The likelihood that the church\u2019s revenue will stagnate in coming years means it might want to think carefully about its priorities, Fraser Lawton, bishop of the diocese of Athabasca and a member of the financial management committee, said in a presentation to Council of General Synod (CoGS) Saturday, November 11.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trends as we go forward, looking ahead over a number of years, suggest that we need to be mindful of what appears to be a probability of declining income,\u201d Lawton said. \u201cIt might be wise for us to think about what are the critical things\u2026Why do we exist as General Synod? What is our purpose, what is the priority in terms of funding?\u201d<\/p>\n
More than 90% of General Synod\u2019s net income comes from the dioceses, Lawton said, but almost all of them are \u201chaving some conversations\u201d about their own financial future. Given this, he said, \u201cif everything continues as is, the day is going to come when we\u2019re going to have to make some very hard decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n