal?
David Keller: “Sadly, the church of John Barr, Gethhin Hughes and Keith Ackerman is dead and will never be revived. ”
Please — please -could somebody tell me what this actually means? Is this referring to the Church of the Holy Comforter, Sumter,SC? What has happened to it? I served at Good Shepherd, Sumter, and I am keenly interested in knowing what this is referring to — if someone here knows, could you fill me in, please?
Thanks.
OK
I answer my own question: the reference to John Barr, apparently is NOT about his own parish church, which was (is?) Holy Comforter. It seems on closer reading of the whole article that the reference was to the whole church, not one particular parish.
Never mind
John Barr of Holy Comforter is my contemporary. My mentor was his father, John M. Barr, Sr. who was rector at St. John’s Shandon in Upper SC. JMB, Sr. is the reason I became an Episcopalian.
Holy Comforter is doing well, we are blessed to have John Barr as our rector. Fortunately , we are in the Diocese of South Carolina, not Upper SC. I grew up at St John’s , Shandon and John Barr, Sr. was a wonderful rector.
If the church of John Barr, Sr had been more proactive in stomping out heresy in the 50’s and 60’s with Pike and Spong and that crowd, we might not be in the mess we are now.
David is right that the budget is in terrible shape; nearly 40% of our parishes and missions are not paying their assessment. I think this model of financing ministry is broken. But I believe the $5000 Cursillo line has not been dropped and that we now have two Hispanic Missioners and $75,000 in the budget for them. I checked http://www.edusc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=9.
RE: “I think this model of financing ministry [sic] is broken.”
Indeed yes.
Particularly when the top three line items in our “ministry” budget are $625,502 for clergy insurance, $459,061 for staff salaries and benefits, and [drum roll] $421,542 for the pledge to the National Church — by whose ministry traditional Episcopalians were all so richly blessed at our General Convention of a month ago.
And to put all of that into an even grander perspective . . . back in 2007, the budget for National Church was $272,974 (on which I believe we were 100% current in payments).
The approved budget for 2008 was $412,396, and of course for 2009 was $495,932.
Yes you read that right — [i]in 2008 that was an increase of $139,422 and 51%.[/i]
To expand this delectable vision even further, back in 2007, delegates in our convocations [deaneries in some dioceses] were asked to go through each and every line item of the budget and rank those same line items. They ranked the National church as abysmally low in priority — the national church pledge was ranked fifth from the bottom out of 75 specific line items.
Not to worry though — the priorities of the folks in the pews simply did not matter and the commission that created the budget released one with a 51% increase in the national church pledge.
As I said when the budget was released for 2008 . . . “ah well, people will be voting with their checkbooks then in their giving to parishes.”
And . . . they have for two years now.
But I understand . . . it’s all the result of the economy of course!
[i]Because how on earth a traditional layperson in Upper South Carolina might not be interested in funding millions of dollars of lawsuits against fleeing parishioners and rectors, various heretical and pagan “women’s liturgies” for display on the national church’s website, membership in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, countless left-fringe initiatives and resolutions, ENS funding for their propaganda rags, and hundreds of other “ministry” priorities, one cannot imagine.[/i]
Sarah1 – I think the litigation costs are solely or primarily attributable not to pursuing “fleeing parishioners and rectors” but too protecting property that those folks are trying to take with them when they flee. I continue to think that the proper entities to be protecting those of us, like you and I, who stay, are the diocesan officials, but I am quite certain those expenses are purely reactive and that there would be no responsible option simply to let departees have the properties.
Sarah is correct that it is not just the economy. As per the question of Cursillo raised in the post and by #9 Nick, the current draft of the 2010 budget is unclear as to how the $86,918.00 alloted for the Commission on the Ministry of the Baptized might be divided. Cursillo’s ask is $10,000 and it is quite possible that it will be cut. The draft 2010 budget is found here.
Some background on cutting the monies sent to 815. This was suggested by one convocation a few years back, but Bishop Henderson’s passionate plea to the pewsters to keep the gravy train rolling North won the day. The budget committee for Upper South Carolina would be wise to cut the national pledge more drastically than they have suggested. I would be happy to cut it to zero, but a certain percentage of Upper South Carolinians support the agenda of 815, so I guess zero would be unfair to them. We wouldn’t want to hurt any feelings.
While Nick is accurate about the current budget, I think David Keller was referring back to cuts and chaos a couple of years ago. The budget process was a farce in its claim to come up from the roots of the grass.
For now, a regional convocation meeting recently had a diocese officer explaining the cuts in the 2009 budget and restraint in the 2010 budget. With the national church now giving the clear, bright green light to gay causes, Upper SC’s contribution holds at a high level. The last diocese convention passed the full asking of $495,932.00 with one person standing in front of the train. She lost. Financial constraints forced this item to be cut to $421,542.00 in the actual 2009 budget. Someone very high in the diocese organization (Bishop?) put in a request for $473,781.75 for 2010. The budget commission has kept it at $421,542.00.
$250,000 would work for me for starters.
Last year’s diocesan convention in Columbia was where +Henderson urged delegates to approve the total amount of the pledge to 815; the increase from the previous year was taken from missions/evangelism, if I remember correctly. +Henderson’s plea used the analogy of “paying dues to remain a member of the club”, or some such nonsense. There was a motion on the floor to restore the deleted funds, and fund 815 at the previous level. One of the deacons, whose name escapes me, came to the floor to urge sending the complete asking to 815, or “widows and orphans would starve” or some similar specious argument. I voted for the reduction to 815, while my parish delegation opposed it.(big surprise) That really torched my shorts, to see the sheep all go along. Tch!
#13 Gator is correct. I haven’t been involved in the Diocese since I was exiled in 2004. BUT the Cursillo budget is still ZERO. The amount reflected is money Cursillo collects from attendees. Cursillo, and several other entities, used to have their own check books, but because of an embezelment potential, those accounts were closed. When you go to a weekend you make a check out to DUSC, and it is then funnelled through Columbia. Five years ago the diocese gave Cursillo $5K on top of what was collected from attendees and donors. I think I have been blacklisted, because every time I try to open the budget documents I get an error message. BUT the Rev. Kathryn Tiede was the Hispanic missioner and the diocese cut her funding three years ago and she became an assistant at Christ Church. If you want to argue that DUSC is healthy because there is a line item for this or that, go ahead, but you would be mistaken. The minutia does not over ride the reality on the ground.
David, my understanding is that back in 06/07 the Hispanic Missioner was indeed nixed/deleted. But it has been restored since then.
What you say about Cursillo is *fascinating*. I had not realized that when one goes to a weekend now one makes out a check to the DUSC. That is a change from 10 years ago.
At any rate, here’s a link to the latest budget for 09:
http://tinyurl.com/lbb7cd
It is an Excel document so if you have MS Office you should be able to open it.